USE:  Pedestrian

SPAN:  150'

TRAVEL WIDTH :  3'

TOWERS:  34' tall, CCA treated southern yellow pine.

ANCHORS:  14 cy concrete deadmen w/ 1-1/2" ASTM A 307 rod each mainline.

MAINLINES:  1", ASTM A 603, 7x7 Wire Rope

Kimberling Creek Bridge is located on the Appalachian Trail, in southwest Virginia, near Marion.  At the bridge crossing Kimberling Creek is a lazy, bucolic stream over- storied with oak, hickory, ash and other eastern hardwoods.  It is a great spot to spend a quiet afternoon hiking, picnicking and swimming, and the bridge is renown among AT through-hikers because of its proximity to Trent's Grocery, a popular spot for rest, refreshment, and re-supply.

The Cow Pasture River Suspension Bridge is located on the Deerfield Ranger District, George Washington National Forest, near Staunton, VA.  It provides major recreational access to Forest Service land that previously was inaccessible for parts of each year due to high flood waters.    

Our first cable bridges, Kimberling Creek and Cow Pasture Bridges were constructed for the U.S. Forest Service in the early 90's. They are nearly identical bridges, based on a traditional design supplied to the Forest Service by the National Park Service.   The treated timber towers are set in concrete abutments and the mainlines are anchored to concrete deadmen using fabricated steel rods.  Cable suspenders support a floor beam and diaphragm braced stringer deck system.  The railing consists of dimensional horizontal rails affixed to 4 x 4 posts, which in turn are attached to the stringer box frame.  The bridges were erected by pre-assembling the tower poles on the ground and tilting them into position, then casting the abutment concrete in place.  Skylines were used for erection of the mainspan, including installation of suspenders, floor beams, and stringers.   

The photos on this page are of Kimberling Creek Bridge three years after construction, bridge builder Carroll Vogel at Kimberling Creek, and bridge builder Mack McFarland at Cow Pasture River, also about three years after construction.  The photo gallery contains construction sequence photos for Kimberling Creek Bridge only.