Indiana fabricates plate girder by welding plates together to create the desired shape. We receive large plates of steel in the desired thickness, which are cut into the flanges and web of the desired length and shape as per clients specifications. In a plate girder bridge, the plate girders are typically I-beams made up from separate structural steel plates which are welded.

The ability to customize a girder to the exact load conditions allows the bridge design to be more efficient. Indiana can achieve the demands of plate girder for spans between 10 metres and more than 100 metres (33 feet to more than 330 feet). As per customer specifications stiffeners are occasionally welded between the compression flange and the web to increase the strength of the girder.

Plate girders are usually prefabricated and the length limit is frequently set by the mode of transportation used to move the girder from our fabrication plant to the bridge site.