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- Ramp up research and development. Old industries like highway construction tend to rely on old materials and techniques. The Federal Highway Administration sponsors the Superpave system to encourage businesses to develop space-age asphalt and alternative construction materials. Other innovations outside the Beltway: The corrosion resistant "plastic bridge" (a fiber/polymer composite) installed over Wisconsin's De Neveu Creek. At the test tube end of things, some laboratories are experimenting with structural nano-materials that repair themselves.
- Expedite. Use precast, prefabricated materials. When Colorado's Mitchell Gulch Bridge needed to be repaired, it was estimated that it would cause 2 to 3 months of detours and delays. Using precast structural units, the bridge was replaced in 48 hours.
- Be sensitive. The I-25 highway bridge at an interchange near New Mexico's Dona Ana Interchange monitors itself with integrated fiberoptic sensors to register strain and stress -- so you don't have to.
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