Construction of an Optimized UHPC Vechicle Bridge

The U.S. Federal Highway Administration recently constructed the first Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC) vehicle bridge in North America. This prestressed concrete road bridge is composed of two bulbed double-tee girders, each having a 2.4 m deck width and a 0.84 m girder depth. The bridge spans 21 m. Structural optimization of the prestressed concrete girder/deck combination indicated that this pi-shaped section was an efficient girder for 21 to 30 meter spans. Fabrication and construction of the bridge is discussed in this paper.