huangyhg

golf cart bridge design?!
does aashto say anything about golf cart bridges?
i am putting a small (30-foot max.) golf cart bridge and not exactly sure the loading i should consider. i was thinking about using a small truck (ford f150?!?) or a pedestrian bridge as loading.
any guidance would be greatly appreciated.
aashto does not specifically refer to a golf cart as a design vehicle. the smallest design vehicle used is a passenger car. designing for a small truck would be a safe and conservative load. however, if you wanted to fine tune the design, i would call a manufacturer to obtain the weight of a golf cart and place it accordingly on the bridge to obtain the maximum moment.
hope this helps.
if you know for sure that a golf truck is all that will be used on this bridge, just design it for that. i would get the weight of the cart, plus any payload that they may add to it (i have seen them tug a cart loaded with sod, equipment, dirt, etc.).
then design it for the maximum number of people that will fit in the cart.
design the bridge for moving load. formulas for moving load can be found under the beam section of the aisc manual.
you may want to consider restricting the width of the bridge to prevent larger cars (such as trucks) from using it.
if the owner intends on using trucks, then you need to follow asshto guidelines for bridge design. asshto has the maximum axle loads for many several types of road traffic.
fyi, there are several timber bridge companies that will design and construct these types of bridges. they are proficient in their design and construction. they will do the design for much less than what i would charge my clients. this deems me uncompetitive.
i am going to give you a link to one such company:
forgive me but i have typed asshto in lieu of aashto. sorry about that.
there are some companies that manaufacture bridges for golf courses. one company that manuctactures timber bridges is hughes brothers, inc. in seward, nebraska. they have a full time engineering staff, who could help you with loading questions. there bridges are not the typical cart path bridge over a creek or culvert. it may not be apropriate for your situation.
as noted by sperlingpe, most golf course bridges are premanufactured. there are several companies out there which have ready made design specs for you to choose loading from. among them are:
continental bridge
steadfast bridge
which produce steel bridges.
there are also a host of timber bridge producers.
typical costs range to $25,000 complete in place. i doubt if any of us can be competitive one on one with them.
i recommend that you look them up on the web and call them.
regards,
qshake
eng-tips forums:real solutions for real problems really quick.
thanks for the info. guys. i agree that the timber bridge producers are the cheapest alternative to the owner but the bottom line is that we have an executed contract by a public agency to provide for a golf cart bridge (among other things) in a public golf course. so i need to come up with construction plans.
do you guys think specifying a glulam structure be cost effective in this scnerio?? (30-foot span and either 10 or 8-foot wide)
is it possible to pull details of the standard timber golf cart bridge from web (i looked with no luck)??. dunno if the producers will provide me with dwgs. of their propreitory product.
contact the supplier's (hughesbros.com). i have never had any trouble getting a display drawing or specifications from a supplier. this is usually looked at as an opportunity (up to certain point).
xghalibx
just a thought! many times an emergency vehicle needs to get to a person for what ever the reason on the course. having the bridge just for carts could exclude them unless there is an alternate route provided pacifically for them.
if its not clear, then whos lible? you?
better check the big picture. municipal codes and such.
good luck
pennpoint
whether or not you design the bridge for golf carts only, or other vehicles is dependent on the travel width you provide. use the design maintenance vehicle loading if 2.4 m (8') or wider. otherwise use the golf cart load (which is very light) and post the structure, if necessary, as to maximum load for safety.

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