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of Illinois at Chicago Office of Public Affairs (MC 288)
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| June 21, 2001 | Contact: Paul Francuch, (312) 996-3457, francuch@uic.edu |
ATTN: NEWS ASSIGNMENT and PHOTO EDITORS
HIGHWAY BRIDGE DESTRUCTION
WHAT:
UIC civil engineering professor puts an 18' x 82' prefabricated concrete highway bridge deck to its ultimate load test (the "destructive test").
WHERE:
Illinois Department of Transportation Biesterfield Maintenance Yard Biesterfield Road and I-290 (One block east of I-290-Eisenhower Expwy. Follow signs to IDOT Yard) Elk Grove Village, Ill.
WHEN:
June 22, 10 a.m.
DETAILS:
Test involves a two-span, full-depth, precast, prestressed concrete bridge deck. The design is being tested as a faster, more economical alternative to present highway bridge construction and replacement. The project head is UIC civil engineering professor Mohsen Issa. Funding is provided by the Illinois Transportation Research Center/Illinois Department of Transportation.
BACKGROUND:
The American Society of Civil Engineers' latest survey finds 21 percent of Illinois bridges are structurally deficient or functionally obsolete. The society lists roads and bridges as the top infrastructure concern in Illinois.
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2001 University of Illinois at Chicago