The mission of Rutgers’ Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) Bridge Resource Program (BRP) is to provide bridge engineering support to the New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT)’s Bridge Engineering and Structural Evaluation Unit. The program is a partnership between federal and state transportation agencies and Rutgers, which provides technical and educational services to address infrastructure needs in New Jersey.

CAIT supports NJDOT by providing staff and resources to address the most pressing bridge engineering and training challenges in New Jersey (through advanced materials development, design enhancements, construction improvements, evaluation, monitoring, data mining, management enhancement and support, and bridge research).

The overarching goal of BRP is to achieve more effective asset management. This includes consideration and potential adoption of next generation assessment approaches to augment current reliance on qualitative condition metrics with more quantitative performance metrics. Although conventional engineering terms are used in this proposal to describe program services, the proposed tasks within each service will be focused on providing decision making assistance for concept development.

BRP has provided opportunities to bring technologies to NJDOT, review existing practices, and propose the use of new construction techniques to improve asset management, design and construction practices. In addition, it has created a new channel of communication between CAIT and NJDOT that allows for the rapid deployment of innovative technologies. In the future, BRP is envisioned to continue to identify opportunities for innovation. It is anticipated that new research topics will be borne out of the program. As research is completed, it can return back to the BRP for pilot testing and recommendation for deployment. The cycle of innovation, testing, implementation and need for further innovation can be perpetuated through the creation of similar resource programs.