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Will bridges in Oregon come out of a backpack someday?

They might if any part of the project has federal funding. The federal government is taking a at a new system called Bridge in a Backpack that the product’s says will cut construction costs and save time.

The system, created at the University of Maine’s Advanced Structures and Composite Center, consists of a sturdy fabric made of carbon fiber that folds up small enough to fit in an oversized backpack. Pull out the fabric and inflate it, and it expands to create a composite shell that can then be coated with resin and filled with concrete.

The system isn’t suitable for a bridge as large and extensive as Oregon’s proposed Columbia River Crossing. But it does have potential for smaller bridges, such as the 35-foot-long in central Maine where the technology has already been tested.

While I’m fascinated by the concept of the system, I have to wonder about the potential downside. Using fewer materials, speeding up construction timelines and reducing the amount of after-the-fact maintenance  all sound attractive, especially when tax dollars are involved. But faster projects mean shorter job times for construction crews. And some industry sectors, such as the steel industry, possibly stand to be cut out of the picture completely.

So is the Bridge in a Backpack a feasible — or economically desirable — option for Oregon?