As part of our low-level winter work we've spent some time over in Windermere repairing a couple of wooden bridges at St. Catherine's.
Bridge before repairs
As you can see in the photograph above the bridges were in quite a poor state and had already undergone several temporary repairs but it was now time to give them a new lease of life.
Removing any old nails
The first job was to remove the old treads, while taking off the treads many of the nails were left in the beams so we removed the tops with an angle grinder.
Replacing the treads
Since the beams were in a decent condition they were left in place and the new Larch treads were nailed onto the old beams.
Making sure the bridge is always passable
The new bridges are not on a public right of way and will mostly be used for forestry and farming operations. But since they are also used by people walking around the estate at St. Catherine's we made sure that the bridges were always passable removing only a few treads at a time and replacing them as we went along.
Treads replaced and walled up
Once the treads were in position we trimmed them all off using a circular saw and tidied up the dry stone revetments either side of the bridge. This would allow us to gravel up to the bridge and remove the lip between path and bridge.
Fixing the uprights in place
Once the path had been gravelled up to the bridge a non-slip surface was attached to the bridge.
Attaching the rails
A section of tread was removed to allow each of the uprights to sit flush against the outer beam so they could be bolted into place. The final job was to attach the handrails to the uprights.
You can see a couple of before and after photos of the second bridge below.
Second bridge just after starting repair work
Completed second bridge with new section of wall
The repaired bridges, with new thicker treads, should now safely support any heavy vehicles passing over them as well as provide better access to anyone wandering around the estate.
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