Construction projects, as necessary as they may be, can produce inconvenience for all parties involved. From creating a temporary traffic diversion for vehicles and pedestrians alike to ensuring safe access for all workers, handling these situations in the least disruptive way is key to a successful project and outcome.
When a preexisting bridge is being taken out or an excavation is going on near a roadway, a rental structure, like a fast installation bridge, can be a great way to allow for the continued flow of traffic throughout the project. Here are two specific situations where temporary bridges for rental are both appropriate and effective options.
- Maintenance On or Near a Standing, Functional Bridge
- Land Disrupted by Excavation
Of the 600,000 bridges in the United States today, one in nine is rated as structurally deficient. This leads to drivers taking over two hundred million trips daily across deficient bridges in the nation?s 102 largest metropolitan regions. It’s no wonder, then, that construction is often focused on or around these aging bridges. While most road building contractors work at night during off-peak hours, this type of work can still greatly affect travel. Being able to redirect both vehicle and foot traffic that usually crosses these bridges is of the utmost importance. This is where the idea of temporary bridges for rental comes in. Setting up a temporary road bridge or temporary walking bridge in a safe, adjacent or in close proximity location allows the flow of traffic to continue. Extra direction will need to be given to note this detour to drivers and pedestrians, but even this is much preferred to total disruption.
According to OSHA, an excavation is any man-made cut, cavity, trench, or depression in the earth?s surface formed by earth removal. Whether a project requires a trench, a narrow underground excavation that is deeper than it is wide, be dug or another type of cut into the earth, these alterations can often mean disruption for travelers and workers alike. Having access to a quickly assembled bridge during something like large excavation shoring can allow for traffic to continue above the depression in the land. Temporary bridge construction or temporary road construction is relatively quick compared to the length of a full excavation project. In addition to continued traffic, a short term bridge also allows for workers to access both sides of the excavation with ease. In fact, it may be necessary to comply with OSHA safety requirements, which dictate safe access and egress to all excavations, including ladders, steps, ramps, or other safe means of exit for employees working in trench excavations. In addition to this safe access, crews must also pile all excavated soil and other materials at least two feet away from the trench edges, a task which can also be helped by a temporary bridge.
Regardless of the type of construction project, disruption to the current flow of both foot and vehicle traffic can cause confusion and inconvenience. This is why being able to consider temporary bridges for rental can be such a good option, as they can allow drivers and pedestrians to continue to access their normal route, as well as connect workers to safe, necessary project locations.