VSL and Traylor Brothers, Inc. completed a cable-stayed bridge in Maysville, Kentucky to supplement an existing suspension bridge that is unable to safely handle heavily loaded trucks. The 710-m long bridge (2,330 feet) spans the Ohio River and connects Maysville (Mason County), Kentucky to Aberdeen (Brown County), Ohio. The bridge used VSL’s Monostrand Stay Cable System. The Maysville bridge is the first cable-stayed bridge in the United States to use co-extruded stay pipe and strand-by-strand installation.

VSL’s scope of work included stay testing, design, manufacturing, and shop prefabrication of anchors. VSL also provided stay installation equipment, stressing equipment, and technical assistance for the stay installation.

Consisting of steel edge girders and  transverse floor beams decked with precast panels, the 320-m long main span superstructure (1,050 ft.) was erected using the balanced cantilever method.

The bridge consists of 2 cast-in-place pylons rising 93 m (305 ft.) above the water line. There are a total of 80 stays ranging in size from 24 to 43 strands. The anchor piers and approach spans were constructed concurrently with the pylons. The structural steel edge girders are 167 cm and 213 cm (66 inches and 84 inch) in height and the floor beams are spaced at 4.8-m centers (16 ft.). The main span girder structural steel sections are 15 m long by 16.7 m wide (50-ft x 55-ft) and weigh approximately 41 tons. Overall roadway width is 14.6m (48 ft.).

To mitigate stay gallop caused by rain and wind, the system utilized a unique stay pipe design. A co-extruded high density polyethylene pipe was used which has a brilliant white outer layer eliminating the necessity to use a tape wrap. The outer layer has a small spiral bead around the pipe to break up air flow and help minimize cable gallop when there is light rain and wind. In addition, stay damping cables were connected between the stay cables with soft neoprene collars to further control wind and rain induced vibrations.