Concrete Industries wins 2006 Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute Design Award

The Arbor Road Bridge, a one-of-a kind curved concrete bridge, earned Concrete Industries its fourth award in the past three years, this time earning the award for Best Bridge with Spans Greater Than 135 Feet.

Working with Dr. Mayer Tadros, University of Nebraska professor known around the world for his work in precast/prestressed concrete, the bridge was designed with two spans, 142 feet and 136 feet. The precast concrete tub girders in this project are horizontally curved, which is the first implementation of such bridge type in the state of Nebraska and one of the few in the United States.

Advancements in manufacturing concrete enable the project to become a reality. After a long process to determine the technological and design aspects, the task to create the U-shaped girders was given to CI’s girder gang.

The biggest challenge was the setup. The work was done outside, which required the team to bring a flat table outdoors to use as the base form. New side rails and tubs were purchased. From there, the skill and experience of the casting team made the project happen.

The first of the eight girders took approximately one week to set up. The remaining girders were completed in three days each. Due to the curved shape, special lifting devices were fabricated to handle the U-shaped girders from the casting area to storage and finally onto trucks for delivery to the job site.

The bridge presents an efficient design that results in significant cost savings compared to the original steel alternative. It also has cost savings related to future maintenance.

This project shows that it is technically and economically feasible for concrete superstructures to compete with curved steel bridges.