More USA bridge owners turning to Duracorr® plate for environmental and sustainability benefits
02.08.2017
To address widespread infrastructure deficiencies throughout the U.S. and Canada, several bridge rebuilding projects are turning to steel plate for its environmental and sustainability benefits. Steel fabricators call the steel A1010. At ArcelorMittal, we call it Duracorr®.
One of the main causes of severe structural damage to bridges is corrosion, which stems from salt used on roads and bridges in the winter. In recent years, ArcelorMittal USA has taken the lead among North American steel companies in developing plate for bridge applications, including more corrosion-resistant steels. In fact, ArcelorMittal was the innovative force behind creating high performance steels (HPS) for bridges in the 1990s, together with efforts by the U.S. Navy and many bridge industry participants.
According to the U.S. Federal Highway Administration, about 21 percent of the steel superstructure bridges in the U.S. are considered structurally deficient.
“We first began making Duracorr in the 1990s, when it was used for making coal-carrying rail cars,” said Fred Fletcher, principal research scientist, ArcelorMittal Global Research and Development. “Since then, it has found applications wherever carbon steels just can’t stand up to corrosion – such as in coal chutes, sugar-processing equipment and for piping oil sands from the mines to the upgrader plants.”
Duracorr corrodes in salt-containing service at 1/10th the rate of weathering steel. This makes it possible to build a bridge that never needs painting. Today’s bridges made with A1010 steel can be maintenance free for the life of the bridge – more than 100 years. This long, maintenance-free life means Duracorr bridges have lower life-cycle cost compared to conventional bridges.
ArcelorMittal melts Duracorr in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in a special vacuum oxygen decarburizing (VOD) steelmaking vessel. It is unique to our North American steel plants. The Duracorr slabs are then rolled to plate and finished in either Coatesville or Conshohocken, depending on the plate sizes required by the customer.
“It’s very gratifying that ArcelorMittal is providing environment-friendly products for a sustainable future.” – Fred Fletcher, principal research scientist, ArcelorMittal Global R&D
“In 2004, the very first Duracorr bridge was built over an irrigation canal in California. This Federal Highway Administration-sponsored project demonstrated how easy it is to make an innovative bridge with ArcelorMittal’s steel,” said Martin Francis, lead research engineer, Global Research and Development, Coatesville. “Recognizing the benefits of the steel, the state of Oregon built two bridges with Duracorr that opened to traffic in 2014. Both are award-winning bridges, due largely to the environmental and sustainable benefits of the A1010 Duracorr product.”
In 2014, the Dodge Creek Bridge project in Oregon, made with A1010 product, received the Short Span Merit Award with Sustainability Commendation by the National Steel Bridge Alliance. This year, the Mill Creek Bridge won the same award.
According to an article published by the Oregon DOT, “Located on the Columbia River in the coastal zone, the Mill Creek Bridge must withstand the corrosive nature of salty coastal winds and water. A1010 is highly resistant to corrosion and needs no protective coating, which means lower maintenance costs and reduced environmental concerns.”
When compared to weathering, painted or galvanized steels, Duracorr has life-cycle cost advantages that permit its effective use in a wide variety of applications. Use of Duracorr also benefits the environment by reducing costs to re-paint bridges and avoids societal costs of traffic jams, excessive fuel use and resultant pollution.
Also, steel is fully recyclable and the A1010 product is produced in an electric furnace at Coatesville, using virtually all recycled raw materials, except for some steelmaking alloy additions. Francis said some DOTs are now incorporating societal costs, such as traffic delays, in estimating life cycle costs. Other factors also being considered in life cycle analyses for bridges include excessive fuel burn expenses, added air pollutants and personal opportunity loss costs incurred by motorists on deficient highways and bridges undergoing maintenance.
“A1010 Duracorr is picking up speed and being adopted by more U.S. state and Canadian provincial transportation departments,” said Fletcher. “ArcelorMittal USA has received very positive feedback from departments of transportation in the states utilizing Duracorr for bridges and significant discussions are taking place with many national bridge organizations to promote its life cycle advantages and it sustainability features. It’s very gratifying that ArcelorMittal is providing environment-friendly products for a sustainable future.”
Recent bridge construction projects include:
Iowa DOT – Duracorr for the Salix Interchange over I-29
Virginia DOT – Haunch design over a river and pedestrian walkway in Waynesboro, Virginia
Ministry of Transportation Ontario - Highway 401 project (2015-2018) – girders onsite for placement on the support piers (girder erection) in the initial phase of this multi-year project. Phase 1 included the in-ground pilings and piers for placement of the expansion lanes, as well as the traffic diversion lane once the new section is opened to traffic flow. The A1010 girders are on the westbound side.
Virginia DOT – Considering Duracorr for an initial design phase for an upcoming bridge project. Fabricators for these projects include ArcelorMittal customers Central Welding, North Bay, Ontario; Veritas, Eau Claire, Wisconsin; and High Steel, Lancaster and Williamsport, Pennsylvania.
<< Back to Our stories
