Timber Framers Guild Forums Tools Timber Engineering Pedestrian Bridge Engineering

Hello, I am designing an 8' wide 50' span pedestrian bridge linking parking lots with a hotel and ski lift over a small ravine. I am looking for an engineer or a list of qualified engineers who I could contact and work with on this bridge.
I really want to build a fully covered queen post truss bridge, but my clients have insisted on first presenting them with the least expensive option. So I am in the process of designing a pressure treated timber, uncovered, queen post truss with lots of steel plates and galvanized bolts. Maybe two steel I-beams would be even cheaper? I hate designing the cheapest option.
Any advice would be welcomed. thank you.

Call Ben and "Fire Tower Engineers,"

Going to be hard pressed to beat a couple of large steel beams and a wood deck or pre fab concrete deck. But wood could be beautiful.

Ben would be a good choice. You can also go to the TFEC timber frame engineering council website and find an engineer in your region.

Good advice from all here on where to look for such help -

As an aside, just because it is something that needs to be part of your tangential planning. Do know that ever since the Minneapolis collapse few carriers (you can count them on one hand - your current insurer is not likely to be one of them) will write GL policies for those doing bridge work, and you will pay a larger premium for the privilege, and there is no walking away from it once it is part of the record. The way they look at it, even your past work carries a potential liability should something someday go sideways and the lawsuits were to start flying.

Just a heads up that you would / should need to build that future cost even into a one off effort.