Alternative Applications

Alternative Applications for Steel Grid Bridge Flooring

Open steel grid bridge flooring or “bridge grating“ has been used since the early 1900’s on bridges where dead-load reduction was a driving factor in the design. Movable bridges such as swing bridges, lift bridges and bascule bridges are key examples of dead-load sensitive structures. Over the decades of use, designers have noticed that these “bridge gratings” have a multitude of uses in non-bridge alternative applications.

Open steel grid bridge flooring is somewhat different from a traditional catwalk type grating in that its components interlock as part of the assembly process. Also, the bars that run perpendicular to the main load carrying bars (the cross bars) are not only interlocked but they are heavy and designed to distribute the load so that more main bars are participating. Most light-duty grating and riveted grating are not good at distributing load in the weak direction.

There are many useful alternative applications where a light-weight decking that is strong and designed for handling heavy rolling loads can be of service.

Wildlife Guards

Animals don’t like to cross open grating. This fact has been used to limit animal access to areas where deer, elk, moose or other animals could cause dangerous or undesirable interactions with people, cars and trucks or other animals. L.B. Foster can provide information for standard, pre-designed systems that can be easily used for these applications.

Since open steel grid bridge flooring is designed to carry all standard highway loading, access is maintained for all traffic.

Port Facilities

Heavy duty open steel grid bridge flooring easily handles heavy loads imposed at port facilities for loading and unloading ships. Its non-skid, serrated surface maintains a safe working environment where water and debris will not collect.

The large panels install quickly to keep the facility working.

Industrial Floor Armoring

Industrial floors take a lot of abuse. In areas where high heat or a caustic environment leads to short life for your standard concrete floor, steel grid bridge decking can extend the life of your floor by five times or more. When steel grid bridge decking is filled with concrete it results in a highly armored floor that has been used in the harshest environments with great success.

Waste-to-energy facility tipping floors and steel mill charging floors are two examples where owners have been able to greatly reduce floor maintenance costs by upgrading their floors with grid reinforcement.

Heavy Duty Trench Applications for Roadway and Airport Locations

Typical catwalk grating uses twisted square wire cross bars. A wire cross bar is not heavy enough to effectively transfer load to adjacent bars and will not withstand the forces generated by heavy turning wheel loads.

Open steel grid bridge grating is specifically designed for exactly this type of loading and is ideal for heavy duty applications. Airport trench applications are especially well suited for this material.

Other Applications

There are many other alternative applications for this versatile flooring material which take advantage of its strength and/or light-weight. L.B. Foster is the oldest, largest and most experienced manufacturer of this type of material offering in-house design assistance for any type of application that you can dream up.