A Pallet Bridge over Muddy Waters

At the middle section of my property there is a long and thin low section that tends to have a couple of inches of standing water for several days after it rains. Going around this area takes a few extra minutes each time, and really tends to add up as I move around the property. I’m considering putting in a little bridge over the wet area and was wondering if anyone has done something similar? My current plan is to get some cheap used plastic pallets and just lay them down to form the bridge. Most pallets are about 6 inches tall so I figure that even after they sink into the mud a bit the tops would still be above the surface of the water.

Do you have a rough idea of the span that this bridge will take?

I wonder if you can 'tie' the pallets together with some long wooden poles made from trees either inside the pallets or alongside the outside to displace weight as you walk.

I believe if you just laid down the pallets, you will start having them sink and turn in different directions causing you to have a potentially dangerous pathway.

Here is a guy who is doing something similar:




I have read about corduroy roads here on the forum.

Timothy Norton wrote:Do you have a rough idea of the span that this bridge will take?
I wonder if you can 'tie' the pallets together with some long wooden poles made from trees either inside the pallets or alongside the outside to displace weight as you walk.

My guess is that about 30 feet would be sufficient, so about 8 pallets into total to make the bridge. Tying the pallets together is a good idea, and I do have a bunch of 11 gauge galvanized wire lying around from a grape trellis I took down.

I think they'll sink pretty fast.  If you have access to enough of them, maybe put a double layer with the first layer upside down.  That way there's more surface area in contact with the muck.  Then add the second layer.  Wire the pallets of the layer together and stagger the joints between the first and second layer.  At least that's what I'd do.....

I'm not sure how fast plastic pallets would solar degrade. If they sink into the muck, they could be a huge job to get back out. That said, wood pallets would decompose - the wood would be fine, but the nails might be a hazard until they rust enough to be too weak to be a problem.

However, your description makes it sound as if willow would grow there well. Have you considered making a living willow bridge? Basically get a lot of cuttings from a suitable willow (basket sort of, but maybe a bit larger?). Poke them in and train them as they grow. Many willows will fuse where they touch another willow branch, so you can weave a lattice that will eventually fuse.

Yes, this would be much more work, so you might need to go the pallet route in the short term, but it would last much longer and not leave nails behind. I have seen pictures and instructions on the web.

Ooh I like Jay's idea of a living bridge! That wouldn't rot, and would be a really cool feature to have.
Another idea is to copy the ancient trackways in Somerset UK:

Sweet_Track
This one wasn't used for long, which is probably why it was found well preserved after about 5000 years. It looks a fairly simple way of making a causeway using roundwood, although you probably want to split the top deck.

Could you maybe get ahold of some hardwood pallets?  Maybe you could char the outside of the pallets (forgot the Japanese-sounding name) to protect them from rot.  My thought would then be similar to Mike's and lay down a double layer and tie/fix them together.

Just for reference, I once had to do something similar when I moved into my house.  I got a LOT of pallets from my builder to lay down on the extremely soppy/muddy ground for move-in day.   I ended up making a sort of pallet loading dock area and two sidewalks that connected to the front entrance and the garage.  The mud was intense--at least two inches of pea-soup thickness, drippy mud on top of very wet clay.  No way did I want that in my brand-new house!  The pallet board-walk worked very well, though I only actually used it for about one week and I didn't attempt to preserve it or tie the pieces together.  Still, I think that this construction technique could work well.

Just a thought,

Eric

I've done something similar with heavy hardwood pallets.  They were up off the muck by about 6" on cinder blocks that kept sinking/settling unevenly.  They lasted about 6 years before rotting too much to take my garden tractor over.  At 8 years they're treacherous for foot traffic.  If they were sitting on/in the muck they'd likely rot even faster...

I have been looking carefully at the word “cheap”,   Implied in all the replies is the question of how deep the mud is.  Your post seems to imply it is not very deep.   An error on the depth of the mud could literally sink your project.  So, in questionable areas double stacking the pallets or using concrete blocks could be useful.  I laid a stone walkway once on good ground and it sunk several inches below the surface in very few years.   So, I would be sure the top layer of pallets were fully above the surface.

As for the installation, I would consider threading maybe 4 poles through the spaces where the forks on the fork lift would go.  Having four 4” poles threaded through the pallets and staggered would go a long way in stabilizing the bridge.  I think the project is a great idea.

Nancy’s diagram also has some great ideas that could apply to your project.   At a minimum pounding poles into the mud on either side of each pallet would add to the stability and provide a place  to add a hand rail.  Walking on an icy plastic pallet in the winter could get exciting.

Just a reminder to use only HT marked wooden pallets.
You don't want methyl bromide in your water.
I wouldn't use the plastic ones at all. Sitting in the rain, they fill up with water and get quite heavy. Semi submerged, they would present logistical problems to move.

When I look at that space, I see what IS above the water, the trees.
Consider using your some plastic pallets on edge, screwed to each other with 3x4s and secured against a couple of trees.
Run a second line of pallets parallel to the first, staked in place and build your platform in between.
This will give you 3-4' of rise/fall to work with.

Instead of building a platform, you could fill the space between the "fences"  with stone.
Come to think of it,  two lines of chain link fence could be used in a similar way, as a giant  open topped gambion.

Getting that many rocks is a lot of work/ expense.
You could fill in most of that space with plastic barrels.
Come to think of it, you could build a blue barrel pontoon bridge.
That way, it will always be at the right elevation.

OK, there yah go, I've suggested a bunch of things you didn't actually ask about, thus giving a proper Permies answer!

Oh, one more!
Gley the pond with ducks/pigs and make problem the solution !

Tounge in cheek of course...

Mike Haasl wrote:I think they'll sink pretty fast.  If you have access to enough of them, maybe put a double layer with the first layer upside down.  That way there's more surface area in contact with the muck.  Then add the second layer.  Wire the pallets of the layer together and stagger the joints between the first and second layer.  At least that's what I'd do.....

If plastic pallets were used, the style with 9 legs that are stackable for return shipping, could be "shingled" so that one pallet nested 3 legs into the adjacent pallet. If you had enough pallets for two or more layers, you could "bricklay" them, which would give you a smooth top. Speaking of smooth top, you may also want to top it with a wooden catwalk, to be less slippery, and/or less "holey" as some styles of the plastic pallets are a mesh rather than solid, which would help with load bearing as well.

With wooden pallets, you could always just continue adding a fresh layer on top as needed. Whenever I store something on wooden pallets (on dry land) I use one good pallet for the load, stacked on a less-good one in contact with the ground. This gives me years rather than months to be able to lift and move the loaded pallet.