CAIT has teamed up with industry partner ARA as a subcontractor on a new FHWA Geotechnical Engineering IDIQ. Photo ©ARA/Globe Newswire.
ARA was selected as a contractor to provide program support and engineering services to the FHWA’s Office of Bridges and Structures and National Geotechnical Team. CAIT has teamed up with them as a subcontractor to provide research support and expertise.
After responding to a request for proposal from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in December 2019, Applied Research Associates Inc. (ARA) has been selected to support the Office of Bridges and Structures and National Geotechnical Team on future geotechnical engineering projects and research.
The Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract titled, “Program Support and Engineering Services for Office of Bridges and Structure and National Geotechnical Team,” specified that the contractors will provide professional, technical, and engineering services to support the National Geotechnical Team, and support the Geotechnical Engineering Program in the areas of research and development, engineering services and technical support, technical guidance development, training development, and more.
(Left to Right) Dr. Ali Maher joins Jerry DiMaggio and Dr. Nenad Gucunski outside of a geotechnical engineering class this October.
Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) has partnered with ARA as a subcontractor and will provide time, personnel, and expertise necessary to accomplish all of the research project objectives.
“This is a great opportunity and we look forward to collaborating with ARA and the FHWA on future geotechnical engineering research,” said CAIT Director Dr. Ali Maher. “CAIT has a concentration of key expert staff and resources and is always looking for new ways to promote problem-solving research.”
CAIT has a long history of collaborating with industry partners such as ARA. Notably, ARA helped CAIT—along with a number of additional partners—develop the Bridge Evaluation and Accelerated Structural Testing lab (the BEAST).
The world’s first accelerated testing facility for full-scale bridge systems, the BEAST subjects bridges to extreme environmental and traffic loading to simulate decades of deterioration in months instead of years. This allows bridge owners to make better-informed decisions about their assets in a timelier manner.
CAIT also hosted Jerry A. DiMaggio, PE, D.GE, a Senior Principal Civil Engineer and Associate at Applied Research Associates, Inc., for A Training Course on Ground Improvement Methods in October 2019. The two-day event outlined the best practices for dealing with poor ground conditions at the job site for professional engineers.
“CAIT aims to tackle some of the country’s most pressing infrastructure challenges,” Dr. Maher said. “By continuing to engage partners like ARA we will continue our goal of supporting FHWA and the larger transportation community.”
