Steel in Infrastructure

Steel in Infrastructure

Material selection shapes the flexibility, cost-effectiveness and durability of the infrastructure that surrounds us. Steel underpins many of the services we take for granted, such as power, water, transportation and sanitation, and it enables our daily work and social lives.  

Next time you are on your way to work or home, take a look around and imagine how we would function without the use of steel.


Steel's broad range of uses

Steel's use in infrastructure is pervasive. Among the many types of infrastructure that utilise steel are:

  • bridges
  • pedestrian bridges
  • reticulation services: steel pipelines span the country, efficiently distributing clean, safe drinking water
  • transportation: including rail track, electrification support structures and rolling stock, road signage gantries and guard rails, cars and trucks, ships, wharfs, containers and container handling structures
  • bulk-handling equipment and storage: including cranes, bunkers, silos
  • power generation and distribution: including generators and primary power distribution networks
  • community hardware: including light poles, bus shelters, park benches, manhole covers and other fitments that make our lives easier and safer every day.

Steel promotes innovation 

Steel has the highest strength-to-weight ratio of all the primary construction products. In high-strength form, steel not only provides all the advantages of reduced weight and increased strength that are needed for infrastructure projects, it also exhibits superior toughness.

It's no surprise that there are multiple benefits offered by high-performance, high-strength steel.