From “Building Bridges Better – Ultra-high performance concrete creates strong, long-lasting connections,” Federal Highway Administration Center for Accelerating Innovations’ Innovator, Issue 67 … The use of ultra-high performance concrete (UHPC) to make better field-cast connections between prefabricated bridge elements (PBEs) is advancing across the United States. Transportation agencies have used the steel fiber-reinforced, portland cement-based composite material on 100-plus projects since the nation’s first bridge incorporating UHPC was completed in Iowa in 2006. Half of those structures were built after the Federal Highway Administration began encouraging deployment of UHPC connections for PBEs through Every Day Counts (EDC) in 2015.
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Graniterock elects former DOT Secretary, FHWA chief to board
Sources: Graniterock, Watsonville, Calif.; CP staff
Former U.S. Secretary of Transportation Secretary (2006-2009) and Federal Highway Administration Administrator (2001-2005) Mary Peters was elected to the nine-member Graniterock board at the producer’s 2018 shareholder meeting.
Read MoreSTATE DOT-SEASONED TROMBINO TO HEAD FHWA
Past IowaDOT, AASHTO chief Trombino to head FHWA
Sources: White House Briefing Room; McClure Engineering Co., Clive, Iowa; CP staff
President Donald Trump will nominate Paul Trombino III, P.E., to be administrator of the Federal Highway Administration. He is set to transition to the agency from Iowa-based McClure Engineering Co., a nine-office transportation and environmental firm for which he has served as president since January 2017.
Read MoreFHWA spotlights precast bridge deck panels, UHPC connections
The Federal Highway Administration’s most recent Innovator edition profiles one of the largest projects to date combining precast concrete deck panels and ultra-high performance concrete connections: the Franklin Avenue Bridge in Minneapolis.
Read MoreNew FHWA index measures materials’ steady cost escalation
Sources: Federal Highway Administration; CP staff
The new National Highway Construction Cost Index, dubbed NHCCI 2.0 following major methodological revisions to improve accuracy, shows asphalt, concrete and metal prices rising 107 percent, 61 percent and 45 percent, respectively, from 2003 to 2016.
Read MoreFHWA DATA: BRIDGES ARE GETTING BETTER
FHWA data shows marked improvement in bridge conditions
Sources: Infrastructure Data Solutions, Regina, Saskatchewan; CP staff
Twenty-five years of sustained funding, plus advanced construction and engineering practices, have led to a steady improvement of the condition of U.S. bridges. Infrastructure Data Solutions’ (IDS) analysis of the Federal Highway Administration’s latest National Bridge Inventory data reveals a 12-point decline in the number of bridges deemed structurally deficient over a quarter century.
Read MoreNPCA, FHWA set precast pavement workshop for San Diego
Source: National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.
NPCA and Federal Highway Administration Precast Pavement Implementation Team representatives have scheduled a February 2 workshop, “Precast Concrete Pavements: Understanding the Potential of the Technology for the Precast Community,” at the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown/Bayside, San Diego. The 8 a.m.–noon program will examine the latest best practices in precast pavement technology, and suit producers active in panel fabrication or interested in learning about the technology. Registration is free of charge and can be completed through NPCA Technical Services Engineer Evan Gurley, [email protected]; 317/582-2329.
Read MoreFHWA revisits Buy America provisions for rebar tie wire, precast lifting devices
Sources: Federal Highway Administration; National Precast Concrete Association, Carmel, Ind.; CP staff
Through a recent Federal Register notice, the Federal Highway Administration seeks comments on a one-year waiver under the Buy America Act for tie wire spools used in rebar-tying guns, and indicates the potential for similar action on precast concrete lifting devices. A public comment period runs through December 2 on three agency points:
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