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News Release 06-040
Easy Up, Not-So-Easy Down
Builders replace bridge in only days using lightweight, corrosion-resistant composites
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Fiberglass-polymer composites form the core of a renovated bridge deck in Springfield, Mo. University of Missouri at Rolla researchers at NSF's Buildings and Bridges with Composites Industry-University Cooperative Research Center (RB2C I/UCRC) worked with their industry partners and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin at Madison to develop the pre-fabricated, composite plates and cages.
Credit: Fabio Matta, UMR
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Because of the lightweight nature of the fiberglass-polymer composites, a small crane can lift and position the enormous plates that now underly the concrete surface of the Springfield, Mo., bridge deck.
Credit: Fabio Matta, UMR
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The new composites were critical for both the bridge deck renovation (yellow plates) and the guardrail replacement (white cages).
Credit: Fabio Matta, UMR
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Workers covered the composites with concrete in the final steps of the bridge renovation.
Credit: Fabio Matta, UMR
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Before renovation, the guardrails on this Springfield, Mo., bridge were in dire need of repair.
Credit: Fabio Matta, UMR
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Before renovation, the underside of this Springfield, Mo., bridge deck was cracked and decaying.
Credit: Fabio Matta, UMR
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