DUSSELDORF; Germany - A late-1980s design for aluminum bridge decks has beer gaining favor in Scandinavia and could presage a day when more aluminum is used in bridges in cold climates, the European Aluminium Association said in its quarterly report issued this week.

The group said that aluminum bridges up to 100 meters (328 feet) long capable of carrying heavy road traffic were being successfully erected in Scandinavia. where temperature swings from minus 35 degrees Celsius (minus 31 Fahrenheit) to 35 degrees C (95 degrees F) have led to high maintenance costs for steel and concrete bridges.

According to the association, a bridge deck replacement system consisting of hollow aluminum extrusions formed into an orthotropic plate and coated with either acrylic composite or asphalt to reduce surface wear has enabled builders to construct lightweight bridges that can withstand salt and other winter corrosives better than steel and concrete.

While the use of aluminum in pedestrian bridges is nothing new, the European association said that the tendency to use aluminum to replace steel and concrete spans in existing road traffic bridges is a new development that could eventually mean aluminum spans being used in 500 bridges across Scandinavia.

As many as 80 aluminum bridges have been built in Europe, including 45 deck replacements in Scandinavia using the new technique. One of the examples cited in the report was a 39-meter (128feet) span that used 28 tonnes of aluminum.