This bridge has a forty-foot
span and has a total length of sixty feet including the ramps. This bridge has arched
handrails for a graceful appearance. It was the model for the drawings in the 1998
Township News Letter.
The scouts built the forms for the bridge abutments. The Township
Public Works Department excavated for the footings, installed the riprap, and lifted the
beams into place. The beams are 40 feet long, have a two-foot arch and weigh 1,500 pounds
each. They were purchased from Enwood Structures of Louisville, Kentucky who designed them
to our specifications. Designed, built and shipped to us, they cost about $1,450.00 each.
There are three beams to support this six-foot wide bridge. Tom Vitale and Troop 46
completed it in September 1997.
Floodplain Forest
Stop and admire the view from Tom’s bridge; it’s a chance to learn first hand
about one of the major habitats you will pass through along the Middle brook trail.
Floodplain forest is found where soils are wet for much of the year, though standing water
may only occur after major floods. Trees growing in floodplains often have to deal with
extremes from very wet conditions in winter to drought like conditions in summer.
As you walk the floodplain you will see the ground is often scoured of vegetation, with
patches of bare soil and areas of leaf litter piled up.
Watch for typical floodplain species from violets carpeting the ground in spring to pin
oaks with their drooping branches along the rivers edge, to the large swamp white oak, the
largest tree in this section of trail. In fall, marvel at the red maples and sassafras
that thrive in this wet area. Floodplains are vital feeding areas for birds in migration,
and are a good place to watch for warblers in the spring and fall.
See the white oak on the north side of the brook downstream of the bridge? That is a tree
took that root when this area was a field!
Plymouth Road is visible to the north of the trail but no pedestrian access to or from
Plymouth Road is allowed.
