A WAR WINNER

Timaru Herald, Volume CLVII, Issue 23215, 31 May 1945, Page 4

A WAR WINNER

The Bailey Bridge Peacetime Use At The Temuka River

Described as a war winner for the Allied armies, particularly in Italy where the rugged nature cf the terrain and the many rivers called for its construction, ths Bailey Bridge has shown that it has a definite place in peacetime by its use in bridging the gap in the Main South Road at the Temuka Bridge, which has necessitated a detour of approximately three miles for all vehicular traffic since the big flood last February.

Working under the direction of three members of the Third Field Company, New Zealand Engineers, Public Works employees assembled one span to bridge the 90-foot north stream yesterday. In the meantime, repairs to the permanent bridge are well under way. It has been found that six spans of the old bridge have been weakened and the intention is to double the length of some of the existing spans, thereby reducing the number of piers required. At present the eight-inch deck coating of bituminous concrete- is being removed by means of pneumatic picks and is proving hard to crack. A bulldozer is deepening the bed of the river above the bridge and forming a temporary embankment on the north side of the river to assist in keeping it in its present course. Yesterday a large number of spectators gathered on the permanent bridge to witness the building and launching of the first span of the Bailey Bridge. The bridge, assembled like a vast mecanno set, is built on rollers and made nearly double the length of the completed structure, the forward length being of light construction and acting as a launching nose. It is pushed across the river' as a cantilever on to bases on the further ■ bank. In the present instance, the launching nose will be detached and used as a base for the construction of the second bridge over the south stream. Work will be commenced upon this second span to-day, and it is expected that the road will be open for traffic to-morrow morning. Construction and Uses Details of the construction and uses of the Bailey Bridge were given yesterday to a “Timaru Herald” reporter by the Army officer in charge of erection, Captain G. A. MacFarlane, N.Z.E. “The Bailey Bridge is the result of the inventive skill of a British engineer, Ronald Bailey, now 42 years of age, who has made a life-time study of bridges,” he said. “For the last 12 years he has been building bridges for the Army. Before that he was a constructional engineer for the British railways. At the end of 1940, Mr Bailey was asked to produce a bridge to carry tanks, guns, lorries, etc., over any rivers that might be met. This was a .tall order. By May, 1941, he had built and tested a 70-foot bridge on the Bailey principle, and this was the first of thousands which were made by every type of manufacturer in the United Kingdom in works from a small garage up to the largest steel works in the country.

“The bridge is built of special high strength steel of-, welded construction and all parts are interchangeable. Built up in 10-foot sections, or panels as the Sappers call them, it has a range in size from a 30-foot-long span, suitable for 40-ton loading, lip to a 250foot span for nine-ton loading, the spans and loads being provided for by building one, two or three panels wide each side of the bridge and by building on top of these up to three high. The strongest bridge is three panels wide, three panels high on each side. Engineej- companies carry all the parts on standard lorries. This includes’ bases, decking, approach ramps, even to the split ffins and hand rail ropes. * “For’ launching over - rivers and gaps this bridge is built on rollers and, by means of an extra length of light single construction, as a launching nose, it is pushed across the river as a cantilever on to bases on the far bank. Then the launching nose is removed and the bridge jacked down on to its steel bases, the approach ramps are hooked on and it is ready for use. If one bank is higher or lower, by means of short links like the links of a heavy chain placed in the bottom of the launching nose, the end of the nose is elevated to an angle to ensure it will rest on the bases on the bank.

“The larger and heavier bridges are pushed across by bulldozers or even heavy lorries, but a bridge can easily be pushed across by manpower if the site is approximately level. The Bailey can be launched on an up or down grade if necessary. Main Features “The main features of the Bailey Bridge are that it can be assembled quickly in different ways for various loads and spans of fixed or floating bridges. It is simple to erect and launch. All parts can be easily manhandled (the heaviest piece is a sixman load) and it all fits into standard three-ton lorries. A bridge strongenough to take vital transport and support weapons can be put across early in the assault and strengthened later, in situ, for heavier loads.

“For crossing wide, deep rivers, such as the Rhine, the Bailey pontoon bridge is used. -This is a floating Bailey built on pontoons or boats, as you may call them, about 60 feet long. These face upstream and each carry a span of 32 feet to 92 feet, depending on the load to be provided for, across their decks. Sufficient of these are placed together to span the rivpr, anchors being used to hold the pontoons in place. Many splendid bridges of this type were used by the Allies in their lightning advance through France, Germany and Italy. In Burma, a Bailey Bridge is a quarter of a mile long and was constructed across the fast-flowing Chindwin River whilst the Sappers were under fire.”