New girder ready for the long haul
DURAND, Wis. (August 18, 2005) - When County Materials sought to stay in touch with trends in the bridge-construction industry, the ideas for its latest innovations came from some neighbors.
The company took a look at some emerging trends in New England and Florida and worked with the Department of Transportation to add to its lineup of sizes with a 72-inch-tall bridge girder that will occupy the Highway 10 bridge that will cross the Chippewa River in Durand. Construction is scheduled to begin this fall. The girder features the same cross-section as the company's familiar 54W model, with a 4-foot flange on top and a 30-inch flange across the bottom. Seven of these beams will comprise a span for the Durand project, and 11 spans will reach across the Chippewa.
"With this depth, it will be able to span to the 150-160 foot range," said Dan Rosolack, Vice President, Wisconsin Prestress Division, at County Materials' location in Eau Claire. "There are other advantages too. For contractors, wider flanges mean less decking. Sometimes you can eliminate one girder. The wider flanges at the top and bottom also mean more stability, both in the structure and in shipping." Also coming down the pike for County Materials is an 82-inch-tall girder that could span 170 feet. All of County Materials' W-series girders have a smooth-radius design for a clean look.
County Materials, founded in 1946, operates 30 locations serving Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois. The family-owned, American-based company is an industry leader in the manufacture and distribution of concrete block, brick, ready-mix, hollowcore, pipe, pavers, retaining walls and Aggregate finish products for residential, commercial and municipal construction and landscaping.