Institute for Transportation

Growing interest in wood bridges over the past decade has led to the use of new wood products and innovative designs. One material that is becoming increasingly popular for bridges is structural composite lumber (SCL), which includes laminated veneer lumber and parallel lumber. SCL bridges are typically constructed of solid T-beams that are stress-laminated together with steel bars placed through the top flanges. As an option for improved performance and economy, a SCL bridge
was recently constructed using steel prestressing strand as a replacement for steel bars. This paper describes the development and initial 2-year field evaluation of that bridge. Overall, bridge performance has been excellent; however, the grips on several strands slipped due to defective strand epoxy coating.