Originally posted by Tonytee Now of course I just have to get my issue raised. I am a little confused regarding the configuration of the bridge. I am by no means a civil engineer, (or any kind of engineer for that matter) but wouldn't it be safer to have a steel bed and wooden side rail supports? The steel side barriers do look rather new, so perhaps this is a foot bridge only and not for motor vehicles. It could even be a bridge over troubled water, or a bridge to nowhere as in Alaska. " I can see Russia from my house."
) Having fun, that is photography.
Cheers,
Tony
Planks like that are fine for light vehicle loads. It depends what's supporting the planks. The steel side beams give the bridge its strength. They are effectively I beams. If you look carefully, you can see that there are extra sheets of steel riveted
to the top of the side beams towards the middle of the bridge. That's increasing the bending resistance.