Technical Description:
• Big R Bridge
® Rolled Girder
• Span: 30 ft
• Width: 27 ft
• Finish: Weathered Steel
• Decking: Gravel on Structural Deck
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There are thousands of fish barrier culverts across the United States that impede fish from accessing rivers located upstream of the culverts. Many times, funding is a deterrent to replacing the culverts with an environmentally friendly bridge. This thought also came into play during the planning stage of this Pierce Creek project for Trout Unlimited until they started working with Contech Engineered Solutions and researched options and the associated costs.
After some consideration of different crossing options, a 30' span x 27' wide Big R Bridge® Rolled Girder was well within the budget and provided a natural stream passage for the local trout species. Due to the remote location of the site, providing all prefabricated components including the prefabricated bridge and precast sills, the project did not require any cast-in-place concrete and other materials such as gravel and riprap were able to be sourced locally. Installation of the Big R Bridge was completed in just one day.
An additional benefit to the Contech system was that the weight of each precast sill and modular bridge component allowed for the installation to occur with an excavator rather than a crane. This provided substantial cost savings to the customer by eliminating the expense of a crane.
In the end, the Big R Bridge paired with a precast sill was a great solution for the site, and Trout Unlimited was pleased with the outcome.
“Trout Unlimited and Contech have worked on many projects like this to help fish passage in states like Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado and Washington," concluded Cory Toye, Wyoming Water and Habitat Program Director for Trout Unlimited. "This was a successful project, and we look forward to completing many more."
Technical Description:
• Big R Bridge
® Rolled Girder
• Span: 30 ft
• Width: 27 ft
• Finish: Weathered Steel
• Decking: Gravel on Structural Deck
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