Concrete Tracker

The fact that this bridge was in service for 50 years before the deck was replaced is a testament to concrete. Yes, the deck received two latex overlays. One after 10 years of service and one after 31 years of service. However, the concrete deck was in very good condition prior to being replaced. Advocates of steel will argue that steel is better product. They will say that concrete lacks tensile strength. That is true. Concrete has excellent compressive strength. Steel, on the other hand corrodes and rusts. This was happening on this bridge in areas that had not been coated by concrete. You can make the argument that the combination of concrete and steel makes strong, durable bridges. You can also make the argument that any other product, such as asphalt, would not be able to replace concrete in bridge construction. I think we often take for granted that highway bridges are constructed of reinforced concrete. I believe we should award projects such as this to continually point out that you cannot make a strong, durable highway bridge without concrete.