Re-assessment of an existing structure, which is near to the New Madrid fault system, concluded that to meet revised design specifications a seismic retrofit was required.

The bridge is a three span continuous steel girder structure with concrete piers and abutments. Previously one line of fixed bearing resisted all longitudinal seismic forces, with the retrofitting of LUDs at each abutment the longitudinal forces on these bearings are reduced.

The LUD retrofit solution proved cost effective as no jacking of the bridge structure was required and the devices were installed without any disruption to traffic flow. The alternative to this scheme could have involved new pier bearings and substantial pier strengthening works. This would have involved bridge jacking and restrictions to traffic flow, and subsequently higher costs. This installation was successfully carried out as part of the HITEC (Highways Innovative Technology Evaluation Centre) evaluation programme.