WEST VIRGINIA’s BELPRE BRIDGE GETS ‘LEVELED’ BY POLY-CARB, INC. |
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Article submitted by: The Belpre bridge, approximately 140,000 square feet over the Ohio River, has been a public nuisance due to its riding surface. Concrete leveling between the deck joints has left the area around more than 20 joints elevated above the rest of the driving surface. This problem caused riders to ‘bounce’ across the bridge after hitting the first joint.
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This bounce was jarring enough to cause pickup trucks to lose portions of their cargo even while driving below speed limit restrictions. There was only one solution in the eyes of the West Virginia Department of Highways, and the solution is called FLEXOGRID! |
FLEXOGRID was approved after the successful installation of a test section five years earlier. Not only was the WVDOH looking at leveling the driving surface, the WVDOH was also looking at protecting the deck’s surface from insidious effects such as salt and water penetration for the life of the system. The FLEXOGRID system also will provide the bridge with a skid resistant surface to increase the safety of the driving public at main intersections located directly at either end of the bridge. |
"There was only one solution in the eyes of the West Virginia Department of Highways, and the solution is called, FLEXOGRID!" |
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The project started off with the contractor removing as much as ½” of concrete across the entire deck where necessary. The main focus of the removal was around the joints. The idea was to have a uniform leveled surface that was ½” below the top of each joint. Once completed, the deck was shotblast to remove any debris or unsound concrete that may be present. This process was followed by the application of FLEXOGRID by POLY-CARB, Inc.’s FLEXOGRID Machine. These machines are capable of covering over 40,000 square feet of bridge deck area in a single day. |
The overlay process included the spraying of POLY-CARB’s MARK 135 System to seal any cracks on the deck. With the application of the FLEXOGRID System the WVDOH is now able to enjoy a bridge with a leveled, skid-resistant surface that will be protected from weathering and contamination for more than 10 years. |