Ft. Eustis opens recycled rail bridges

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (WAVY) - Joint Base Langley-Eustis officials unveiled two new rail bridges on Fort Eustis Thursday, both made almost entirely from recycled material.

The Recycled Structural Composite (RSC) bridges replaced older wooden bridges within the vast rail network on the installation that the U.S. Army Transportation School uses to train Transportation Reserve Soldiers in the proper operation of locomotives. Officials say the former wooden bridge #3 and #7 had aged to a point of concern in supporting the engines and rolling stock.

"This has been a great project. The bridge was made out of nearly 100 percent recycled product, and it was a winning situation between Fort Eustis and our contracting team," said Phil Reed, Fort Eustis Directorate of Public Works Engineering Division chief. "Not only will it cut our maintenance cost for years to come, but it will last longer than the 57-year-old bridge we removed."

The two new bridges are the first of their kind in the U.S. They are made completely of RSC, a nearly 100 percent recycled material made of post-consumer and industrial plastics.  Both have a load capacity of up to 130 tons and were made to E60 weight and speed limit standards.

"The magic to this material (RSC) is quite simple; we're taking 100 percent recycled materials and pulling them out of land fields and re-diverting them into useful life," said Jim Kerstein, CEO of Axion International Holding, Inc., makers of the Recycled Structural Composite material. "For example, 20-year-old milk jugs laying around that have not degraded can now be used as recycled materials."