Hey presto! Danseys instant bridge

The raging floodwaters of the north branch of the Maerewhenua River take out a bridge on Danseys...
The raging floodwaters of the north branch of the Maerewhenua River take out a bridge on Danseys Pass Rd. Photos by Jo Todd.
Two trucks negotiate  Danseys Pass Rd bringing pre-fabricated trusses and equipment to the site.
Two trucks negotiate Danseys Pass Rd bringing pre-fabricated trusses and equipment to the site.
The team from Downer lay out the panels.
The team from Downer lay out the panels.
Farmer Neville Hore's working dogs watch the action.
Farmer Neville Hore's working dogs watch the action.
The bridge is manoeuvred into place.
The bridge is manoeuvred into place.
The completed Bailey bridge spans the valley
The completed Bailey bridge spans the valley

Danseys Pass lavender grower Jo Todd thought a few others might be interested in how a Bailey bridge is built - so she took some photos.

Turns out she was right - more than 16,720 people, including some from as far away as Amsterdam - have viewed the photos on her Danseys Pass Lavender Facebook page.

In June the north branch of the Maerewhenua River flooded, taking out the bridge in the valley below where Mrs Todd and her husband Barry live.

Their 4ha block where they grow lavender and make products for sale sits about 400m above sea level bounded by Danseys Pass Rd and the river.

Last month, the Waitaki District Council arranged for a temporary Bailey bridge to replace the ruined bridge until a permanent replacement could be built.

Two ''huge'' truckloads of pre-fabricated equipment arrived early on a Tuesday morning and by 7pm Saturday the trucks had gone and the bridge was in place, Mrs Todd said.

''The speed, expertise and organisation of the team who came to build the bridge was impressive.''

The awkward site meant some ingenuity was called for because usually a Bailey bridge was built and then pushed out continuously on rollers over a gap, she said.

In this case, with a launching platform built from gravel and some help from two diggers working in tandem it was manoeuvred into place, she said.

She was fascinated to learn the history of the bridges, which were first used in World War 2 and nowadays were rented to councils as temporary replacements.

Each part of the modular construction was designed to be of a size and weight that six strong men could lift it, she said.

The panels which make up the bridge were designed to be put up quickly without machinery and with the thought in mind there was an army marching not far behind which had an urgent need to cross.

These days extra machinery was used to move the heavy panels but the rest was ''hands-on, like Meccano'', she said.

Mrs Todd said Downer employed a cameraman to film the Danseys Pass bridge construction for training purposes, so the skills could be passed on.

Although the lack of a bridge had caused some inconvenience for residents, they had been able to ford the river in four-wheel-drive vehicles.

However, there had been some urgency because farmer Neville Hore was shearing and needed a way to truck the wool out. The Bailey bridge was ready in time, Mrs Todd said.

About 7000 visitors a year travel the historic mountain pass which links Central and North Otago, mostly in the summer months, as the pass can be closed by snow in winter.

The council plans to construct a permanent single-lane bridge by December.

According to Wikipedia, the Bailey bridge is named for Donald Bailey, a civil servant in the British War Office who tinkered with model bridges as a hobby.

Danseys Pass Lavender is open from October 1 to April 30.

 

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