this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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22
Why wooden bridges still have a place despite upkeep challenges (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 5 days ago by Tau@aussie.zone to c/australia@aussie.zone
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From quaint beginnings as log crossings to sophisticated structures of modern transportation, timber bridges are interwoven in Australia's history.

And despite a number of government-owned timber bridges in Australia being in disrepair in the past decade, an engineer says there is still a place for clever uses of wood.

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[–] TheCriticalMember@aussie.zone 3 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Trouble is, wood has a much shorter design life and needs a lot more maintenance than concrete. Concrete bridges have a design life of 100 years, while timber will likely need significant refurbishment within 20-40, not to mention constant inspections every year with testboring at 2 year intervals (per AustRoads) and they're often more expensive to build nowadays with the price of timber.

So yeah, they can look cool, but there are far better things to spend our money on.

[–] TimePencil@infosec.exchange 1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

@TheCriticalMember Did you read the article?
Where did you obtain the information regarding the lifespan of a wooden bridge?

To quote the article:
Built for a century

Sunshine Coast Council structures and asset management engineer Simon Prytherick says 17 of the region's existing 138 vehicle bridges are constructed from timber.

"It's a material that, with proper care and maintenance, can last up to 100 years," he says.

"Timber is a fantastic choice for bridge construction, due to its sustainability."

"It can be recycled and reused, has a low carbon footprint, and even stores carbon, making it an environmentally friendly option."

Mr Prytherick says the council accounted for the challenges of termites, rotting and corrosion around bolts and fittings, and had preventative measures for each.

He says council undertakes annual inspections and maintenance, with more detailed cross-sectional inspections every five years.

[–] TheCriticalMember@aussie.zone 4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

IPWEA (Institute of Public Works Engineering Australia) Bridge Guide. I'm a bridge engineer. That "proper care and maintenance" line is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Sure, you can make timber last that long, but it's maintenance-intensive.

[–] TimePencil@infosec.exchange 3 points 4 days ago

@TheCriticalMember
Ah! Cool!
Thanks for clarifying.

When that article was being written and edited, I'll bet there was a moment someone said, "You can't remove that line; that's a load-bearing phrase."