Bamboo for more sustainable footbridges in Strasbourg

Thousands of square meters of decking to maintain or replace

Known for its environmental commitment, the Eurometropolis of Strasbourg has generalized the use of a decking (floor) made of local wood, on around a hundred footbridges, instead of exotic woods. The intention was good – less deforestation and less greenhouse gas emissions – but it was without counting on accelerated aging that the development of active mobility has amplified.

Scooters, bicycles and sometimes scooters have indeed been added to the walks. The thirty or so municipalities concerned found themselves with several thousand square meters of decking to maintain or repair, at higher frequencies and costs than expected. Without these interventions, the probability of the risk of falls and accidents greatly increased.

The agency m₃O, a company specializing in the quality of stay in public spaces and street furniture, proposed to the management department of these works to study an alternative solution for decking based on MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® bamboo from the company Moso International BV .

The arguments in favor of this grass are numerous: an unlimited ecological resource; a well-managed crop and a controlled harvest rhythm which stimulate growth and increase the quality of the canes; high mechanical strength; high stability of the material over time; proven durability and rot-proofness guaranteed by EN 152 class 0 certification (resistance to surface fungus).

A sustainable solution: MOSO® Bamboo products

On the strength of its arguments, a first bamboo decking was installed in 2020 on the Miro footbridge, inaugurated 12 years earlier for the exclusive use of pedestrians, cyclists and people with reduced mobility. The 340 m² of wooden decking of this emblematic Strasbourg location, linking Rivétoile to the Malraux media library, has been replaced by MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® slats.

Two years later, it was time to take stock. The Alsatian Eurometropolis has noted several benefits of “made in MOSO®” bamboo.

“Demographic growth and climatic variations raise important issues for sustainable urban planning. Resilience requires innovation and Moso bamboo is a relevant ecological alternative » comments Pierre Hermann, head of the Engineering Structures department for the city and Eurometropolis of Strasbourg.

The first is its mechanical strength and durability. Despite the high footbridge traffic, the blades remained stable: there were no splits, no bursting or splinters that would have required frequent and heavy maintenance and renovation operations. Bamboo X-treme® decking boards benefit from a class of use 4 (EN 335) and a class of biological durability 1 (EN 350 /CEN/TS 15083-2 and EN 350 / CEN/ TS 15083-1) guarantee of durability.

The second is increased user safety and comfort. MOSO® supplied slats equipped with an anti-slip device (corundum resin strip poured into a groove) for the Miro footbridge. “As soon as the corundum resin strip is removed, the Bamboo X-treme® can be reused for other applications, such as street furniture,” adds Pierre Hermann.

The third benefit is the practicality of the Grad fastening system, developed by the eponymous company. The slats are simply "clipped" onto a system of aluminum rails, pre-equipped with clips for gripping the slats.

This system has many advantages:

• Its simplicity of installation: as the center distance is automated, the boards are therefore perfectly aligned - without risk of error - which also gives a uniform aesthetic finish characterized by a beautiful perspective with a clear vanishing point. The absence of screws increases the aesthetic quality of the decking and its integrity.
• A high quality of fixing significantly reducing the interventions of control and maintenance.
• Very good resistance to tearing: with the Grad system, the slats are provided with grooves which are connected to the system via clips on the rails. The resistance to tearing thus obtained is 240 kg/double clip, or 960 kg/slat.

The MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® therefore responds to the current concerns of local authorities for some of their equipment, by its ecological aspect (no deforestation) and by its technical characteristics: stability, resistance and durability. The MOSO® Bamboo X-treme® decking complex combining the Grad fastening system increases the level of comfort of pedestrian walkways and improves their safety for all users.