No heavy machinery, no demolition - not even any concrete. The retrofit on California's Big Tujunga Canyon Road Bridge, which towers 150 feet above a creek bed in Angeles National Forest, was quietly completed this summer by a five-person crew after a mere six weeks. "Using traditional methods, the aesthetic result would have been the addition of ugly and bulky casings several inches thick that would have ruined the bridge's graceful lines," says Edward Donnelly, operations manager for installation outfit Fibrwrap Construction. "Our technique is almost undetectable to the eye." Instead of bracing the bridge's support columns and cross struts with steel frames and concrete, the crew covered them in Tyfo Fibrwrap, a cheesecloth-like fabric of fiberglass, Kevlar, and carbon fiber that's only 0.051-inch thick. The epoxy-coated dry fiber, which serves as a skin on the Stealth bomber's frame, allows columns to bend as much as 8 inches without cracking and can withstand at least a 6.7-magnitude earthquake, as well as corrosion and water damage. Varieties of Fibrwrap are also being used to line toxic-waste pits and to insulate against fire. Beyond preserving the bridge's historic look, LA County saved itself some cash: The project cost about $250,000, which is 30 to 50 percent less than an old-fashioned makeover.
ELECTRIC WORD
The Raw and The Cooked
Algorithm Method
Catching Waves
The Exhibitionists
Wrapture
New And Improved!
