CHICAGO, IL - HC Bridge Maine, LLC - a firm specializing in the development of hybrid-composite structural alternatives that can be used for accelerated bridge construction and offer a long service life - announces that construction has been completed on the High Road Bridge over Long Run Creek in Lockport Township, Ill., three months ahead of schedule.

The structure, now open to traffic at High Road, is the first permanent highway installation of Hybrid-Composite Beams (HCBs), developed by the HC Bridge Company, LLC.

The existing High Road Bridge, constructed in 1935, had outlived its useful service life and was categorized as both structurally deficient and functionally obsolete. In order to reduce future maintenance costs, the new replacement structure, designed by Teng & Associates, Inc. of Chicago, Ill., utilized a new type of bridge technology - HCB - that provides an extended service life with minimal or no maintenance to the bridge girders.

HCBs are comprised of three main sub-components - an FRP shell, compression reinforcement and tension reinforcement. The compression reinforcement consists of concrete that is pumped into an arch conduit within the beam shell. The tension reinforcement consists of high-strength steel prestressing strands that run along the bottom flanges of the beam shell. All of this is encapsulated in a fiber reinforced plastic shell protecting the beam from salt corrosion and providing added structural capacity.

Byron Danley, Vice President Transportation for Teng & Associates, Inc., stated that they are always looking for innovative solutions to the problems facing their clients.