Steel bridge guides and resources
Most of what people need to know before buying a bridge is not on a spec sheet. It is what the ratings actually mean, what the banks have to do, and what arrives on the truck. These are the long answers.
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Buying guideWhat to settle before you ask for a quote
Six things decide which bridge you end up with. Most of them you can answer standing at the crossing, and answering them first is the difference between a quote in a day and a fortnight of email.
2 min read
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Buying guidePlanning a pedestrian bridge
What the path does on either side settles more of the specification than the gap does. The decisions in the order a design needs them, and what to ask whoever is quoting it.
7 min read
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EngineeringWhat bridge load ratings mean
Roadrunner publishes two kinds of rating and they are not comparable. This is what each one describes, what the configurator sizes your answer against, and why a photograph of a machine on a bridge is not permission.
3 min read
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InstallationAbutments, bearing, and when you need concrete
The most common question about a prefabricated bridge is whether it needs concrete. The answer is that it depends on the bank, and this is what the answer depends on.
2 min read
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Freight and deliveryHow bridge freight is calculated
A bridge is oversize, heavy, and going somewhere a truck was not designed to reach. This is what the freight number is built from, and which of those items is usually the one that surprises people.
2 min read
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FinishesRaw steel or powder-coated bridges
Powder coat is the standard finish on every family. Raw steel is available on the Cowboy line only, it will change, and choosing it is a decision about maintenance rather than about color.
2 min read
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InstallationAssembled bridge or bridge kit
This is not really a preference. Site access and span decide it, and on most crossings only one of the two is available.
2 min read
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Buying guideSteel bridge or concrete crossing
On most private crossings the two options are not the same structure in a different material. One spans the channel and the other sits in it, and the water usually decides which you want.
5 min read
Or skip to the specifics
If you already know the span and what has to cross it, the configurator will get you to a shortlist faster than any of these will.