CAIT tackles the transportation industry’s most intractable problems, and has the space, equipment, and know-how to deliver research, training, and product development solutions.
The heart of CAIT’s operation is its dedicated home on the Busch campus of Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The building includes a fully appointed 106-seat auditorium; a training classroom with 24 workstations; research and support offices for staff, administrators, and faculty working on CAIT research projects; a small library; and meeting spaces—16,000 square feet in total.
When we can’t find the tools, technologies, or methods needed to gather, process, and analyze data crucial to understanding infrastructure condition and performance, or a customer needs longer-lasting specialized materials, CAIT creates them. The center has specialized labs and equipment for sediment and soils management; product development in nondestructive evaluation, remoting sensing, and other technologies; a 14,000-square-foot AASHTO-accredited asphalt pavement lab, and the world’s first accelerated testing facility for full-scale bridge systems, the BEAST.
In addition to the BEAST, CAIT-developed tools include RABIT, the LTBP bridge portal, THMPER, and a mobile mapping vehicle that can gather high-resolution lidar data at traffic speeds.
The center is located in the most densely populated and heavily traveled corridor in the United States. It is situated amid the region’s intricate and diverse road network, four major airports, the country’s third largest port system, and its busiest rail system. CAIT capitalizes on this complex built environment, using it as a laboratory and proving ground to pursue research opportunities that are intrinsically multimodal.
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AASHTO-accredited asphalt lab -
Well-appointed 106-seat auditorium -
Training classroom with 24 workstations -
Nearly 17,000 square feet of specialized labs -
CAIT building dedicated in 2006
Highlights & Innovations
The BEAST
The BEAST® is a revolutionary accelerated testing facility built to provide answers on the future performance and longevity of bridge materials and components in months instead of years.
RABIT
The first fully automated tool for comprehensive bridge deck condition assessment, RABIT gives owners quantitative data for making decisions that extend infrastructure service life.
THMPER
THMPER is a mobile, self-contained bridge load-capacity testing device that can receive and process data onsite and deliver results faster than other current methods.
Pavement Lab
CAIT supports one of the largest, busiest, and most accomplished asphalt labs in the country, manned with experts in mix design, materials testing, and pavement management systems.
