Engineering teamwork gives bridge building a lift

Map Description

Baldwin (St. Croix County) U.S. Hwy 63 over the Rush River; completed in 2008. For the first time in Wisconsin, this bridge’s supporting structure, or abutment, was assembled from precast concrete parts, rather than from concrete that is cast in place. Not only is pre-cast concrete of higher quality, but its use in this project also cut construction time in the field to just two days.

Fond du Lac (Fond du Lac County) U.S. Hwy 151 over De Neveu Creek; completed in 2005. One deck of this twin span bridge uses fiber-reinforced polymer, or fiberglass, as reinforcement for concrete instead of steel. Lightweight, strong and rustproof, this high-tech plastic is expected to extend the lifespan of the bridge by 20 to 30 percent, or up to 100 years. The second bridge deck was built with traditional steel reinforcement, so that researchers can directly compare the performance of the two decks over time.

Black River Falls (Jackson County) U.S. Hwy 12 over Coffee Creek; completed in 2007. When water laden with road salt seeps into a bridge’s concrete deck, it begins to corrode the steel reinforcing bars inside and reduce the bridge’s ability to take the load of traffic. To avoid this problem, the UW/Wis- DOT team designed a bridge deck that lacks reinforcing rods entirely. Instead, galvanized steel bars were placed between the bridge beams, allowing them to be easily inspected and keeping them away from damaging saltwater on the deck.

McFarland (Dane County) Interstate 39/90 over Door Creek; completed in 2005. One deck of this twin span bridge was rebuilt entirely of factory-made, pre-cast concrete panels, allowing construction workers to assemble the deck in just one day. In contrast, standard practices involving concrete that’s cast on-site typically take two to three weeks. The second bridge deck was built by standard methods, so that researchers can directly compare the performance of the two decks over time.

Waupun (Dodge County) U.S. Hwy 151 over State Hwy 26; completed in 2003. One deck of this twin span bridge uses fiber-reinforced polymer, or fiberglass, as reinforcement for concrete instead of steel. Lightweight, strong and rustproof, this high-tech plastic is expected to extend the lifespan of the bridge by 20 to 30 percent, or up to 100 years. The second bridge deck was built with traditional steel reinforcement, so that researchers can directly compare the performance of the two decks over time.