DESIGN-CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGE STREET BRIDGE - FIRST CFRP BRIDGE IN THE UNITED STATES

The design, fabrication, and erection - and the research leading up to this cutting-edge technological achievement in civil engineering -are presented, as well as the long-term monitoring program and ongoing research that will continue. The Bridge Street Bridge in Southfield, Michigan, is the first vehicular concrete bridge ever built in the United States that uses carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) material as the principal structural reinforcement. The project consists of two parallel bridges - Structures A and B - over the Rouge River in the City of Southfield. Both structures use three skewed spans, each over 62 m (204 ft) long, to carry vehicular traffic. Structure A consists of a new substructure as well as a new superstructure, and incorporates five equally spaced conventional AASHTO Type III girders in each of its three spans. Its cast-in-place concrete deck slab is placed continuously across the three spans. Structure B consists of 12 special double-tee (DT) girders (four per span) using pretensioned Leadline tendons and post-tensioned carbon fiber composite cable (CFCC) strands. This project recently won PCl's Harry H. Edwards Industry Advancement Award.