Short Span Steel Bridges 
Peoria County Looks to Steel for Innovative Bridge Replacement Project
Peoria, Illinois Assistant County Engineer Jeff Gilles thought it was time for a change. Faced with a backlog of short span bridges to replace and limited funding, he was ready to try an innovative modular approach endorsed by Brian Keierleber, P.E., Buchanan County Engineer in neighboring Iowa, who was enthused about a steel press brake tub girder bridge (PBTG) he had installed.
Plans for the Evans Mill Road Bridge press brake tub girder project.
Gilles and a colleague toured the Buchanan County project site and after hearing his positive report, Peoria County pursued funding approval from the Township Road Commissioner and the Illinois Department of Transportation to construct the PBTG bridge. After receiving the go-ahead, he began looking for the right project in Peoria County, and found it with the Evans Mill Road Bridge.
The Evans Mill Road Bridge is located in Peoria County, Illinois. The bridge was structurally deficient and in need of replacement.
Ready for a Replacement
The 26-foot-long Evans Mill Road Bridge is a reinforced concrete slab structure with a 17-foot-wide deck situated over Hickory Run Creek. Located in a rural area, the bridge cannot handle the loads of the farm equipment used by many of its residents, nor can it be widened or reinforced to meet the community’s needs.
The Evans Mill Road Bridge is a reinforced concrete slab structure with a 35.4 sufficiency rating out of a possible 100.
The bridge has significant other issues such as exposed rebar, a cracked south abutment, some missing pieces, and a 35.4 sufficiency rating out of a possible 100. It has a legal load restriction of 80,000 pounds; any trucks exceeding that weight cannot use this bridge.
The structure has an ADT rating of 200 cars per day; 12 percent is truck traffic.
The structure has an Average Daily Traffic (ADT) rating of 200 cars per day; 12 percent is truck traffic. It is obvious that the Evans Mill Road Bridge has outlived its usefulness and is ready for replacement.
PBTG: Innovative and Cost-Effective
Steel press brake tub girders provide an economical alternative for simple and short span bridge construction. They provide a long service life (100 years or more), require little maintenance, and are designed for accelerated project delivery.
The girders consist of modular galvanized shallow trapezoidal boxes fabricated from cold-bent structural steel plate. A concrete deck or other deck option such as a steel sandwich plate system (SPS) is placed on the girder, and the modular unit can be transported by truck to the project site.
Press-brake tub girders consists of modular galvanized shallow trapezoidal boxes fabricated from cold-bent structural steel plate.
The PBTG system utilizes standard plate widths (based on availability) and is optimized to achieve maximum structural capacity, with most of the steel in the bottom flange and increased torsional stiffness. It is a closed system, since the girder is closed at the bottom, and is versatile for multiple-deck options. PBTG bridges are “open source,” meaning the design is open to all manufacturers for fabrication. Installation can be completed in just one or two days.
PBTG bridges provide a sustainable bridge replacement solution, an increasingly important requirement for replacing and constructing new structures. Since PBTG bridges are prefabricated, they cut down on construction time while reducing detour time, emissions from cars, and delays for drivers.
The press-brake tub girder modules for the Cannelville Road Bridge (Muskingum County, Ohio) were erected and positioned on their abutments in just 22 minutes.
Since steel is recyclable and can be reused over and over without losing its strength, the beams can be repurposed at the end of the bridge’s very long service life. Due to the light weight of steel, cost savings can be achieved by using smaller abutments, local crews, and lighter construction equipment.
Guy Nelson Provides Insight on Steel Press-Brake Tub Girders
Guy Nelson, Product Development Director, Valmont Structures
Want to learn more about PBTG, including further insight into the Evans Mills Road Bridge project? Guy Nelson, Product Development Director – Valmont Structures, provides information on the fabrication and installation of press-brake tub girders, including more details on the installation of the Peoria, IL project – click here to read.
Scope of Project
Illinois is a native habitat for Indiana bats and long-eared bats, and to protect them, on-site tree removal began in March 2021 and was completed by the first of April. The abutments were totally removed. Concrete stub abutments were drilled, and a precast backwall was added to the abutments.
The completed Evans Mill Road Bridge is 71 feet long, with approach work 150 feet north and south of the bridge (view plans). A precast concrete deck ties together with Ultra-High-Performance Concrete (UHPC). Valmont Structures is the fabricator. White Construction in Springfield, Illinois is the general contractor. Construction was completed in November 2021.
