Universal Bridges

The Mabey Universal Bridge System is the ‘big brother’ of the Mabey Compact 200 Bridge System and an advanced development of the original Bailey bridge. Ideal for longer span permanent rural bridges, bridges for mining, logging and mineral extraction sites, temporary and permanent site accesses and river crossings for heavy off-road earth moving vehicles.

The heavy-duty modular design of the Mabey Universal provides the unique combination of strength and versatility, along with excellent fatigue resistance making it ideal as a long term solution for heavily trafficked roads.

Established over 40 years ago in the 1970′s, the Mabey Universal Bridge System utilises the deepest and longest Mabey Bridge modular panels to create heavy-duty bridges with clear spanning capabilities of up to 81m in any multiple of 2.25m.

Like the Mabey Compact 200 Bridge System, the Mabey Universal Bridge System consists of braced side trusses, transverse steel ‘transom’ beams and proprietary bolted Mabey modular steel decks. These can be provided with a ‘Durbar’ chequer plate finish or additional factory applied polyurethane based anti-skid surfacing as required. Together with deeper 2.485m and 4.5m long panels this creates heavy-duty bridges.

Standard roadway widths of 3.15m (single lane), 4.2m (‘extra wide’ single lane), 7.35m (2 lanes) and 10.5m (3 lanes) are available. Internal pedestrian refuges and cantilevered external footwalks complete the range of standard solutions on offer. Optional vehicle parapets are available if required between the edge of the roadway and the bridge trusses to provide complete peace of mind.

The Mabey Universal Bridge System can be provided with decking systems which caters for most international loading standards. In addition, a heavy ‘contractors’ use’ deck system is available to deal with large off-road earth moving vehicles with very high axle loads such as the CATERPILLAR 770 dump truck.

All main structural components are hot-dip galvanised to ensure a long life with minimal maintenance.

The Mabey Universal Bridge System is often preferred for applications with long spanning requirements of between 60m and 81m. Even at shorter spans, the Mabey Universal system can facilitate heavier and more frequent traffic use than the Mabey Compact 200.  Single, multiple span, double storey construction and ‘overbridging’ configurations are also possible with the Mabey Universal.

Mabey Bridge has significant experience of Bridge Installation, providing technical assistance and on site expertise and training.  Erection can be achieved using cranes to assemble and lift, or the cantilever launch method using small plant. Launch and erection equipment can be configured to enable re-use across a number of bridges on a multiple bridge supply contract.

Do contact Mabey Bridge to discuss your project so the design engineering and site engineers can provide the best advice.