Duracorr corrodes in salt-bearing environments at 1/10th the rate of traditional weathering steel, making it possible to build bridges that never need painting. Today’s bridges made with Duracorr can be maintenance-free for the life of the bridge – more than 100 years. This long, maintenance-free life means Duracorr bridges have lower life-cycle costs when compared to conventional bridges.

According to the US Federal Highway Administration, about 21% of steel superstructure bridges in the US are considered structurally deficient, mainly due to corrosion from environmental salt or salt used on roads and bridges in winter. So it’s no surprise that several bridge rebuilding projects are turning to Duracorr steel plate for its environmental and sustainability benefits.

“We first began making Duracorr in the 1990s, when it was used for making coal-carrying rail cars,” said Fred Fletcher, principal research scientist, ArcelorMittal Global Research and Development. “Since then, it has found applications wherever carbon steels just can’t stand up to corrosion – such as in coal chutes, sugar-processing equipment and for piping oil sands from mines to upgrader plants.” 

ArcelorMittal manufactures Duracorr in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in a special vacuum oxygen decarburizing (VOD) steelmaking vessel, unique to our North American steel plants. The Duracorr slabs are then rolled into plate and finished in either Coatesville or Conshohocken, depending on the plate sizes required.

“In 2004, the very first Duracorr bridge was built over an irrigation canal in California. This Federal Highway Administration-sponsored project demonstrated how easy it was to make an innovative bridge with ArcelorMittal’s steel,” said Martin Francis, lead research engineer, Global Research and Development, Coatesville. “Recognising the benefits of the steel, the state of Oregon built two bridges with Duracorr. Both are award-winning bridges, due largely to the environmental and sustainable benefits of the A1010 Duracorr product.”

In 2014, the Dodge Creek Bridge project in Oregon, made with Duracorr, received the Short Span Merit Award with Sustainability Commendation from the National Steel Bridge Alliance. And in 2017 the Mill Creek Bridge, located in the salty environment of the Columbia River’s coastal zone, won the same award. Duracorr’s sustainability credentials are further enhanced by the fact that it is produced in an electric arc furnace at Coatesville, using 99% recycled scrap steel, the only exception being some steelmaking alloy additions.

“A1010 Duracorr is picking up speed and being adopted by more US state and Canadian provincial transportation departments,” said Fletcher. “ArcelorMittal USA has received very positive feedback from departments of transportation in the states using Duracorr for bridges and significant discussions are taking place with many national bridge organizations to promote its life cycle advantages and sustainability features. It’s very gratifying that ArcelorMittal is providing environment-friendly products for a sustainable future.”