Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance

While America’s infrastructure continues to crumble, federal lawmakers are still unresolved on how to fund these projects. The McKinsey Global Institute estimates that an additional $150 billion per year is required through 2020 to meet the national infrastructure crisis. 

In the meantime, bridges continue to need repair or replacement. Short span bridges (140 feet or less) dominate the national inventory, and county engineers are forced to find innovative ways to fund and resource these projects. With the increasingly growing demand and continued gridlock for additional funding, what’s a county engineer to do? Here are some options to consider.

“Bundling” Bridges and Other Approaches With Cost-Saving Results

Going at it Alone
Buying in bulk to save costs works for groceries, and can also be applied to bridges. The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) demonstrated this approach when it launched a $685 million Safe & Sound Bridge Improvement Program in September 2008, with the goal of having 802 bridge projects across each of its 114 counties completed by the end of 2014. Nearly 250 of those bridges were rehabilitation projects processed through the DOT’s monthly letting schedule, with 100 under contract by the spring of 2009. The remaining 554 bridges were complete replacements through a single design-build contract, which was undertaken by KTU Constructors.

The results are impressive – all 802 bridges were completed in just 3.5 years (more than a year ahead of schedule), with more than 90 percent of the work performed by Missouri workers (Read more here). This program was recognized with the People’s Choice Award in the 2013 America’s Transportation Awards competition sponsored by the American Association of Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), AAA and the National Chamber of Commerce.

Public/Private Partnerships (P3)
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce defines this relationship as such: “A typical P3 works as a contract between a private entity and a state or local government to help finance and build a specified infrastructure project; the private partner may also take on responsibility for managing and maintaining the project. In return, the private entity is paid back through tolls, gas tax revenues or any associated fees. Read more here.

The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) took a P3 approach with its Rapid Bridge Replacement Program to address the state’s nearly 4,200 structurally deficient bridges. Approved in September 2013, this program was selected to replace 558 of those bridges, with the benefits of less construction time, significant cost savings for taxpayers, and minimal impact on the traveling public. In October 2014, Plenary Walsh Keystone Partners was selected as PennDOT’s private partner.

The bridges selected for the Rapid Bridge Replacement Program have similar characteristics, are relatively small and can be designed and constructed to standard sizes. Their similarity allows for streamlined design, prefabrication of standardized components such as beams, and a compressed time frame for replacement.

Under the contract, the company and its subcontractors will manage the bridges’ design, construction and maintenance for 25 years after construction is complete, while PennDOT maintains ownership of the bridges throughout the contract. Construction begins this summer, and all 558 bridges must be replaced within three years. Significant savings will be realized: The average cost for design, construction and maintenance per bridge in the project is $1.6 million; compared with PennDOT’s standard process, where the cost to design, construct and maintain a bridge for 28 years would average more than $2 million. The savings will be used to address other infrastructure needs. Read more here.

A New Approach Offering Even More Cost Savings
In a fairly new approach, some county engineers are crossing state lines to explore similar options to “bundle” their bridge projects with neighboring Departments of Transportation. This strategy empowers multiple states to combine their funding and workforce resources to get the most cost-effective and time-saving results.

County engineers can take additional steps to cut costs by choosing steel for their projects and using a new free, web-based tool, eSPAN140, to design them. The cost of a steel bridge can be lower than a concrete bridge, as demonstrated in a comparison study of two nearly identical short span bridges built with steel and concrete in Audrain County, Missouri. Researchers found that steel saved more than 25 percent over the concrete superstructure, with an overall 19.3% savings in the total cost of the structure. Read more here.

eSPAN140 delivers additional cost savings by providing simplified standard plans for rolled beam, plate girder, corrugated structural plate, and corrugated steel pipe structures. eSPAN140 also provides contact information for multiple fabricators with the capacity to replace hundreds of bridges quickly. To use eSPAN140, the user simply enters a minimum of three project requirements and receives customized design results in less than five minutes. Since its launch in 2012, more than 1,800 designs have been generated by eSPAN140.

With these resources readily available, steel is a logical choice for bundled solutions that save taxpayers and state DOTs even more time and money.

Using Local Crews
A new video is now in production that will provide comprehensive training for county crews on how to construct a short span steel bridge in 30 days. The work is demonstrated by a seasoned crew working on two bridge replacement projects in Muskingum County, Ohio – the Green Valley Road Bridge and the Boggs Road Bridge. The use of local crews is a proven cost-saving measure in the construction of short span bridges.

To learn more about the cost-effective benefits of steel or to request a free workshop for your state’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) Center, contact Dan Snyder at dsnyder@steel.org.

The press-brake-formed tub girder is a cost-effective new technology for short span steel bridge design. Learn more at a free webinar on May 12 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. EDT.

