Axion International Holdings Inc. has completed a $957,000 contract for the construction of two railroad bridges designed from nearly 100 percent recycled plastics.
The US Army has commissioned each of these bridges to be built at Fort Eustis, Va. The main structural components of these bridges will be made entirely from recycled consumer and industrial plastics using Axion’s immiscible blending to create Recycled Structural Composites. With load rating capacities of 130 tons, these bridges will reach a new milestone in thermoplastic load bearing capacity, surpassing the current record held by Axion’s bridges at Fort Bragg, NC, which are able to support loads over 73 tons for tracked vehicles and 88 tons for wheeled vehicles.
“This sizable contract represents the perfect marriage of two of our core infrastructure products - bridges and railroad crossties,” said James Kerstein, Axion’s CEO. “Not only will the bridges be constructed using our proprietary RSC, the railroad crossties will also be made out of virtually 100 percent recycled consumer and industrial plastics.
The new bridges will replace two wooden bridges that have been taken out of service and do so in a faster amount of time and less expensively than could have been achieved using wood, steel or concrete.