Concrete international / JULY 2004 1 BY NABIL F. GRACE, JOHN J. ROLLER, FREDERICK C. NAVARRE, RICHARD B. NACEY, AND WAYNE BONUS F ibrous composite materials are currently used to reinforce concrete beams, girders, and/or slabs in innovative infrastructure throughout the world. 1-3 The Bridge Street Bridge Deployment Project 4 in Southfield, MI, is an example of one such innovative project where bridge members are reinforced and prestressed fully with carbon fiber-reinforced polymer (CFRP) tendons and strands. This article will focus on the details and findings related to a field load test conducted on one of the project’s bridges, Structure B, after construction completion. The Bridge Street Bridge Deployment Project (Fig. 1) consists of two parallel, independent bridges (Structure A and Structure B) over the Rouge River in the city of Southfield, MI. Both structures are designed to accommodate two traffic lanes and incorporate three, 21-m-long (69 ft), 15-degree-skewed spans. Components of Structure A are a new substructure and superstructure, which incorporates five equally spaced conventional AASHTO-I beams in each of the three spans, with a continuous cast- in-place concrete deck slab. Structure B consists of 12 double tee (DT) beams (4 beams per span), each prestressed using internal pretensioned Leadline* tendons and externally post-tensioned in the longitudinal and transverse directions, with carbon fiber composite Load Testing a CFRP-Reinforced Bridge Bridge Street Bridge load distribution behavior accurately predicted by AASHTO design specs cable (CFCC) † strands. Figure 2 shows the external unbonded CFCC post-tensioning strands installed underneath the bridge. Construction Technology Laboratories, Inc. (CTL), Skokie, IL, conducted the initial inspection and load test of Structure B. BRIDGE DESIGN DETAILS Several research investigations 5-12 performed at Lawrence Technological University, Southfield, MI, were the basis for the design of the bridge. Hubbell, Roth and Clark, Inc. (HRC), Bloomfield Hills, MI, was the engineer of record for the Bridge Street Bridge. HRC designed the traffic lanes for *Trademark name of Leadline tendons manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corp., Tokyo, Japan † Trademark name of CFCC strands manufactured by Tokyo Rope Manufacturing Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan Fig. 1: Bridge Street Bridge in Southfield, MI, consists of two parallel, independent bridges over the Rouge River