National Steel Bridge Alliance
Featured Steel Bridge Projects
LAKE BRIDGES OVER KENTUCKY LAKE AND LAKE BARKLEY
Opened to traffic in 2018, the new U.S. 68/KY 80 Bridges across Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River) and Lake Barkley (Cumberland River) replaced two narrow 20-foot-wide 1930's era truss bridges in the Land Between the Lakes Recreation Area in western Kentucky. This project was part of the U.S. 68/KY 80 corridor widening effort by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, and brought the state closer to the long-term goal of having a four-lane, east-west highway in the southern portion of Kentucky. The main spans over each of the navigable waterways with substantial barge traffic feature a unique, basket-handled tied arch superstructure with steel plate girder approaches.
Lake Champlain (Crown Point) Bridge
The Lake Champlain (Crown Point) Bridge underwent an emergency replacement in 2011 after concerns about the integrity of its piers forced its sudden closure. The fabrication and construction time considerations involved in replacing a critical piece of infrastructure made structural steel the ideal material for the new Lake Champlain bridge. Steel facilitated the fast-tracked project schedule and removed the potential weather-related delays that could have had an impact on cast-in-place concrete alternatives.