A research team at The University of Texas at Arlington is using giant lightweight geofoam blocks to bolster the earth beneath roads and bridges and slow down the settling of roadways and bridges.

Anand Puppala, UT Arlington associate dean for research in the College of Engineering and distinguished scholar professor in the Civil Engineering Department, said that the majority of the world's largest cities, often built in areas near water bodies, have soft and compressible soils. He said a good number of the 52,000 bridges in Texas have bump problems on entry due to settling of the soil under the pavement slabs.

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