Highway Construction Runs on Wire Mesh

Ever since former President Dwight Eisenhower signed the Federal Highway Act of 1958, highways across the nation have had wire mesh incorporated into their construction. The versatile material allowed concrete to be laid quickly and with less labor involved than other methods. It also made superhighways like the Pennsylvania Turnpike, Indiana Turnpike, and the New York State Thruway tough enough to withstand heavy traffic.To get more news about modelling wire mesh, you can visit boegger.net official website.

Wire mesh is a staple for industries across the board. It’s used in architecture, wall and rock retention, and bridge maintenance. The first time wire mesh appeared on a major highway was in 1908 on the Long Island Parkway. The reinforcement weighed just 0.2 pounds per square foot. As time passed and technology improved, many states began requiring wire reinforcement in their roads.Welded wire mesh for highways can come in a variety of jointed reinforced concrete pavement or continuously reinforced pavement. The mesh comes in a large sheet, which can be as big as 13 feet by 40 feet.

Outside of Champaign, Illinois, the welded wire mesh used for building 1-57 helped the interstate route last 30 years. A three-mile section developed no major or intermediate stress cracks or displaced joints—without ever getting an overlayment.

"Based on the research, the concerns some design professionals have about the use of welded wire reinforcement are not justified," Southern Illinois University professor Luke Snell wrote in a 1999 study of the highway. "The cover of WWR can be controlled within specification limits if the reinforcement is in sheet form and adequate supports are provided."In 2010, the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge opened to manage growing traffic and mitigate safety issues. This bridge was a major component of the Hoover Dam Bypass project and was the first concrete-steel composite bridge in the country.

In 2018, the New York State Department of Transportation began a $15.8 million project to remove and replace old bridges on Interstate 84. More than 50,000 vehicles use the highway daily. The new bridges will contain abutments reinforced with wire mesh and shotcrete.

Wire mesh has a number of other uses for highway construction, as well. They include repairing upper layers of preexisting road to cut down on pavement deformation, such as deep rutting and reflective cracking. The material is particularly helpful on soft ground to increase pavement bearing capacity.

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