Bridging the gap!
15 October 2008
Conservation Volunteers, with the expert help of Ireland Offroad Experience, recently built a new bridge at Three Mile Water Conservation Park.
The park, in Newtownabbey, is a small area of woodland and grassland with the river, Three Mile Water, running through it – a haven for wildlife and walkers. Conservation Volunteers have carried out a lot of work on the site in recent years and the bridge is a finishing touch.
Work on the site by Newtownabbey Borough Council to control flooding to houses from adjacent fields had diverted water across a path regularly used by walkers and into Three Mile Water. This had meant the path was no longer usable from that point on. In stepped Conservation Volunteers to create the bridge!
The bridge is a basic design that BTCV have been using for years and is available in our online handbooks (see link at bottom of page).
The difficulty we had was getting the huge beams along a narrow and uneven path to the site of the bridge. This is where Ireland Offroad Experience came in with their knowledge of offroad driving. The beams were safely attached to a trailer and an Argo – a vehicle with 8 wheels that can float (although this wasn’t necessary this time!). The beams were then deposited just where they were needed.
With the beams in place, staff and volunteers from Conservation Volunteers could assemble the bridge.
| Relevant links |
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| BTCV Handbooks |
| External links |
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| Ireland Offroad Experience |
| Newtownabbey Borough Council |