At a time of increased need and proposed spending on infrastructure projects, especially in the United States, Tinius Olsen has launched a major expansion of its line of materials testers developed specifically for civil engineering applications. According to C. Robert Tait III, President of Tinius Olsen, “We are already well represented at various state departments of transportation nationwide. These new products will give the engineers and technical teams in charge of quality and safety, many additional test system choices.”

The expanded civil engineering product family from Tinius Olsen now includes materials testers and software for evaluating: concrete; asphalt quality control; cements, plaster, and mortar; and sand, aggregate, and fillers. All its products are designed for specific applications and conform to their relevant ASTM, BS, AASHTO and other internationally recognized standards. The newest models include test equipment for classification and strength properties of cement, concrete, and building materials, as well as for petroleum products, asphalt bitumen, tar and paint, surface flexure, and irregularity of roads.

The Tay Bridge in Scotland, was designed by Thomas Bouch, a civil engineer. The first Tay Bridge took a total of six years to build, materials used included;

• Ten million bricks,
• Two million rivets,
• Eighty-seven thousand cubic feet of timber,
• Fifteen thousand casks of cement.

Six hundred men were employed throughout the construction of the bridge, twenty of whom lost their lives.