Development of FRP Bridges in the UK — An Overview

Abstract

The emphasis in bridge design and construction technology in the UK has shifted in recent decades towards improved durability and quick construction, with whole life cost and low maintenance gradually becoming as important as initial capital cost. In conjunction with this, reduced disruption to the travelling public has become more important due to general increased travel and congestion on roads and railways. The combination of these two factors was a primary driver in the development of fibre-reinforced polymer (FRP) composite bridge technology, which can provide improved durability and also reduced time of in-situ construction due to large, lightweight components being manufactured off-site (modular construction) and installed simply and quickly. The growth in the application of FRP bridges in the UK is described and highlighted with a number of representative case studies, generally showing the benefits of this technology in reducing whole life cost and disruption to the public. The future work required to further enable the development of FRP bridge technology is described, with the aim of FRP bridges becoming a mainstream competitor to other bridge materials and technologies.