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Army to build ‘Bailey Bridge’ at
Quigley’s Point
31.08.17
A BRIDGE type developed
by the British during World War II will be used to
open a central roadway washed away by floods in
Inishowen.
A convoy of army engineer and transport personnel
will help colleagues already on the ground to
install an 80ft Bailey Bridge on the road linking
Quigley's Point to Carndonagh.
The existing crossing on the R240 road at Riverside,
Quigley's Point, was washed away in the
once-in-a-century thunder storm that struck north
Donegal on August 22. The catastrophic weather event
left almost 50 families homeless and damaged some
300 roads in the region. |
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The Defence Forces
shared photos on social media of a convoy of
military trucks leaving the Defence Forces Training
Centre in the Curragh, Kildare, yesterday en route
to Finner Camp, south Donegal, before travelling
onwards to the affected route.
"The vehicles are carrying an 80ft double single
Bailey Bridge with supporting stores which will be
used to erect a bridge over an existing river
crossing where the culvert has been entirely washed
away.
“This will support the local community and local
council in responding to the impact of the recent
flooding," the army said.
The Bailey Bridge is named after its creator Donald
Bailey, a civil servant in the British War Office
who created model bridges as a hobby in the early
1940s.
It is a pre-fabricated wood and steel temporary
structure prized for its portability and ease of
assembly without special tools or heavy equipment.
The bridge was robust enough to carry heavy tanks
during the war and are still widely used by civil
engineers on construction projects worldwide as well
as for temporary pedestrian and vehicle crossings. |
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