Roads and Bridges My Story

This story belongs to Leo and his Papa Jim.

It's a tiny tale about Papa Jim's life

and the things he used to do.

Now it's time for him to share his memories

and take Leo on a journey of discovery.

So, what exciting things are in store for Leo?

Let's find out!

Uh-oh, there's a traffic jam up ahead.

You're going to have to stop.

And look, this traffic jam goes all the way

along here and up over this bridge.

How are we going to fix it?

Over to you, Leo!

-We could take some cars off.

-We could.

Would you like to try and take the cars off over there?

-Is that where you'd take them off?

-Yeah.

OK, you take the cars off, then.

But that won't work in real roads.

So, what can be done?

There are millions of cars on the roads,

so how can we stop traffic jams?

Look at all those cars stuck in traffic.

They're going to be late!

Ah, so making more lanes

would allow for more cars to travel more smoothly

and help stop traffic jams.

I think that is what I would've done in the first place -

make a big, wide road so that you could get lots of cars on it.

-Do you know that I used to be a civil engineer?

-What does that mean, Papa?

A civil engineer designs roads and bridges and things like that.

So, Papa Jim was a civil engineer.

Civil engineers design and build all types of things,

all over the world.

They design bridges...

..great big tall buildings called skyscrapers...

..and even airports and their runways.

In fact, engineers help shape the world we live in.

But before they can build anything,

they must draw it first,

and civil engineers draw on very big pieces of paper.

Leo just loves to hear all about his papa's job.

So, why did Papa Jim become a civil engineer?

Well, when I was a little boy, I really did quite enjoy

building and making things.

Not only did he love to build with his toys,

he loved to watch buildings and bridges being made.

This is the Forth Road Bridge,

and this is the very bridge

that Papa Jim watched being built

when he was a little boy.

Papa Jim just knew what he wanted to be when he grew up.

Well, Leo, one of the first things I had to do

when I became a civil engineer

was to do join up lots of different bits of roads

that were all around the city.

It was a bit like joining up a train set track.

Whoa, look at that map of Glasgow!

Leo's task is to make a road,

using his train set, across the city.

Papa Jim had to do this for real, a long time ago,

to stop all the traffic jams.

Good.

Good. That's a bridge.

And this bit's going out all the way to join up to here.

That's better, isn't it?

What you can do is put some lorries and cars on

to see if they can get across.

When we designed these roads and bridges,

I liked the bits where it crossed the river,

because then I got to design a real big bridge.

-Would you like to design a bridge with me, Leo?

-Yeah!

Right, let's go!

This is the drawing board.

This is the way we used to design bridges in the olden days.

Well done, Leo. You've designed your first bridge!

I think you could design a bridge all by yourself right now.

And it's always good to get a little bit of expert help

from your papa.

Very good.

Now it's time for Leo to find out more about his papa's life.

Papa Jim lives near Glasgow, which was, and still is,

a very big and very busy city.

The old roads in Glasgow were not made for lots of cars,

never mind lorries and buses.

Civil engineers like Papa Jim

decided they needed to build a bigger and better road

to stop the traffic jams.

This special road is called a motorway.

One of Papa Jim's first jobs was to build this new motorway.

It was a big job

because the road had to go through the middle of the big, busy city,

AND it had to cross a river,

so a new bridge had to be built, too.

That's it being built over there.

Look, they're crossing the very motorway

that Papa Jim helped to build!

So, off they go for another walk.

Where's your Papa Jim taking you now, Leo?

-Leo.

-What?

-How many ways can you think of to cross a river?

-Swim...

Swim, that's a bit cold!

-Any other ways?

-You could go in a boat...

That's a good way.

You could go on a bridge...

You could go on a bridge. That's a good way to cross, isn't it?

-Especially if you've got a lorry or a car or something, isn't it?

-Yeah.

-You know, Leo?

-What?

People used to use a special boat called a ferry

to get across the river.

Ferries are special boats that take or ferry people

and cars across rivers when there are no bridges.

Do you fancy going on a ferry now?

-Yeah!

-Yes!

But this little ferry is just taking Leo and his papa

on a trip on the River Clyde in Glasgow.

Wow! Look at that bridge! It's a funny shape.

It looks like an arch.

It IS an arch, Leo.

So, when engineers decide to design bridges,

there's lots to think about, like how strong it has to be -

it might have to carry lots of cars and lorries -

How wide,

how many lanes of traffic to stop these traffic jams...

What about a really windy day?

It's got to be strong enough not to blow over!

And some bridges have to be high enough

to let big boats sail underneath.

Why do you think this one's high off the water? Do you know why?

-So big boats can go under.

-That's it.

So big boats can go underneath.

Well done, Leo!

Now, back to one of Papa Jim's first big jobs as an engineer -

building the motorway through Glasgow, a long time ago.

The new motorway had to cut through the city centre,

big enough to take lots of cars and lorries.

It took many years

and lots of hard work from workmen, and,

of course, big diggers and trucks.

At last the traffic jams in the city were coming to an end

And look at these photos! This is before...

..this is halfway through.

It's a messy business building a motorway.

And look,

here it is today.

No traffic jams any more.

And Leo and his papa are going back to the bridge

that was built all those years ago.

One day, somebody noticed that the bridge had a problem

and it wasn't strong enough any more.

I was asked if I could help to try and fix it.

How did you do that, Papa?

To answer that question, Papa Jim takes Leo under the bridge.

Well, Leo, we had to make the bridge nice and strong.

-See those things up there?

-Yeah.

-What do they look like to you?

-Nuts and bolts.

-They look like nuts and bolts to me too.

And that's how we made the bridge stronger.

This makes the bridge really strong.

And you know what?

Papa Jim was given a very special medal for helping mend the bridge.

I got the medal along with lots of other people in the team

for thinking how to make the bridge stronger and really safe again.

Leo wants to know what else is built by engineers

Leo, there are lots of things all around us

designed and built by engineers.

Like roads and bridges and railways and airports, houses and schools.

Can you think of anything else engineers design and build?

Yes, a play park!

Let's go! Yippee!

Watch this!

-It's a digger!

-It's a digger.

Just like a digger in a building site.

Right, you pull it back.

Turn round, dump the stuff...

-Right. Are we taking it all back again?

-Yeah.

OK. Why don't you dig a big hole there

Just like you were digging a base for a column for a big bridge.

That's it, pull it back.

Heave! And round we go.

Let it go. Hooray!

Now, I'll tell you what, let's get down. What we need to do now

is check out more things that engineers have designed.

We're going to make sure they're really strong. Let's go.

Over here.

OK, you just check everything out up there.

-What's it like up there? Is it nice and strong?

-Yeah.

Very good.

Let's check out this slide.

-Is it working OK?

-Yeah.

-Very good. Is it OK?

-YEAH!

-Great!

Leo has found out so much about what engineers do.

Well, Leo, what did you think of my story?

-Good.

-Was it good? Did you quite enjoy it?

-Yeah.

-OK.

What a day for Leo.

He designed his first bridge and he went to the play park

to see some of the other things that engineers make.

And what did you think was the best bit?

-Going on the ferry.

-Do you know what?

That was my favourite bit too.

Give us a big cuddle, and you can have a chocolate biscuit.

Well done. I thought you did a marvellous job. Have a biscuit,

and let's have a drink. Let's toast to...

..a job well done.

Jolly good.

What a fabulous heap of fun! That was Leo and Papa Jim's Tiny Tale

about the things Papa Jim used to do and the fun he had

and why he has a special award.

Papa Jim has shared his story

and now it's time for Leo to start his own story

Do you know someone with a story to share?

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd