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It has been designed to carry heavy goods vehicles of up to 44 tonnes. Its individual spans, at over 9m, are the longest ever constructed from recycled plastic. Being manufactured from plastic it will not rot or rust, it does not require painting, treating or regular maintenance. It has made very effective use of over 50 tonnes of waste plastic, e.g. from kerbside collection of household bottles and plastic waste from end of life vehicle recycling, which might otherwise have been sent to landfill. The bridge is also 100% recyclable.

Vertech Composites, the UK-based firm that designed and built the bridge. And with an expected lifespan of about 50 years, that would yield a savings of $300 per-square-foot during its lifecycle compared with bridges made of standard building materials.

In completing the project, Vertech engineers worked with several groups, including the Cardiff University School of Engineering and Rutgers University’s Advanced Polymer Center, that also helped construct a thermoplastic composite bridge at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.