What makes Bailey bridges so special

Published date25 May 2023
Publication titleGuardian, The
We have a British engineer named Sir Donald Coleman Bailey to thank for this invention

After graduating from Sheffield University, Bailey worked for a time in railroading but, in 1929, joined the staff of the Experimental Bridging Establishment of the Ministry of Supply.

When World War II broke out, he had already developed an idea for a military bridge and, in late 1940, at a conference on the problem of providing temporary spans capable of taking heavy loading, his concept of a strong, but relatively light steel truss that could be prefabricated in sections, was at once approved.

So, in 1940-41 the Bailey bridge went straight into action for military use during World War II and saw extensive use by British, Canadian, and American military engineering units.

One of the reasons the Bailey bridge became so important was that, from 1941-45, the world’s biggest tanks, such as the 36-tonne “Churchill Tank”, were made and this weight caused a normal bridge to buckle. Without a bridge that could cope with this weight, the tanks were useless.

You could relate a Bailey bridge to a flat-pack piece of furniture — all the pieces fitted into the back of a small service truck and it was light enough to be lifted by six soldiers.

The characteristics of the Bailey bridge are standardisation and simplicity of panels, readiness of assembly in the field, capacity for additional strengthening by doubling or tripling the truss girders, and adaptability to long spans with the aid of pontoons.

Bailey bridges remain a cost-effective system, being versatile, quick, and easy to build and dismantle. With a basic component of a 3-metre-long truss panel, they can be configured to provide much longer spans and cater for a wide range of loads.

A standard 30m bridge could be assembled within a week. Longer-span bridges might take longer owing to the need to build piers to support them.

Progress on bridges

Two Bailey bridges have already been installed in Hawke’s Bay, Waka Kotahi...

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