An innovative thermoplastic composite bridge at Fort Bragg, N.C., is the first known structure of its kind to support military equipment loads exceeding 70 tons. On June 11, an M-1 tank safely crossed the newly built bridge, which is made from some 85,000 pounds of recycled plastics.
"The first crossing was greeted with a big sigh of relief from some of us and a hardy round of applause from about 30 people in attendance," said Richard Lampo, materials engineer with ERDC-CERL who led the project. The tank's foray across the bridge marked the completion of load testing and safety validation for the new structure, which was completed in May.
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