MAADI Group was awarded a contract through Construction Bressau Inc. to finalize the fabrication of a new fusion-welded aluminum bridge deck system for the transport ministry in Quebec, Canada. With this contract, MAADI will become the first Canadian manufacturer of aluminum bridge decking for 63-ton vehicles, commonly known as CL-625.
“We’re very pleased that we were chosen for this project,” said Alexandre de la Chevrotière, CEO of MAADI Group. “MAADI Group recognizes that it’s a big challenge, but we’re ready to put in the work to make this infrastructure innovation possible.”
The contract is part of a $5 million research project led by the Ministère des Transports to demonstrate the viability of extruded aluminum as a strong and durable solution for bridge decks in major infrastructure. This is part of an effort by the province to encourage the local transformation of aluminum by Quebec-based firms and produce exportable aluminum products. Canada is the fourth largest producer of primary aluminum in the world, but most of it is currently exported to be transformed elsewhere.
The initial deck design for the project was developed jointly by the major North American engineering firm WSP, the AluQuébec aluminum cluster and Université Laval.
For the pilot project, MAADI will extrude and weld the aluminum decking at its manufacturing facility in Varennes, Quebec. Using its aluminum engineering and manufacturing expertise, the company will fine-tune the design as needed. The deck will then be installed by Construction Bressau Inc. on a new heavy-load bridge in the Montmorency Forest area.
Once the pilot project is successful, MAADI will be able to manufacture aluminum bridge decks on behalf of Quebec’s transportation ministry. The ministry will then sell its proprietary extrusions for use in new and existing bridge projects across Quebec, to any manufacturers that request them.
MAADI has nearly two decades of experience in manufacturing aluminum bridges and was the first Canadian manufacturer of aluminum bridge decks for 15-ton vehicles. The company is known for its GuarDECK™ design, a patented aluminum decking that uses a tongue-and-groove system (made possible through extrusion design) for rapid assembly and installation.
Unlike GuarDECK, the aluminum planks in the new bridge decking pilot project will be fusion welded, which involves melting the metal and allowing it to return to a solid state to form a strong joint. This will create an orthotropic deck that distributes the load bidirectionally to support heavier loads, such as a fully loaded semi-trailer truck.
Though still relatively uncommon, aluminum has been used in vehicular bridges for almost a century, with the first aluminum deck used in Pittsburgh in 1933. Aluminum’s light weight also makes its use in bridge decks ideal for rapid bridge replacement projects, substantially reducing disruption to traffic. In addition, aluminum is corrosion resistant, providing additional savings over the life of the structure compared to materials like steel or concrete that are more heavily impacted by road salt exposure — a substantial advantage in harsh Canadian winters.
According to a report on opportunities for the use of aluminum in vehicular bridge construction prepared jointly by de la Chevrotière and Scott Walbridge of the University of Waterloo, replacing more traditional concrete, steel, or wood decks with lighter aluminum decks has been shown to reduce bridge self-weight and significantly increase bridge live load capacity. This makes using aluminum in bridge decking a cost-effective way to extend the life and use of deteriorating bridges while also making them safer.