When the Miyun Bridge opened 15 years ago in Beijing, China, it marked the start of a rapidly growing trend: the incorporation of fiber-reinforced polymers (frps) into bridge construction. While use is still far from widespread—fewer than 70 bridges worldwide contain composite components—bridge engineers are using these materials in bridge decks, reinforcing bars, tendons, cables, beams, columns and paneling. Europe's first composite bridge was erected in 1992 in England; in late 1996, the first vehicular composite bridges were built in the U.S. Now, more than a dozen states and at least eight countries have built or plan to build bridges featuring composite components.
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