Valmont has one of the longest press brakes in the world at 60’ long, that yields a bent plate as long as 58’ long. Valmont also has some of the largest galvanizing tanks in the United States at 62’ long. Therefore, galvanized U-BEAMs longer than 58’ need to be produced in 2 pieces. These 2 pieces can then be joined either by shop welding, or by a bolted splice.
As the innovation of PBTG is the elimination of fatigue critical weld details, Valmont determined the best solution is a bolted splice connection. This bolted splice connection also has additional advantages:
- All elements can be hot-dipped galvanized.
- Elements can be shipped in pieces on standard trailers.
- Bolted splices are typical steel construction elements that all steel bridge erectors know how to assemble.
Construction Photos
Photo Credit: Valmont Structures
A precast backwall was added to the abutments.
The concrete deck being cast onto the press-brake tub girder for the Evans Mill Road Bridge project.
The first press-brake tub girder being set for the bridge replacement project.
The Evans Mill Road Bridge press-brake tub girders contain a bolted splice.
The second press-brake tub girder is set for the project.
Closure pours on the modular units were completed with ultra-high-performance concrete (UHPC).
The 71 foot span PBTG’s accommodated for a severe 40 degree skew of the supporting abutments.
The Evans Mill Road Bridge was open to traffic in November 2021.
Additional Highlights of the Project
- The 71’ span PBTG’s accommodated for a severe 40 degree skew of the supporting abutments.
- The shallow 33” PBTG’s allowed consultant to address hydraulic requirements.
- The shallow 33” PBTG’s accommodated for the sag vertical curve profile of the roadway and reduced adjacent roadway replacement.
The project was funded in the amount of $480,000 with state and local funding approved by the Township Road Commissioner, and the project was overseen by Assistant County Engineer Jeff Gilles. Peoria County oversees 180 Township and County Bridges. Sixty percent of those are deck beam and 40 percent are steel girder structures.
Evans Mill Road Bridge Project Team
Project Managers
Jeff Gilles
Assistant County Engineer
Peoria County Highway Department
6915 W. Plank Road
Peoria, IL 61604
Tel: (309) 697-6400, ext. 127
jgilles@peoriacounty.org
Amy McLaren
County Engineer
Peoria County Highway Department
6915 W. Plank Road
Peoria, IL 61604
Tel: (309) 697-6400
amclaren@peoriacounty.org
Fabricator
Guy Nelson, PE, SE
Business Development Director – North American Structures
Valmont Industries, Inc
28800 Ida Street
Valley, NE 68064
Tel: (616) 813-8514
Guy.Nelson@valmont.com
Contractor
Steven V. (Steve) Halverson P.E.
Area Manager
White Construction LLC
620 N. 19th Street
Springfield, IL 62702
Tel: 217-753-0027 (Office)
Steven.Halverson@whiteconstruction.com
What are Press Brake Tub Girders?
Press-brake-formed tub girder (PBTG) is a new technology for short span bridge applications. It consists of modular galvanized shallow trapezoidal boxes fabricated from cold-bent structural steel plate (watch fabrication video). A concrete deck is recommended to be precast on the girder and the modular unit can be shipped by truck to the bridge site.
The system utilizes standard plate widths (based on availability) and is optimized to achieve maximum structural capacity, with most of the steel in the bottom flange and increased torsional stiffness. It is a closed system, since the girder is closed at the bottom. It is versatile for multiple-deck options.
The system utilizes Accelerated Bridge Construction practices, since it:
- Can be installed in one or two days
- Is modular, allowing the use of a precast deck
- Is cost-effective―as much as 1/3 less than a standard concrete girder structure
- Is simple to fabricate, requiring very little welding.
The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance has developed standardized plans using standard plate sizes (60”, 72” 84”, 96”, 108”, 120”). The designs were developed to achieve maximum structural capacity and are available to use in the free-to-use, web-based design tool eSPAN140.
The press-brake-formed tub girder system is open source.
Case Study
Steel in Action: On-Demand Steel Bridge Video Series
Watch this four-part, on-demand video series featuring expert-led case studies on cost-effective, resilient short span bridge projects—now available with downloadable presentation materials.
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