Building Bridges
Surrey has over 3,500 km of footpaths and bridleways meandering through the beautiful Surrey Hills countryside. As you can imagine, many rivers and streams crisscross this network of paths, each needing a timber-framed footbridge or bridleway bridge to cross to the other side.
Barnwood Carpentry has been fortunate enough to be one of Surrey County Council’s approved specialist contractors since 2018, with expertise in repairing, replacing, and refurbishing these timber-framed footbridges for local authorities.
Over the last several years, we have worked on many bridges throughout Surrey. This work has taken us to the most remote locations, where we have seen spectacular scenery that we may never have seen without this opportunity.
Footbridge Construction Process
The bridges themselves are simple and attractive timber-framed footbridge designs, usually constructed in Oak with non-slip Oak deck boards. Over the last couple of years, more of these bridges have been sent over to recycled plastic timbers to future-proof them from rot and deterioration, especially those that are prone to flooding.
Accessing the bridges can prove quite a challenge, especially when carrying our tools, equipment, and materials. Sometimes, we are lucky and can drive our vans right up to the worksite, but often, we use a small all-terrain 4×4 and trailer for the more remote locations. If access is extremely difficult, we will use a handcart and the team’s muscle power.
Working near and above a watercourse and at height provides a unique set of challenges, and it is essential that we protect not only ourselves but also members of the public and the environment. We follow a careful work plan to ensure that we can work safely and methodically, keeping fuel and waste well away from the watercourse and collecting all debris and rubbish to leave the area as we find it.
The Barnwood team is privileged to be involved in improving and protecting these bridges, and we look forward to building many more in the future.
