Economics

Short Span Steel Bridges are Cost-Effective on Several Levels.

A local crew from Buchanan County, Iowa, replaced the Jesup South bridge with steel.

Steel provides an economical choice for the repair or replacement of short span bridges.

• Due to the light weight of steel, cost savings can be significant: smaller abutments, use of local crews, fast installation, lighter equipment – when you add them all up, steel provides significant cost savings.
• Studies show that weathering, galvanized, and other corrosion resistance steels like A709-50CR reduce both initial and life cycle costs.
• Steel can compete and even save costs when compared with nearly identical concrete structures. A side-by-side comparison of steel versus concrete bridge showed a 19 percent savings by using steel in the total cost of the structure.
• Steel bridges also have long lives, decreasing the need for replacement. New press-brake-formed steel bridges have life expectancies of 100 years or more.
• Steel’s high strength permits longer spans, minimizing disruption to underlying habitats. In some cases, this can eliminate the need to undertake costly environmental impact studies.
• Steel is highly resistant to extreme natural disasters such as earthquakes. An example is the 1994 Northridge, California earthquake, which destroyed the surrounding transportation infrastructure but left 96% of the existing steel bridges completely undamaged, even though they were designed using 1940s technology.
• Steel is the world’s most recycled material and is infinitely recyclable, so it can be repurposed from one bridge project to another. Ohio’s Muskingum County Engineer’s Office (MCEO) estimates that $51,000 was saved in superstructure costs for replacement of the Green Valley Road Bridge.
• Short span steel bridges can be designed with prefabricated elements which provide a simpler installation and cost savings.