The Evolution of Best Practices with High Performance Steel for Bridges

High Performance Steel, grade 70 (HPS-70W) became available for use in early 1996 for fabrication and testing in bridges. Two (2) states, Nebraska and Tennessee agreed to be the first to implement usage. This paper provides a discussion of 3 Tennessee case histories in which high performance steel has been used to achieve weight and cost economies. INTRODUCTION Developments regarding High Performance Steels are continuing to evolve at a steady pace. As of this writing, over 115 bridges, across the United States, are either under construction or open to traffic and another 60 bridges are under design, according to the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI). As a consequence new ideas, some good, some mis-informed, but all in need of comment are emerging. Further, intense research on several fronts, directly and indirectly addressing HPS design is underway. This paper will address some of these recent improvements (1) in the context of three (3) bridges already constructed in Tennessee: 1. State Route 53 over Martin Creek 2. State Route 52 over the Clear Fork River 3. State Route 58 over the Clinch River 1 Director, Structures Division – Tennessee Department of Transportation, 505 Deaderick Street, Suite 1100, Nashville, TN 37243. 2 Engineering Manager, Structures Division – Tennessee Department of Transportation, 505 Deaderick Street, Suite 1100, Nashville, TN 37243. 3 Structural Supervisor, Structures Division – Tennessee Department of Transportation, 505 Deaderick Street, Suite 1100, Nashville, TN 37243 1 Wasserman et al.: The Evolution of Best Practices with High Performance Steel for B Published by ECI Digital Archives, 2003