Visible Spectrum – FRP’s Color Wheel

Pantone, a global authority on color, chose “Peach Fuzz” as the Color of the Year for 2024. The Pantone Color Institute stated that the shade symbolizes resilience and hope. Color is a fundamental element in architecture. In response to increasing customer requests, Creative Composites Group (CCG) pioneered the use of pigment in the walking surfaces of its Fiber Reinforced Polymer (FRP) bridges, platforms and cantilever sidewalks by creating a color wheel of its own.  

Hue And Saturation 

In 2015, CCG designed and installed an FRP three-level-switchback bridge at Chelsea’s Bellingham Square Station. To complement the building’s historic architecture and new interior, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) requested that the FRP panels be given a blue/gray hue. The project marked a new direction in infrastructure as bridges, bridge decks, cantilever sidewalks and platforms expanded beyond functionality to include aesthetics.  

For example, a CCG FRP bridge in Ohio’s Cuyahoga Valley National Park, sports an orange/rust color to match its weathering steel truss. An FRP cantilever sidewalk attached to a New York City vehicle bridge uses bright green for its bike lanes. In 2019, Atlanta, Georgia’s MARTA Inman Park Station opted for brick red and beige FRP FiberSpan™ decking on an overpass pedestrian bridge. In 2024, MARTA chose two-tone beige decking for the bridges that will carry passengers over rail tracks at its East Lake Station. Most recently CCG added blended color surfaces using a mix of colors for its non-slip surface.  This approach means dirt and food spills are less noticeable.   

Why Color? 

Over the last two decades bridge owners, architects and engineers have become increasingly interested in aesthetics. Choosing color over the standard gray most commonly used for concrete doesn’t increase the cost of an FRP bridge, bridge deck or cantilever sidewalk. Once CCG molds its panels and performs finishing tasks such as exterior coatings or drilling holes, a custom color can easily be added to an FRP panel’s non-slip surface.  

CCG remains dedicated to advancing the technology and performance of its FRP products. The company is also leading the industry in creative innovations such as custom colors that can complement a structure’s surroundings.  

Got a bridge, cantilever sidewalk or rail platform project? Let us talk with you about it. In addition to performance, we deliver low maintenance, quick installation and corrosion resistance along with a comprehensive offering of features from curbs and crowns to attachments for railings, lights, signs, benches and equipment. We’re also excited about helping you elevate your project’s wow factor with the right color.