Featured Agency

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Transportation that supports State and local governments in the design, construction, and maintenance of the Nation’s highway system (Federal Aid Highway Program) and various federally and tribal owned lands (Federal Lands Highway Program). Through financial and technical assistance to State and local governments, the Federal Highway Administration is responsible for ensuring that America’s roads and highways continue to be among the safest and most technologically sound in the world.

Check out their display featured in the Exhibit Hall

Technical Sessions – Cherry Blossom Ballroom

Time: 10:30 AM – Noon

FHWA’s Federal-aid bridge programs

• FHWA Bridge Programs (Derek Soden):  A introduction to the FHWA Structures, Geotechnical, and Hydraulics Engineering programs and their current activities.
• Update on T-1 Steel Testing (Justin Ocel).  After the 2021 Hernando de Soto Bridge closure, FHWA issued a memorandum requiring the testing of welds in similar bridges nationwide.  This effort resulted in the identification of hundreds of weld defects similar to those that led to the partial fracture experienced by the Hernando de Soto Bridge, including two bridges that required temporary closures due to the identification of significant cracks in nonredundant steel tension members.  This presentation highlights the successes of this program in protecting the traveling public, some of the difficulties encountered by State DOTs as they conducted the testing, and future research work FHWA is undertaking to leverage the results of the testing.
• Wire Arc Additive Manufacturing in Highway Bridge Infrastructure (Ryan Slein).  This presentation showcases FHWA’s industry-leading research into the application of additive manufacturing (i.e., 3D printing) to steel bridge components.  This ongoing research aims to assess the engineering performance of additively manufactured products and advance applications that will allow for rapid and cost-effective fabrication of complex steel components in bridge construction.

Time: 1:30 – 3:00 PM

FHWA’s Federal Lands bridge engineering program

• Construction of the Pretty Rocks Bridge (Benn Oltmann).  This presentation features the design and construction of the 475-foot truss bridge crossing a landslide zone in Denali National Park, Alaska.  The construction of this bridge included the longitudinal launching of the truss across the landslide, which required unique engineering and construction methods.  The construction of this bridge was further complicated by the remote and mountainous site.
• Segmental Bridge Construction with Epoxy-Coated Strands – Laurel Fork Bridge (Chris Negley).  This presentation features the design and construction of the Laurel Fork Bridge replacement on the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina.  This project is constructing a new segmental concrete bridge in mountainous terrain and will feature one of the first uses of epoxy coated prestressing strand in the United States.