With more than one-third of the nation’s 582,000 bridges considered to be deficient, any new or reconstructed structures require durability and low maintenance. High performance concrete bridges offer cost efficiencies, time savings and twice the lifespan of conventionally built bridges.

Concrete provides the owner, engineer, and contractor many advantages over other materials:

• Cost-savings. From reduced initial construction costs to lower maintenance costs, structures built with concrete are economical.
• Speed. Concrete construction offers more flexibility in construction techniques and faster construction schedules. It was for those reasons that concrete was chosen for the recent rebuild of the collapsed I-35 bridge which crosses the Mississippi River at Minneapolis, which was completed 3 months ahead of schedule.
• Durability. Bridges built with high performance concrete (HPC) can have a service life of 100 years. They easily withstand extreme temperature changes and corrosive chemicals in a variety of conditions.
• Competitiveness. The value of concrete is repeatedly recognized in competitive bidding situations.
• Aesthetics. Dynamic, graceful, long-span bridges often become symbols of a city’s hope for the future, even a tourist attraction, and, in the long run can encourage economic development.

Prairie Materials is leader in the development and production of HPC. Contact our Custom Performance Mix Specialists for more information about using HPC in bridge projects.

The Wilson Street Bridge crossing the Fox River in Batavia, IL is built with Prairie Materials HPC and is one of seven winners in Portland Cement Association’s (PCA) Twelfth Biennial Bridge Awards Competition. The competition, instituted in 1988, recognizes excellence in design and construction of concrete bridges.