EPS products, including flute fillers, Terraflex Elasticized Polystyrene, and EPS Geofoam are used in road and bridge construction throughout the United States. It is used to build up bridge embankments, protect bridge abutments and reduce bridge weight. For this bridge repair project in Baltimore, Maryland the engineer chose EPS39 Geofoam to protect underground utilities because of its light weight (less than 2-1/2 lbs per cubic foot) and because it has the compression strength to handle high volume vehicular traffic. 24,000 cubic feet of 24” x 48” x 96” blocks of EPS39 were cut on site using a Hotwire Bow Cutter and a Geofoam Hotwire Kit provided by Universal Foam Products. The material installed quickly, which helped to reduce the period of road closure.
