Request
Action: Notice, request for comments.
Web posting date: 04/12/2011
Federal Register Notice of Finding Publication Date:
08/22/11
Effective Date of Federal Register:
08/23/11
Close of public comment period:
09/07/11
Summary:
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is seeking comments on whether a waiver of the Buy America requirements of 23 CFR 635.410 should be granted to permit the use of non-domestic 1/2" x 0.008 steel fiber with ultimate tensile strength of 290ksi for experimental use in Ultra High Performance Concrete (UHPC) in the state of Oregon and New York.
FHWA will only consider a Buy America waiver when the conditions of 23 CFR 635.410( c) have been met: (1) when the application of the provision would be inconsistent with the public interest; or (2) when steel and iron products are not produced in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available quantities, which are of a satisfactory quality.
The FHWA will consider all comments received in the initial 15-day comment period during our evaluation of the waiver request. Comments received after this period, but before notice of our finding is published in the Federal Register, will be considered to the extent practical. Follow-up coordination on the comments received may result in a delay in the publication of our waiver finding in the Federal Register. Comments received during the 15-day comment period after notice of our finding is published in the Federal Register will be reviewed, but the finding will continue to remain valid. Comments received during the comment period after the effective date of the finding will be reviewed, and may influence the FHWA's decision to terminate or modify a finding.
Comments
| Ralph McGee 04/12/2011 |
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Credibility: I taught Engineering at the Army Academy at West Point, NY at the age of 22, including stresses and structures in Concrete. I believe that the above system is very usable. It has alway been a wonder that the US doesn't use the Universities such as MIT to come up with solutions of this type. In the past millions of dollars have been poured into programs designed to come up with solutions like this and the followup was schetchy at best. In addition to my West Point experience, I was an advisor to the Army Reserve Design and development program with Oregon State University for 3 years. As for the waiver for use of plans like this one, using Steel Fiber is as far as I know one that has far reaching possibilities. The one thing I wonder about, is why are we not creating plants in our Country to provide this technology. We need jobs and this is a good way to get started. We produce and use far to many products from other countries, much of which are developed from American ingenuity, and just built or produced in other countries. Thank you for allowing me this forum to respond. US Army Retired
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| Debbie Ruth 04/12/2011 |
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No this will only open the door for the federal Government to not buy Made in America Steel.
NO NO NO.
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| Charleen Taylor 04/12/2011 |
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No No a hundred times NO. Please bring our manufacturing base back and give the people here in the United States jobs. If it is not made in the United States then we should not purchase it!
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| john papandrea 04/12/2011 |
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It's one excuse after another as we shutter more mills, gutting our manufacturing base. The Buy America provisions are meant to insure that we continue to have the means to produce anything needed without being held hostage to foreign economies. We can ill afford to lose one more steel plant. If this technology succeeds, these preliminary fibers used in the experiment would support the choice of the future supplier. That supplier should be here in the U.S. now AND in the future. No waiver should be granted.
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| Nick Pappas 04/13/2011 |
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Is this for a headwall, bridge or ?
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| joe baker 04/13/2011 |
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yes to buy from American good but some time new technology of constriction is in the market and we do need to looked into theta as the can do the jobs don in quiche time and save billions of $ in the infrastracture in any department from government to city government or utility company we recommend to looked in to the systems theta .formwork 1 systems of-ring to the new constriction spacial in the water tanks .storms water. radon gas.ventilating floors walls and columns systems the can be ready to go whit minimal personal some of the system is been in programs in army base in Nevada
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| Craig Shike, Oregon DOT 04/29/2011 |
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My name is Craig Shike. I work as a bridge engineer for the Oregon Department of Transportation. We are one of the states who have applied for a “Buy America” waiver to use non-domestic ½” x 0.008” steel fibers. This memo is in response to the comments posted on the Federal Highway Administration website.
Our project involves precast prestressed concrete deck panels. These deck panels are an experimental item for Oregon. If they prove successful on our proposed project, we anticipate using these types of deck panels on selected future projects with the following benefits:
• Faster construction – Since cast-in-place concrete decks require 2 weeks to cure concrete, precast concrete decks can significantly reduce construction time and associated delays to the traveling public. • Longer deck life – Precast panels fabricated under controlled conditions can be made more durable (more resistant to rutting) and thereby reducing future maintenance costs. • Improved traffic and worker safety – Faster construction and fewer delays to the public are expected to result in fewer traffic accidents and safety incidents associated with construction projects.
One of the concerns with precast deck panels has been the joints that connect the panels together. In particular, the material used to fill the joints between panels is critical to the overall success of the system. A high quality material is essential to achieve satisfactory long-term performance.
For our project, we are proposing to use a joint material that was proven to perform well in similar joints. The Federal Highway Administration has tested this joint material in their Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center. At this point in time, there is not a similar material available on the market.
The waiver we are seeking is for use of steel fibers in the joint material only. The precast concrete deck panels use conventional American-made reinforcing steel and prestressing strand. They do not contain any of these specialty steel fibers. The value of these steel fibers in the joint material is expected to be less than 1% of the project cost.
We believe use of these fibers is essential in order to have a joint material with proven performance. For future projects, it is our hope and expectation that American companies will develop products with similar and satisfactory properties. At that time, future waivers will not be needed. We are hoping a successful application of this technology will encourage American companies to develop their own version of this joint material.
Sincerely,
Craig Shike, P.E. Interim Bridge Standards Manager Bridge Engineering Section Oregon Department of Transportation
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