Research into the feasibility of re-using steel bridge girders has been boosted by a subsidy.

The Japanese government awarded the subsidy to Tokyo-based company JFE Engineering Corporation.

The government of Laos has been replacing steel bridges on its east-west running National Highway 9, supported by Japanese aid. JFE replaced two deteriorating bridges with its steel and concrete composite structure, River Bridge.

The old bridges are being stored by the Laotian government, and in the coming year, researchers from JFE will examine the 250m girders with a view to regeneration.

Similar steel girder bridges, some of them dating back to the early 1900s, are in use across the developing world and coming to the end of their lifespan. Constructing new steel bridges is time-consuming, expensive and resource hungry. The project aims to see if re-using steel girders might be a more efficient way of managing infrastructure.