My First Attempt At A Cattle Guard Bypass Gate

[MTBob]

We live in cattle country. The unwritten law is that it's up to the landowner to fence animals out, not (necessarily) the animal owner's responsibility to fence them in (this western rule is not too easily understood or accepted, and that's another story). So, we decided to put in a bypass cattle guard in our entry road. The bypass is critical if you want to move livestock or around the cattle guard. My design criteria were:
- have a swing gate that is wide enough for two horses or a car to bypass the cattle guard without touching it
- be able to easily remove the side gates for repair maintenance or in the event of extra wide loads
- allow adjustment for the gate height
- allow adjustment for the gate swing angle
- provide a quick working fool proof gate latch
- firmly tie to the cattle guard without permanent welds
- be decorative, but not gaudy
- provide a flexible and strong connection from the gate posts to the adjoining side fences

Here's the results: