Wire mesh is a staple for industries across the board. It’s used in architecture, wall and rock retention, and bridge maintenance. The first
time wire mesh appeared on a major highway was in 1908 on the Long
Island Parkway. The reinforcement weighed just 0.2 pounds per square
foot. As time passed and technology improved, many states began
requiring wire reinforcement in their roads.Welded wire mesh for
highways can come in a variety of jointed reinforced concrete pavement
or continuously reinforced pavement. The mesh comes in a large sheet,
which can be as big as 13 feet by 40 feet.
Outside of Champaign, Illinois, the welded wire mesh used for building 1-57 helped the interstate route last 30 years. A three-mile
section developed no major or intermediate stress cracks or displaced
joints—without ever getting an overlayment.
"Based on the research, the concerns some design professionals have about the use of welded wire reinforcement are not justified," Southern
Illinois University professor Luke Snell wrote in a 1999 study of the
highway. "The cover of WWR can be controlled within specification limits
if the reinforcement is in sheet form and adequate supports are
provided."In 2010, the Mike O'Callaghan-Pat Tillman Memorial Bridge
opened to manage growing traffic and mitigate safety issues. This bridge
was a major component of the Hoover Dam Bypass project and was the
first concrete-steel composite bridge in the country.
In 2018, the New York State Department of Transportation began a $15.8 million project to remove and replace old bridges on Interstate
84. More than 50,000 vehicles use the highway daily. The new bridges
will contain abutments reinforced with wire mesh and shotcrete.
Wire mesh has a number of other uses for highway construction, as well. They include repairing upper layers of preexisting road to cut
down on pavement deformation, such as deep rutting and reflective
cracking. The material is particularly helpful on soft ground to
increase pavement bearing capacity.
