bridge New FRP pedestrian bridge deck improves safety and provides critical connecting link Composite Advantage LLC's FiberSPAN™ fibre-reinforced polymer bridge deck product was installed on a new 3-span steel superstructure at Wolf Creek National Park near Vienna, Virginia (USA). By Scott Reeve President Composite Advantage T he new pedestrian bridge was designed to connect two main facilities at the Wolf Trap Performing Arts Center while providing safe crossing over the 10-lane Dulles Access and Toll Road. The Barnes and Filene Center have traditionally been separated by a narrow road with a crumbling sidewalk raising safety concerns for the nearly 500,000 visitors to Wolf Creek National Park each season. Steel trusses fitted with the 743 m² composite bridge deck will be able to accommodate Wolf Trap patrons, cyclists and pedestrians as well as residents that will need access to the metro stations currently under construction at Tysons Corner. An innovative sandwich construction The FRP bridge deck was manufactured with CA's innovative sandwich construction which employs glass fibre top and bottom skins and closely-spaced internal webs that function like a series of I-beams. The company moulded the 2.50 m by 4.70 m panels with curbs and an epoxy aggregate non-slip coating. The deck colour was coordinated with the truss coating. The lightweight prefabricated panels accommodate the growing trend for night-time construction which minimizes the impact of construction operations on the public. The FRP decking was installed on each truss span adjacent to the bridge site. The light weight of the FRP deck enabled the fully assembled truss span to be lifted into place over the highway. The erection of each span required just 15 minutes of road closure. Each bridge span was lifted into place on three consecutive nights with the largest span measuring 15.8 m² and weighing 63.5 metric tons. facturing processes to give customers products that solve technical challenges. The advanced materials company primarily serves the infrastructure and construction industries, fabricating large, complex parts that incorporate the finishing and assembly details customers need to reduce installation costs. Its products range from pedestrian and vehicle bridges, waterfront infrastructure and rail station platforms to high-performance pads and mats. n More information: www.compositeadvantage.com A leading manufacturer Composite Advantage is a leading manufacturer of very large fibre-reinforced composite parts, up to 16 m, for structurally demanding applications and corrosive environments. The company has developed groundbreaking processing techniques and combined them with efficient manu- The 3-span FRP pedestrian bridge deck was designed to connect sections of Wolf Trap National Park by spanning a 10-lane highway and rail line that provides primary access to Vienna, Virginia's busy Dulles Airport 44 jec composites magazine / No85 November - December 2013http://www.compositeadvantage.com