The Barnes and Filene Center have traditionally been separated by a narrow road with a crumbling sidewalk raising safety concerns for the nearly 500,000 visitors to Wolf Creek National Park each season. Steel trusses fitted with the 8,000 sq. ft. composite bridge deck will be able to accommodate Wolf Trap patrons, cyclists and pedestrians as well as residents that will need access to the Metro stations currently under construction at Tysons Corner.
The FRP bridge deck was manufactured with CA’s innovative sandwich construction which employs fiberglass top and bottom skins and closely-spaced internal webs that function like a series of I-beams. CA molded the 8.3 ft. by 15.5 ft. panels with curbs and an epoxy aggregate non-slip coating. The deck color was coordinated with the truss coating.
CA’s lightweight prefabricated panels accommodate the growing trend for nighttime construction which minimizes the impact of construction operations on the public. The FRP decking was installed on each truss span adjacent to the bridge site. The light weight of the FRP deck enabled the fully assembled truss span to be lifted into place over the highway. The erection of each span required just 15 minutes of road closure. Each bridge span was lifted into place on three consecutive nights with the largest span measuring 170 sq. ft. and weighing 140,000 lbs.
CA is a leading manufacturer of very large fiber reinforced composite parts, up to 52 feet, for structurally demanding applications and corrosive environments. Composite Advantage has developed ground-breaking processing techniques and combined them with efficient manufacturing processes to give customers products that solve technical challenges. The advanced materials company primarily serves the infrastructure and construction industries, fabricating large, complex parts that incorporate the finishing and assembly details customers need to reduce installation costs. Composite Advantage products range from pedestrian and vehicle bridges, waterfront infrastructure, and rail station platforms to high performance pads and mats.