Advantages of steel over concrete for bridge design and construction
FIRST cost, life-cycle costs, and environmental effects favor steel as the material of choice for bridges. Aesthetics may also become a factor when the local communities get a chance to weigh in on the material choice, sometimes overruling costs. More ...

Reducing time for steel bridge construction
AMERICA’S aging and deteriorating highway infrastructure sees ongoing significant increases in traffic. The resulting congestion reduces economic efficiency, increasing the costs of goods and services. Constructing and maintaining roads and bridges often disrupts local economies to an extent that overshadows the cost of the construction itself. More ...

Steel: the environment’s friend for bridge construction
STEEL has several qualities for bridge construction that benefit the environment. For one, it’s the most recycled material in the world. Compared to concrete, its high strength permits longer spans, minimizing disruption to underlying habitats. Similarly, its light weight speeds construction and permits use of smaller-scale equipment at the construction site. Weathering steel avoids the need for painting, minimizing the emission of volatile organic compounds and reducing maintenance costs. Taken together, these qualities make steel the more environmentally friendly choice for bridge construction. More ...

Advances in high performance steels for highway bridges
By Alexander D. Wilson, Manager, Customer Technical Service, Mittal Steel USA
THE DEVELOPMENT and deployment of High Performance Steel (HPS) for highway bridges originated with a joint effort of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Navy, and the American Iron & Steel Institute in 1992. This collaboration acted to develop an affordable steel grade with higher strength, improved weldability, and greater toughness while enhancing overall quality and ease of fabrication. The effort was a resounding success. More than 200 HPS bridges now carry traffic in 43 states. More ...

A primer on weathering steel
By Bill McEleney, Regional Director, National Steel Bridge Alliance
THE AVAILABILITY of high performance steel (HPS) with 70 ksi yield strength, ASTM A709, Grade HPS-70W, has sparked renewed interest in weathering steel within the bridge marketplace. The new HPS material has weathering characteristics that are an incremental improvement over the Grade 50W material used to date. In general, weathering steels contain small amounts of copper, phosphorus, chromium, nickel, and silicon to attain their weathering properties. More ...