Due to a roadway rerouting, UDOT decommissioned the PBES 8th North Bridge on I-15 in Salt Lake City, Utah, after only 2 years service. One of these studies provided Barr and his team an unprecedented test specimen. With so many PBES bridges in close proximity, Utah State University (USU) civil engineering professor Paul Barr, Ph.D., in partnership with Bridge Diagnostics, Inc., led several studies to assess the structural performance of the state's ABC bridge network.
The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) is considered to be a national leader of ABC adoption, with over 100 PBES bridges completed PBES bridges are comprised of elements that are constructed offsite and assembled at their designated locations. Each of these implements a combination of state-of-the-art techniques and materials to expedite construction schedules, minimize congestion, reduce construction costs, and improve safety for construction workers and motorists.
EDC2 promotes three methods of ABC: Prefabricated Bridge Elements and Systems (PBES), Geosynthetic-Reinforced Soil – Integrated Bridge System (GRS-IBS), and Slide-In Bridge Construction. Unlike traditional construction that could take months to complete, ABC technologies help replace bridges more quickly and cost-effectively. Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) technologies are one of the top priorities of the Every Day Counts 2 (EDC2) initiative -a Federal Highway Administration program that encourages keeping infrastructure in a constant "state of good repair" through effective management and innovative technologies. To combat these issues, a number of new methods have emerged to expedite bridge construction. However, a wide array of structure types, material characteristics, ages, daily traffic volumes, and climate conditions makes bridge replacement increasingly difficult. In the latest State of the Union address, President Obama reported to the American public on the status of our national infrastructure: over 25 percent of the Nation's 600,000 bridges are considered "structurally deficient" or "functionally obsolete." In other words, these critical links to public safety, economic vibrancy, and quality of life are in need of replacement or repair.
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