 |
   
|
Having Excel Bridge on your team ensures the proper safety systems will always be in place no matter your bridge type.
As a general rule, pedestrian, bicycle and similar bridges usually require safety measures with the following objectives:
- Prevent people or bicyclist from falling through or over the railings.
- Resist the throwing of objects off the bridge.
- Prevent vehicles from penetrating or damaging the railing and to minimize damage to vehicles and passengers that contact the railing.
- Provide support for bicyclists with a rub rail or support for pedestrians with a pipe handrail, perhaps meeting full ADA handrail requirements.
There is no national agreement on which code best applies to these structures so an array of choices are applied. They range from playground and BOCA codes requiring 3.5" maximum openings with climb resistance pickets all the way to OSHA codes with 20" openings in horizontal railings. It is especially important to know what DOT or Railroad requirements might apply when crossing these properties.
The most common choice Excel Bridge receives is a combination of UBC type balcony code with a 42" top rail height and a 4" maximum allowed opening with AASHTO type horizontal members. Often the AASHTO "highway bridge with bicycle traffic" code of a 54" rail height is specified. At one time, the AASHTO bike trail guidelines specified 42" railings, but this publication has been withdrawn.
Horizontal safety rails |
Picket safety rails |
For truss bridges, the railings are actually the support structure, and angles or tubes are the typical choice used to reduce the opening size. Decorative metal, wood, stone or masonry veneer, chain link fence or other materials may be specified to provide different levels of safety and appearance. These are almost always installed by Excel prior to shipping.
Box pattern safety rails over double diagonals |
Decorative iron work |
Laser-cut gingerbread |
For spans short enough that a girder type bridge is practical, the types of railing systems to choose from are vast, although the rigidity and longevity is less than the truss type.
Timber railings |
Steel girders provide long term strength |
When a bridge spans a highway or railroad, in most incidences the owner of the byway being spanned will require a fence with maximum opening of 2" (or less). The fence may be as high as 8' and may include a semi hoop design or even a full surround fence. Usually the fence and its framework is provided by Excel.
Semi hoop fence |
Integral fence framing |
Chain link all three sides |
Mesh safety panels |
Rub rails and pipe hand rails serve to deflect or support bridge users:
Rub rails can be one or more |
Pipe handrail with ADA return |
Approach rails protect against falls onto steep
grades near bridge entrance |
More examples with aesthetic purpose:
Painted round pickets |
Montecito |
Bolt on pickets to facilitate two-tone paint plan |
| Cables for a more open look |
|
|
|
|
|
