L.B. Foster awarded $10 million Brooklyn Bridge contract

L.B. Foster Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., is providing new roadway decking and bridge railing for the Brooklyn and Manhattan approach ramps to the famed Brooklyn Bridge. The $10 million contract will include more than 170,000 square feet of steel grid deck and 13,000 linear feet of steel railing. These fabricated materials are being manufactured at the company's Bedford, PA facility; shipments are expected to be completed by the end of 2011.

The New York City Department of Transportation has installed steel grid decking systems on many area projects including the famed Manhattan Bridge. "Steel grid decking offers efficient installation, long-term performance and low life cycle costs over competing products," noted Don Foster, senior vice president, L.B. Foster Construction Products. The grid decking reinforces the precast concrete to form a composite material that takes advantage of the best properties of both the concrete and steel. Concrete will be precast into these complex panels by a separate supplier and the panels will be shipped to the site ready to install.

The city of New York is relying on stimulus resources from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to partially fund this contract.

L.B. Foster Company is a manufacturer, fabricator, and distributor of products and services for the rail, construction, energy and utility markets with 30 locations throughout the United States. The company's Fabricated Bridge Products group has been a provider of structural steel, bridge decking, and railing for the construction and rehabilitation of the nation's bridges, highways, and buildings for more than 40 years.