(NEWS CENTER) -- A company from Maine says it has made a record-setting bridge beam that's heading to the "show me" state.
Harbor Technologies LLC of Brunswick made a composite bridge beam over 105 feet long, the largest of its kind. It's six feet wide and five inches deep. The Missouri Transportation Department is repairing and replacing more than 800 bridges over the next five years. They says the composite material the beam is made from has huge benefits.
"You can set six beams or more on one truck, take them to the job site and offload them there," Mike Meyerhoff, MoDOT Safe and Sound Bridge program, said. "As opposed to a standard beam which are so heavy you can only ever put one on a truck, so you save a lot on shipping costs."
The bridges are fiberglass-coated composite beams. The insides are made of styrofoam, steel and concrete; that makes them just as strong as standard beams and much more corrosion resistant.
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