Leader - Stuart
Bridge Construction for the Gloucestershire
Rights of Way Department
Leader - Stuart
The task for the nine volunteers was to construct a footbridge replacing a stile and a series of stepping-stones across a stream at Randwick. It was tucked away in a quiet little valley crisscrossed with a well-used network of footpaths.
All the material had already been delivered to the site so we had only to carry in the tools and equipment we needed.
Fortunately there had been little rain in recent days so the water level was relatively low but it was clear from the trampled muddy area either side of the stream that it is often very much wider. Normally removing an old stile isn't a major problem but this one had its step posts concreted in and it took a major effort with wrecking bars to break it up before we could dismantle it.
With
the area cleared we roughly laid out the big timbers so we could
gauge where to dig to embed the feet of the end frames. The digging
too presented challenges because on the North side the ground
was waterlogged and rocky and the other side was a mass of tough
tree roots
By lunchtime we had the end frames roughly in place and everyone was ready for a break. Afterwards it was decided to loosely bolt the main beams in place before backfilling the end posts. Unfortunately the predrilled holes in the beam did not marry up with those on the end frames so using a brace and bit we drilled out new holes in the beam and inserted the bolts. Then, whilst checking that all was square, vertical and horizontal, we packed material back around the posts, tamped it down and tightened up the bolts. All that remained was to nail down the decking planks, reinstate the fence to make it stock proof and to shift the old stepping-stones to each end so walkers can more easily step up onto the bridge.
Throughout the day the weather was perfect and at break times the team relaxed in the warm sun. By 4.30 we had finished the work, cleared up and were on our way home. Overall it was an excellent job done by a great team. Well done to all!