For one week this month, several prominent organizations representing business, labor and public policy will focus on the United States’ infrastructure challenges. They will host events and activities to “highlight the critical importance of investing in and modernizing America’s infrastructure systems, and the essential role infrastructure plays in our economy.” Infrastructure Week 2015 will be held from May 11-15.

The steel industry is participating with a free webinar on “Innovative, Cost-Effective Options for Short Span Steel Bridge Design” being held Tuesday, May 12 from 2:00 to 3:00 pm EDT. In cooperation with the American Iron and Steel Institute and the American Galvanizers Association, the webinar will be conducted by Dr. Greg Michaelson, Professor at the Weisberg Division of Engineering at Marshall University and a member of the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance. Continuing education credits are available. Register for the free webinar here.

Dr. Michaelson will discuss a new technology for short span bridges with the potential to deliver significant cost savings for bridge owners and shorter construction times for crews (and thus fewer traffic delays). This press-brake-formed tub girder technology consists of modular galvanized shallow trapezoidal boxes fabricated from cold-bent structural steel plate. Several different options are available for the deck, including precast concrete and sandwich plate systems (SPS). These modular units can then be transported by truck to the bridge site. Read about the research here.

The new system offers several advantages:

• It’s modular, so it can be quickly transported to the construction site.
• It can be installed in one or two days.
• It’s simple to fabricate and install.
• It can save significant fabrication costs.
• It requires fewer details.
• It can be used for both tangent and skewed configurations, as well as simple and continuous spans.
• It has the potential to cost-effectively replace thousands of short span bridges in need of repair or replacement.
• It has the potential to open business opportunities for bridge fabricators that want to manufacture the units.

The first two bridge projects utilizing this system will be constructed this year in Iowa and West Virginia. The Amish Sawmill Bridge in Buchanan County, Iowa will be constructed with an FHWA Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment (IBRD) program grant, starting in late summer. Several potential sites are currently being evaluated in West Virginia, with construction anticipated to begin in late summer as well.

During the webinar, Dr. Michaelson will also discuss an innovative new design tool, eSPAN140, which is free, web-based, and delivers customized preliminary short span steel bridge design in three steps and under five minutes. The Jesup South Bridge in Buchanan County, Iowa was the first bridge in the nation to be built from an eSPAN140 design. Read more here.

Join the discussion during Infrastructure Week 2015. Register for the free webinar, and check out the other events being held. For more information on press-brake-formed tub girders and other cost-effective short span steel bridge solutions, please contact Dan Snyder at dsnyder@steel.org.

Schedule a complimentary technology transfer session today!

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2013 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gives the U.S. a “C+” for its bridges, stating that: “In total, one in nine of the nation’s bridges are rated as structurally deficient, while the average age of the nation’s 607,380 bridges is currently 42 years.”

According to the National Association of County Engineers, more than 231,000 U.S. bridges are owned by counties. Most of these are classified as short span bridges of less than 140 feet. The common challenge faced by these counties is a huge demand for bridge repair/replacement, but insufficient funds available to meet it.

Now, tools and information are available to meet this formidable challenge. The Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) has developed design tools and implemented technology transfer sessions for county engineers, bridge owners and designers to equip them to move forward. Steel is an optimal material for short span bridges, ensuring durability, speed of design and construction, ease of installation, light weight, the use of local crews, cost-effectiveness and time efficiencies.

The SSSBA offers these tools and technology transfer sessions:

