The Fourteen Mile Bridge, along County Route 37 near Ranger, is the first bridge in West Virginia to utilize an innovative technology called a press-brake-formed steel tub girder bridge.

The West Virginia Division of Highways said that it is using a new type of technology to replace a bridge in Lincoln County.

The Fourteen Mile Bridge, along County Route 37 near Ranger, is the first bridge in West Virginia to utilize an innovative technology called a press-brake-formed steel tub girder bridge.

This type of bridge system is a joint design effort between West Virginia University and Marshall University and consists of galvanized shallow trapezoidal boxes fabricated from cold-bent structural steel plate. A concrete deck is precast on the girder, making it a singular unit that can be transported by truck to the project site. It saves time and costs because it can be installed in a shorter time frame, lasts longer and requires minimal maintenance over the life of the span.

"This technology originated just a few years ago and is now beginning to be considered as a more affordable and efficient system than the normal steel girder structure," Deputy Secretary of Transportation Jimmy Wriston, P.E. said. "We are excited, too, that the design and research has come from an engineering partnership between two of West Virginia's engineering schools at Marshall University and West Virginia University."

Orders Construction Company of St. Albans was awarded the $2.27 million contract. Work began several weeks ago and has a projected completion date of Nov. 15, 2019.

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