Infrastructure

The infrastructure of American roads and bridges plays a vital role of a healthy economy and the safety of its citizens. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the United States has an inventory of over 600,000 bridges, almost four in ten of which are 50 years or older.

More than 47,000 bridges in the United States are in crucial need of repairs, says the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, or ARTBA. The group, which advocates for investment in transportation infrastructure, analyzes data from the Federal Highway Administration and releases an annual Deficient Bridge report.

The report released in 2019 based on 2018 data, found:

• There are 616,087 bridges in America.


• Of those, 47,052 (nearly 8%) are "structurally deficient" and need urgent repairs.


• 235,020 bridges (38%) need some sort of repair.


• Americans cross structurally deficient bridges 178 million times a day.

As new design and fabrication techniques become more popular such as orthotropic deck bridges, it’s crucial to have access to professionals that are able to interpret and meet the increasingly stringent requirements of these complicated designs. Advanced designs require advanced welding procedures, welding personnel qualification and nondestructive testing (NDT) methods such as phased array ultrasonic testing (PAUT). PQS has provided solutions to these advanced techniques on many high-profile bridge fabrication and retrofitting.

PQS employs industry experts that continually participates on multiple committees including the American Welding Society (AWS), American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and National Steel Bridge Alliance (NSBA) to ensure our staff is current with the ever-changing code and regulatory requirements. PQS CEO Nate Lindell has been a member of the AWS Bridge Committee for over 15 years. Our solid relationships with many State Department of Transportation Materials and Testing Divisions helps ensure a smooth project with minimal impact to the project when issues do arise.

With more and more new bridge fabrication projects being sent overseas, it’s crucial that Owners, General Contractors and Joint Ventures have professionals with international experience working with local customs with solid business relationships. PQS has experienced bilingual staff with international experience, particularly in the Asian fabrication market.

State and Federally funded bridge projects require the fabricator to be certified by the American Institute of Steel Construction. Certification level depends on the complexity of the bridge with fracture critical bridges being the most stringent. PQS has vast experience with the certification process as well as with the fabrication of fracture critical bridges in accordance with the AWS and AISC.