U.S. launches new technology for composite bridge construction

Researchers at the University of Maine have developed a new technology for building bridges. When engineers use this technology to build bridges, the bridge arches made of composite materials can be easily transported to construction sites with bags.

The Associated Press reported that this technology has been used for the first time in Neil Bridge, which has been opened to traffic in Maine. Due to the ease of transport of the bridge arch frame, this technique is nicknamed "the bridge in the backpack."

Habib Dagel, head of the Center for Advanced Architecture and Composites at the University of Maine, introduced that when the bridge was built, engineers first cut the “architecture” of the arch into the required shape, and then inflated them, while at the surface. The resin is applied to maintain the shape, and then transported to the construction site to form a bridge arch shape, and finally the cement is injected into each "part". The whole process can be completed in 1 day.

After the bridge arch was formed, the engineers fixed the bridge deck to the arch, covered the deck with sand, and finally laid an asphalt road on the sand layer.