Bridge safety has been a hot topic lately, mainly because of the recent Bay Bridge nightmare that saw a cracked load-bearing beam come crashing down onto rush-hour traffic. But amidst all the news of unstable steel beams, the U.S. Army has announced that it is constructing two bridges out of recycled plastic. And apparently, the bridges are strong enough to carry tanks.
The bridges, scheduled to be built as part of a $957,000 contract with Axion International Holdings, will replace old wooden bridges at Fort Eustis in Virginia. Both structures' railroad cross-ties will be made completely out of consumer and industrial plastic waste, and the 40- and 80-foot bridges will have a high-load rating of 130 tons.
Believe it or not, the Fort Eustis bridges aren't the first to be built out of recycled plastic. The Army has two Axion bridges at Fort Bragg and Fort Leonard Wood, and a 56-foot bridge in New Jersey's Wharton State Forest also contains recycled plastic components from the company.
Axion's recycled plastic bridge business isn't likely to slow down any time soon. The company claims that a bridge made from recycled plastic is 40% lighter and 25% to 30% cheaper than traditional bridges. Axion's bridges are also less energy-intensive than wood or steel models, and they don't need to be painted.
But can they withstand earthquakes? If they can, who knows--maybe one day the ailing Bay Bridge will be replaced with an all-plastic model.
[Via CNET]
Related Stories: | Topics:Ethonomics, axion international, bay bridge, plastic bridge, recycled plastic, Fort Eustis, Axion International Holdings, U.S. Army, United States, Virginia |
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Recent Comments | 5 Total
November 13, 2009 at 11:46am by Margaret Cekis
After living in the Atlanta area for 20 years and seeing what the weather does to exposed wood on decks and porches, and to some nearby bridges over creeks that have gone through a cycle of being declared unsafe, patched, continuing to degrade, and being declared unsafe again, I'm all in favor of trying the plastic. As long as its made uv-insensitive, it should hold up a lot better than wood, such as railroad ties. Since they've outlawed arsenic and whatever other termite-unfriendly chemicals they used to treat railroad ties with, treated wood barely lasts half as long as it used to. And the plastic is already water and mildew resistant. The recycled plastic park benches and picnic tables already in use appear to be holding up better than their wooden predecessors, and do not require annual painting. If plastic bridges will hold a tank, I'd drive my Focus or minivan over one.
November 13, 2009 at 11:46am by Margaret Cekis
After living in the Atlanta area for 20 years and seeing what the weather does to exposed wood on decks and porches, and to some nearby bridges over creeks that have gone through a cycle of being declared unsafe, patched, continuing to degrade, and being declared unsafe again, I'm all in favor of trying the plastic. As long as its made uv-insensitive, it should hold up a lot better than wood, such as railroad ties. Since they've outlawed arsenic and whatever other termite-unfriendly chemicals they used to treat railroad ties with, treated wood barely lasts half as long as it used to. And the plastic is already water and mildew resistant. The recycled plastic park benches and picnic tables already in use appear to be holding up better than their wooden predecessors, and do not require annual painting. If plastic bridges will hold a tank, I'd drive my Focus or minivan over one.
November 13, 2009 at 11:46am by Margaret Cekis
After living in the Atlanta area for 20 years and seeing what the weather does to exposed wood on decks and porches, and to some nearby bridges over creeks that have gone through a cycle of being declared unsafe, patched, continuing to degrade, and being declared unsafe again, I'm all in favor of trying the plastic. As long as its made uv-insensitive, it should hold up a lot better than wood, such as railroad ties. Since they've outlawed arsenic and whatever other termite-unfriendly chemicals they used to treat railroad ties with, treated wood barely lasts half as long as it used to. And the plastic is already water and mildew resistant. The recycled plastic park benches and picnic tables already in use appear to be holding up better than their wooden predecessors, and do not require annual painting. If plastic bridges will hold a tank, I'd drive my Focus or minivan over one.
November 13, 2009 at 12:05pm by Sarah Jacobs
The idea makes me extremely nervous, however, watching the tank which is probably 3x or more heavier then my SUV, well then I guess I would have to trust it, but I still think I would be scared every time I had to go over it. repossession houses does marriage counseling work
November 13, 2009 at 12:07pm by Sarah Jacobs
The idea makes me extremely nervous, however, watching the tank which is probably 3x or more heavier then my SUV, well then I guess I would have to trust it, but I still think I would be scared every time I had to go over it. repossession houses does marriage counseling work