A STEP IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION

For years, the residents of River, Kentucky, braved the unsafe conditions of a deteriorating footbridge over the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River. Although the wooden bridge deck contained numerous holes and all four primary cables were rusted, one to the point of having broken, the bridge connected the two sides of town which were an hour away by car. A research team from the University of Kentucky read of the plight of the residents of River in 1994 and began work on the design and analysis of an all-fiber reinforced polymer (FRP) material bridge as a possible replacement. After 3 years of fund raising, construction began in 1998, with completion in April 1999. The residents of the community are now the beneficiaries of the longest--420 ft (128 m)--plastic bridge deck in the world and have been glowing in their reaction to the new, safer structure. The bridge's designers are working with the Ohio Department of Transportation on the use of FRP on a highway bridge deck in Dayton. A sidebar highlights an Ohio initiative to replace 100 bridge decks with composites.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/oclc/11660022
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Page Range: pp 42-44, 46
• Corporate Authors:

  Scranton Gillette Communications

  380 E Northwest Highway, Suite 200
  Des Planes, IL  United States  60016-2282
• Publication Date: 1999-11

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Photos;
• Pagination: 4 p.
• Serial:
  • Roads & Bridges
  • Volume: 37
  • Issue Number: 11
  • Publisher: Scranton Gillette Communications
  • ISSN: 8750-9229
  • Serial URL: http://www.roadsbridges.com/rb/

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Bridge decks; Bridge engineering; Design; Fiber reinforced plastics; Footbridges; Highway bridges; Polymers; Reconstruction
• Geographic Terms: Ohio; River (Kentucky)
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Design; Geotechnology; Highways; Materials; I24: Design of Bridges and Retaining Walls; I35: Miscellaneous Materials;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00781621
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jan 5 2000 12:00AM