1) The first item recommends Insteel to produce stainless steel suspenders. When we contacted their sales department, we were redirected to the department responsible for high strength tendons. The representative of that department said that they primarily produce post-tensioning strand and he was not aware of any stainless steel products that they made. He recommended Bridon for stainless steel bridge suspenders.

2) Regarding the domestic suppliers of spider fittings for the glass, it is our understanding that that the fittings could be supplied domestically and the glass could be supplied domestically, but there was not a domestic company that would supply both or one that would guarantee the performance of their stainless steel fittings being used with another company’s glass products.

Following is a response to this issue from Roger Watson at SAINT-GOBAIN GLASS:

"The Litewall Mono point-fixed glazing system has been developed over many years with thorough research, development and testing of component parts. For a system of this nature to perform in its structural capacity and indeed be warranted for 10 years, it is critical that each of the component parts are procured and assembled in accordance with the testing an certification program which has been mandated by the DIBT (German Institute for Building Technology)." "The glass and integral countersunk fittings MUST be used together to ensure that the stresses induced by live loads are effectively and safely transferred through the glass to the fittings and thereon back to the supporting structure." "In order for these loads to be correctly and safely distributed back to the structure it is critical that tried and tested connections fitting e.g. "spiders" are used. Since the warranty for design and manufacture of the glass and associated components is part of the scope, it is necessary to use the Litewall system components." "It is true that many components can be sourced individually but then a "system" warranty will not apply. Should failure ever occur (for whatever reason) the end user will need to contact a source for the warranty. It is not possible to obtain a glazing system or structural warranty from a material source company such as CR Laurence." "Eckelt's Litewal spiders have been developed in-house and their performance characteristics are known. Independent suppliers might provide information but will rarely support design development procedures." "For example, the CR Laurence "Heavy Duty" spider works on glass only up to 20mm thick. There is glass on this project which is 25mm thick - what solution is there here to use the spider material supplier ?" "I would also be careful as to "manufacturers" of spiders in the US. They might have locations here but it is highly likely that the spiders are procured overseas anyway."

3) We contacted Salit Specialty Rebar and inquired about the stainless steel wire mesh for the railings. The representative told us that they do not produce any decorative railing type mesh suitable for our application. The mesh they produce is used for reinforcing steel and cannot be used for the application on our bridge.

Following is a response to this issue from John Palkoner at Carl Stahl DecorCable Innovations:

"Even though the mesh is produced in Germany, we are an American company, and have been in business in Chicago for the last 12 years. Our parent company is Sava Industries, and they are also based in New Jersey. You are buying from an American company, the mesh just isn't mfg. here. There is no other company in this hemisphere that makes this type of mesh. We only have one competitor and their headquarters is in Europe. There are other so called "mesh" suppliers here but they are not the same. Our mesh is made of cable. Most of the suppliers here, what they call "mesh" isn't cable, it is solid, and looks and acts like chain link fence, completely different. If you find anyone here that does the cable, it is all hand woven, and is not used for guard rails, and wont pass codes, they open up the cables to pass the other cable thru, not very strong. Our cable mesh is put together w/ the ferrules, and the integrity of the cables is not compromised. If you want, you can either buy all the support cables for the mesh locally, or I can have the support cables made in New Jersey. Let me know if you need anything else or have any questions."

4) The grade 2205 stainless steel plate and pipes are for use in the railings and cable guide pipes. The railings and guide pipes are primary structural members of the bridge and as such have very specific strength and durability requirements. We contacted Talley Metals and they do not produce duplex stainless steel plate or pipe. They are a rebar specialist and we do not have any stainless steel rebar on the project.

Regarding the Structural Stainless Steel: The use of the Grade 2205 stainless steel is for the structural railings and external prestressing guide pipes. The need for higher grade materials is due to the structural nature of the railing and guide pipes that require a higher strength material and the need for those items to be highly corrosion resistant. Both of these characteristics are inherent in the Grade 2205 stainless steel, but are not found in the grades of stainless steel available in America.

Regarding Suspender Cable Fittings: American companies do produce fittings large enough for our bridge but nothing that is stainless steel and no galvanized or painted fittings that meet the aesthetic requirements of this bridge. Bridon is a UK company that produces an aesthetic product in painted or "Metal Coat" finish. American companies do produce stainless fittings for aircraft wire or marine applications, but nothing large enough for our bridge. Pfeifer is a company which produces a stainless steel fitting that is large enough for this bridge and meets the aesthetic requirements.

We have done extensive research, during the design, into the US steel industry to find domestic suppliers of both of these items. The result was that we felt a waiver of the Buy America requirement was needed. We have many pages of documentation backing up this research that is unfortunately too extensive to post here, but has been submitted to FHWA for their review.