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City of Southfield Officially Dedicates Bridge Street Bridge May 10, 2002
The Bridge Street Bridge over the Rouge River was officially dedicated during a ribbon cutting ceremony held on Wednesday, May 8, 2002. Although opened to traffic on December 4, 2001, a formal dedication was delayed in anticipation of spring weather. The event took place at the site, just west of Telegraph and north of Eight Mile Road in Southfield, Michigan. Special arrangements were made to temporarily close Structure B, the carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) bridge. Traffic was diverted to Structure A, the steel reinforced bridge. A tent was set up on the bridge where attendees enjoyed refreshments and displays documenting the project's progress and completion, including samples of the CFRP used during construction. City of Southfield Mayor Brenda Lawrence and City Administrator Donald Gross each spoke about the importance of such a project and the recognition that the City would receive for instituting a bridge that is not only one-of-a-kind in the City, but in the world. Among the guests, were a number of representatives from the CFRP manufacturers and distributors, many traveling from Japan to be present. Mr. Masatoshi Adachi, vice president and general manager of Sumitomo Corp. of America, the distributor for Mitsubishi Chemical Functional Products, Inc., spoke on behalf of all those involved in the use of "Leadline" carbon fiber products for the project. He was joined by Mr. Shigeto Tanaka, president of Tokyo Rope Mfg. Co., Ltd., the manufacturer of the carbon fiber composite cable also used in the bridge construction. Mr. Tanaka added that his company was honored to have participated in the project and praised the City for trying something new to secure a long term solution to improving its infrastructure. After cutting the red ribbon to officially dedicate the bridge, a cast bronze plaque standing approximately eight feet above the bridge deck, was unveiled. This plaque, which documents the year of completion and a short explanation of the bridge, is permanently affixed to the west bridge barrier of Structure B. An excerpt from the plaque engraving reads: "This is the first vehicular bridge built in the United States using Carbon Fiber Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) material as structural reinforcement in place of steel. The technology utilized was developed through a National Science Foundation research project conducted by Lawrence Technological University. This full-scale implementation of that research represents the leadership and commitment of the Federal Highway Administration, Michigan Department of Transportation and City of Southfield to seek new and innovative solutions to the critical national problem of highway bridge durability." |
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