Cedar Bridge – Part 3

Complete at last! After three years of planning, designing and building, the cedar bridge now spans the creek at Dogwood and is ready for traffic. Last weekend we inserted the top parts of the trusses. We did this by slipping them into to place. I can’t say it was an easy fit but certainly it was less difficult than expected. We had to drill out a few of the holes for the bolts but other than that, it fit together nicely. After placing each truss, we hammered in the bolts, tightened with washers and nuts and the job was done. We are pleased with the result and particularly with leaving the planks rough by not cutting them to the same width. They were installed with knot holes and all. The result is a nice rustic look perfect for the setting.

Although we initially had some help with cutting down the large trees and planning some of the trunks, for the most part, it was the work of just the two of us. We did the measuring, marking, re-measuring, re-marking, cutting, sawing, clamping, gluing, pushing, slamming, dragging, fitting, lifting, hammering, drilling, cussing, swearing and cursing ourselves.

We hope in the spring when dogwood trees around the bridge are in bloom we will have an official unveiling of the bridge and some nice photo-ops.

I have concluded that every couple should build a bridge together: literally and figuratively. If they are still speaking to each other when the project is done, it’s a good strong relationship. We are still on speaking terms.

That is not just water under the bridge!