2008 Concrete Bridge Conference and Tour
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2008 Concrete Bridge Conference and Tour
HPC: Safe, Affordable, and Efficient
 The
2008 Concrete Bridge Conference featured a great technical program
of more than 120 presentations in 22 technical sessions and an exciting
exhibition of consultants, material and service suppliers, and associations.
The kickoff event was a tour of bridge construction sites described
below. Social activities included three receptions, a banquet dinner,
and two buffet lunches. An special session devoted to lightweight
concrete use in bridge construction was held Wednesday morning.
The conference, held May 4-7, 2008 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in
St. Louis, Missouri, was sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration,
the National Concrete Bridge Council, the Missouri Department of
Transportation, and the American Concrete Institute and was organized
by the Portland Cement Association.
The 2008 CBC was held in conjunction with the Post-Tensioning Institute’s
Annual Conference. The two conferences had separate technical programs
but joint exhibition and social functions. 370 people including
engineers from FHWA, state DOTs, consultants and contractors, attended
the two conferences.
The first three CBCs were held in Nashville, TN (2002), Charlotte,
NC (2004), and Reno, NV (2006) and the next Conference will be held
in 2010.
 The
conference proceedings of 116 peer reviewed technical papers is
contained on a searchable
CD which is available at the PCA Bookstore.
Conference Tour
 Prior
to the conference on Sunday afternoon, a tour of local I-64 bridge
construction was conducted. About 40 people attended the tour which
was arranged by the Missouri Department of Transportation. Four
precast, prestressed concrete I-girder bridges each in a different
stage of construction were visited and MODOT engineers described
the construction and answered many questions from the attendees.
Altogether 10 miles of interstate 64 will be closed down and much
of the pavement and most of the bridges are being replaced.
The first bridge visited was at Kingshighway
Blvd. and was almost complete. However, the attendees were able
to get a good look at the retaining wall construction. The contractor
for the bridge at Brentwood Blvd had erected the “I”
beams and stay in place forms. The “I” girders, stay
in place forms, and deck reinforcement were already in place for
the bridge at Mcknight Road. The retaining wall, backfill, and foundations
were under construction for the bridge at Clayton Road.
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| Kingshighway Blvd. retaining wall construction |
McKnight Blvd. deck reinforcement and paving
gantry. |
Brentwood Blvd.
 |
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| Brentwood Blvd. bridge construction. |
I beams. |
 |
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| Stay in place forms and shear connectors. |
Retaining wall construction. |
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| Clayton Road retaining wall construction |
Clayton Road pier construction |
Conference Special Session on Lightweight
Concrete
On the morning of the last day of the conference, a special session
on lightweight concrete bridges was conducted by the Expanded
Shale, Clay and Slate Institute (ESCSI). The session had
five excellent presentations:
- Use of Lightweight Concrete in California’s Bridges
- Lightweight Concrete Bridge Deck Performance in Severe Climates
- Specifying Lightweight Concrete for Bridges
- A Concrete Supplier’s Perspective on Lightweight Concrete
for Bridges
- FHWA Lightweight High-Performance Concrete Research Program
The audience of 90 people was very enthusiastic about the topic and
stayed until the end of the session. Also, six additional papers were
presented on lightweight concrete in the regular conference sessions.
The papers on lightweight concrete are included on the conference
CD which is available at the PCA bookstore.
The National Concrete Bridge Council (NCBC)
The NCBC is a council of allied industry organizations dedicated
to expanding the concrete bridge market through promotion of the
benefits of concrete bridges.
Goals:
- Position concrete as the material of choice for bridges.
- Promote research and development to improve performance
and competitiveness of concrete bridges.
- Educate present and future designers about our products
and capabilities.
- Influence codes and standards for bridges as they apply
to reinforced concrete.
NCBC
web site.
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