New building material could help solve bridge woes
With infrastructure in the United States rapidly aging and in need of repair, new building materials made in Maine that make bridges cheaper, lighter, and more durable could help cash starved states undertake critical infrastructure investment; using lightweight hybrid composite beams, the Maine Department of Transportation (MDOT) has just completed the largest composite bridge in the world; the new bridge is projected to last at least 100 years; the material’s weight, cost, and durability have generated a lot of interest across the country
With infrastructure in the United States rapidly aging and in need of repair, new building materials made in Maine that make bridges cheaper, lighter, and more durable could help cash starved states undertake critical infrastructure investment.
According to Ken Sweeney, the chief engineer of MDOT, engineers and transportation officials from across the nation have come to Maine to examine the new bridge.
“To bring engineers and people from around the country to see the technology and see what we’ve been able to do here and made bring some of that technology to them as well as bring some business to the state of Maine,” he said.
The new bridge uses lightweight beams made of fiber reinforced polymer in conjunction with concrete and steel. This combination makes for a lighter, stronger, and longer lasting bridge than traditional bridges made of concrete and steel.
“The laminates that we use are the same stuff you make boats out of and put in the ocean, it’s the same stuff you use to build sulfuric acid storage tanks. So the intent is to have a very durable and long lasting structure,” explained John Hillman, the structural engineer who developed the material.
MDOT officials say that the new bridge is projected to last at least 100 years.
The new lightweight materials also reduce shipping costs.
Stacy McMillan of the Missouri Department of Transportation, which is also currently building a bridge with the new material, says that they will only need two trucks to haul the beams rather than “Fifteen trucks, lots of permits, lots of travel restrictions through big cities.”
“You wouldn’t be to travel certain times of day so there would be a lot of headaches getting them there,” she added.
The material’s weight, cost, and durability have generated a lot of interest and bridges in New Jersey and Illinois have already constructed using the material while transportation officials in Missouri have ordered material for three new bridges currently under construction.
