How Composites Can Make Park Infrastructure Better for Visitors

There are many ways that composite materials can help make the infrastructure of national parks a safer and more visually appealing to visitors, and ultimately ensure that more people will visit them.

This is not a small consideration since there were almost 331 million visitors in U. S. national parks in 2017.

However, one of the most difficult issues that the park service has struggled with in recent decades is the degrading of the infrastructure in many national parks, and this is where composite materials can help.

The Benefits of Using Composites in National Park Infrastructure

There is almost no shortage of ways that composite materials could be employed in the infrastructure of national parks in the United States.

For example, one major issue that many parks are facing is the severe degradation of automobile bridges in the park.

Composite materials are a perfect fit for this since composite decks can be economically and quickly installed to make these automobile bridges safer for visitors.

In addition to automobile bridges, many parks are also struggling to find ways to deal with unsafe trail bridges, which allow hikers to cross natural obstacles like streams and gullies.

One of the issues that plague trail bridge construction is that it is often difficult to get heavy materials like steel and concrete to the site where the trail bridge is located. 

This issue arises from the fact that many of these bridges are located in remote wilderness areas that have a limited number of roads.

Here again, composite materials offer a way for the park service to construct trail bridges in places that are difficult to get to because composite materials are inherently lighter than traditional construction materials. 

Other benefits that composite materials have for infrastructure applications in national parks include:

• The fact that composite automobile and trail bridge structures can be prefabricated
• Shorter and less costly construction times
• High corrosion resistance to water, wind and a wide variety of chemical agents
• Significantly lower maintenance costs over the lifetime of the structure

Thanks to these and other benefits of composite materials, the infrastructure of our national parks can be more cost-effectively refurbished and be safer and more aesthetically pleasing for their growing number of visitors.

Composites One Leads North America in Composite Materials Distribution

If your company designs and builds composite infrastructure components, such as bridge walkways, then having a reliable and conveniently located supplier is something that you require.

The team at Composites One can help you to find all the supplies that you need for your composite construction thanks to the more than 2,000 composite supply items we offer from more than 600 suppliers.

In addition, our 41 locations across the United States and Canada mean that we can provide you with a source of supplies that is close to your production facility.

To take advantage of composite materials from the number one composite supplies company in North America, contact Composites One now.