Swedish army bridges cut costs of forestry work
Two old Swedish army bridges have helped to save tens of thousands of pounds on forestry work in southern and north-east Scotland.Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) bought them for use in Aberdeenshire and Dumfries and Galloway.It estimated it had saved at least £50,000 on the south of Scotland project alone.FLS civil engineer Elaine McClymont said they had been a "great find and a perfect solution".
In Aberdeenshire, one of the bridges provided temporary access to a quarry and allowed repairs to be made to an existing bridge that had been damaged in severe flooding.The bridge in southern Scotland was split into two separate bridges used to access areas of forest due for harvesting operations and restocking.Ms McClymont said: "The design and size of the bridge meant that it could be easily split into two smaller bridges that could be put together within a day and without the need for special components."Being army design, they're rugged, robust and more than capable of dealing with forestry traffic."The bridges, now at Loch Trool and Penninghame, were installed quickly and with minimal impact on the river banks."And to cap it all, once they've served their purpose here, the bridges can easily be dismantled and moved to another location where they might be needed."
FLS said the cost of a standard bridge is about £130,000.The new bridges in the south of Scotland cost less than £80,000.The bridge in Aberdeenshire was installed at a cost of £5,000, with a further £2,000 spent on dismantling it.
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