• eSPAN140 – A free, web-based design tool that provides customized short span steel bridge solutions in less than five minutes. To access this tool, users go to espan140.com; type in the parameters for their projects such as span length, width and the number of striped traffic lanes; and receive customized preliminary designs and the names of suppliers and fabricators who can take the project from concept through completion. Since 2012, more than 1,300 preliminary designs have been generated by eSPAN140.
• Short Span Steel Bridge Workshops – The SSSBA offers complimentary educational on-site workshops specifically for Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) and Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Centers. The half-day workshops provide practical information on the safe and cost-effective design, detail, fabrication and installation of short span steel bridges (under 140 feet)―including information on standardized designs developed by the bridge industry.
• Steel Bridge Forum – The SSSBA and the National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) team up to conduct one-day workshops that cover short-, medium- and long-span steel bridge design, and associate research. The Steel Bridge Forums are conducted throughout the U.S. and are ideal for Departments of Transportation. The next Steel Bridge Forum will be held November 19, 2014 in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
• National/Regional Bridge Conferences – SSSBA representatives and county engineers discuss short span steel bridge design and construction at several conferences throughout the year. The following events are scheduled for the remainder of 2014:
  • SSSBA representatives are hosting three sessions at the National Accelerated Bridge Construction Conference, December 3-5, in Miami, Florida:
    1) “Guidelines for the Design of Efficient Steel Bridges Using AASHTO LRFD Bridge Design Specifications” (Pre-Conference) | December 3, 2014 | 1:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
    2) “Development of Economical Short Span Steel Bridge Standards” | December 4, 2014 | 2:50 p.m. – 3:10 p.m.
    3) “Development of a Press-Brake-Formed Modular Steel Tub Girder for Accelerated Bridge Construction” | December 5, 2014 | 10:50 a.m. – 11:10 a.m.
  • Iowa’s Muskingum County Engineer Doug Davis, P.E., P.S. will discuss his team’s choice of steel in the design and construction of two new short span bridges at the Iowa County Engineers Conference on December 10 at 9 am. in Ames, Iowa.
• Webinars – The SSSBA hosts one-hour webinars on short span steel bridge design that are eligible for Professional Development Hours (PDHs), conducted by Dr. Michael Barker at the University of Wyoming, Dr. Karl Barth at West Virginia University, and special guest speakers.
• Ask an Expert –The SSSBA offers complimentary design support for questions relating to bridge and buried soil steel structure design through its Bridge Technology Center. The topics include standard design and details of short span bridges (plate girder and rolled beams, corrugated steel pipe and structural plate), prefabricated short span steel solutions, durability solutions, and more.
• Case Studies – Efficiencies in design, cost and time on specific projects are documented in case studies on the SSSBA website, ShortSpanSteelBridges.org.
• Videos – Short clips on two important projects are included on the SSSBA website, ShortSpanSteelBridges.org:
  • An overview of the design and construction of the first bridge built with an eSPAN140 design ― the Jesup South Bridge in Buchanan County, Iowa ― as told by the engineers who worked on the project.
  • A cost comparison of two nearly identical bridges in Audrain County, Missouri ― one built with steel and the other with concrete ― in which the steel short span superstructure provided a 25.8% cost savings over the concrete bridge, with an overall 19.3% savings in the total cost of the structure.
  • In 2015, a training video that demonstrates the installation of a short span steel bridge from start to finish will be posted on the website.

America’s infrastructure is in crisis, but there are long-lasting, cost-effective steel solutions available now to meet the challenge, county by county. If you have not considered or used steel in the design of short span bridges, we invite you to review the information available and to try eSPAN140 for one of your own projects.

For more information or to schedule a workshop, seminar or speaker, please contact Dan Snyder, SSSBA Director of Business Development, at dsnyder@steel.org.

Repairing America’s infrastructure is a national challenge, impacting all of us where we live, every day. According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, counties are responsible for more than half of the United States’ nearly 67,000 structurally deficient bridges. Most of these are short span structures of 140 feet or less.

To repair or replace them, officials rely on funding from cash-strapped local and state governments (see related SSSBA blog), or from the federal government through the Highway Trust Fund. The U.S. Department of Transportation has warned that this fund will likely encounter a shortfall before the end of FY 2014, and if no new legislation is passed before that deadline, then new and ongoing construction projects slated for 2015 cannot be funded.

Congress needs to act now. In order to draw national attention to this situation, AISI and the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance are joining several organizations—including the U.S. Council on Competitiveness, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the AFL-CIO, the National Association of Manufacturers, and others—during Infrastructure Week 2014 to: “…explore emerging solutions, innovative approaches, and best practices being developed nationwide to modernize aging infrastructure.” The week of May 12-16 will include daily signature events that “focus on the consequences of (Congress’) inaction and the importance of interconnected infrastructure that provides a safe, secure, and competitive climate for business operations nationwide.”

As part of the Infrastructure Week 2014 events, Dr. Michael Barker from the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance will conduct a free webinar on Economical Design Tools and Cost Analysis of Short Span Steel Bridges on Tuesday, May 13 from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm EDT. The webinar will be conducted through the American Galvanizer Association’s GalvanizeIt! Webinar series (Register here). CEU, LU and PDH credits are available.

In another national legislative effort, construction employees are encouraged to contact their Congressional representatives through Hardhats for Highways, a national campaign to directly impact funding for the Highway Trust Fund by encouraging Congress to pass multi-year authorization of transportation funding and increase the nation’s infrastructure investment. The website includes general information and ways to participate.

An Immediate Solution. County engineers can save significant costs on designs for steel bridges of 140 feet or less with the free, easy-to-use, web-based design tool eSPAN140. The tool has already generated more than 1,000 preliminary short span steel bridge designs, each customized and delivered to the user via a Steel Solutions PDF document in five minutes or less.

eSPAN140 is quick and efficient. Check out the experiences of Buchanan County (Iowa) Engineer Brian Keierleber, P.E. on the Jesup South demonstration bridge and Boone County (Missouri) Engineer Derin Campbell on the High Point Lane Bridge, the first plate girder short span steel bridge built from an eSPAN140 design.

Act today and make an impact in two ways: 1) Participate in Infrastructure Week 2014 and Hardhats for Highways, and 2) Investigate how steel solutions with eSPAN140 can save you significant time and costs on your upcoming short span bridge projects.