Five Game-Changing County Steel Bridge Projects

Short span bridges provide vital links in the nation’s infrastructure network. Yet, more than 220,000 U.S. bridges, representing 36 percent of the national bridge inventory, need major repair work or should be replaced. Counties across the nation are developing innovative steel solutions to fix our county road systems.

Here are five county projects that are changing the way bridges are designed and constructed.

Seltice-Warner Bridge (Whitman County, Washington)

The Seltice-Warner Bridge in Whitman County, Washington, showcased the need for county engineers to obtain both steel and concrete options for any given project. Whitman County sought competitive quotes for the manufacture and delivery of both steel and concrete superstructures. The cost for the concrete alternative was $82,000, and the cost for the modular steel beam superstructure was $56,000 – a 31.7 percent cost savings.

200th Street Bridge (Buchanan County, Iowa)

The 200th Street Bridge in Buchanan County, Iowa was built with only a 4-person crew. According to Buchanan County Engineer Brian Keierleber, the buried bridge system offered several key benefits to county engineers. It is economical, simple to construct and can be built by local crews. It can also be constructed with excavation equipment and doesn’t require heavy equipment, such as a crane.

Cannelville Road Bridge (Muskingum County, Ohio)

The Cannelville Road Bridge in Muskingum County, Ohio, was the first of its kind in the state. The new vehicular bridge used an innovative press-brake-formed steel tub girder (PBTG) system. It was completed ahead of schedule in just 26 days, and is expected to have a service life of more than 100 years. The girder modules were erected and positioned on their abutments in just 22 minutes – featuring the use of an SPS bridge deck.

Jesup South Bridge (Buchanan County, Iowa)

The Jesup South Bridge in Buchanan County, Iowa, was the first bridge to be designed and constructed using eSPAN140. The bridge was part of a demonstration project to develop a more economical manner of replacing bridges. Buchanan County Engineer Brian Keierleber, who spearheaded the project, explains, “This [was] an opportunity to participate on a project that that will have major cost savings the residents of Buchanan County in the short term and will develop a process to have major cost savings in the long term.”

TR-251 Bridge (Champaign County, Illinois)

The TR-251 Bridge in Champaign County, Illinois needed to be replaced. Jeff Blue, County Engineer for Champaign County, bid precast-prestressed deck beam bridges against a press-brake tub girder (PBTG) bridge – steel was $2.00 per square foot less than the concrete alternative. Based on the overall benefits and cost savings steel provides, Champaign County made the decision to move forward with using PBTG for the replacement bridge project. It would be the first PBTG structure built in the state of Illinois.

Want to Learn How You Can Save With Steel?

The SSSBA is offering complimentary customized educational guest speakers/webinars and workshops (on-site or virtual) specifically for county engineers, state DOTs, and design firms. The webinars/workshops are taught by industry experts with decades of experience in the cost-effective design and construction of short span bridges.

For more information or to customize a workshop for your organization, please contact:

• Dan Snyder (Director of the SSSBA) at dsnyder@steel.org or 301-367-6179.
• Michael Barker (University of Wyoming & SSSBA Director of Education) at barker@uwyo.edu