[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 53 (Wednesday, April 27, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4401-S4404]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. Bingaman):
  S. 913. A bill to amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a 
university transportation center to be known as the ``Southwest Bridge 
Research Center''; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
  Mr. DOMENICI. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce legislation 
creating the Bridge Research Center at New Mexico State University. I 
would also like to thank my good friend Senator Bingaman for 
cosponsoring this important bill.
  New Mexico State University (NMSU) is uniquely qualified to be the 
home of the Bridge Research Center. For over three decades NMSU has 
applied its considerable talents to solving technological problems 
related to bridge systems. It makes sense that we capitalize on NMSU's 
history and expertise in this field by establishing the bridge research 
center.
  The Bridge Research Center will develop smart bridge evaluation 
techniques using advanced sensors and instrumentation. Additionally, 
the NMSU Bridge Center will improve bridge design methodologies, create 
new inspection techniques for bridges, and find better ways to conduct 
nondestructive evaluation and testing. Finally, the Bridge Center will 
conduct research into high performance materials to address durability 
and retrofit needs.
  I have no doubt that NMSU will apply its extensive capability to 
develop theoretical concepts into practical solutions for bridge 
problems all across our country.
  I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the 
Record. 
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 913

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Southwest Bridge Research 
     Center Establishment Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. BRIDGE RESEARCH CENTER.

       Section 5505 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(k) Southwest Bridge Research Center.--
       ``(1) In general.--In addition to the university 
     transportation centers receiving grants under subsections (a) 
     and (b), the Secretary shall provide grants to New Mexico 
     State University, in collaboration with the Oklahoma 
     Transportation Center, to establish and operate a university 
     transportation center to be known as the `Southwest Bridge 
     Research Center' (referred to in this subsection as the 
     `Center').
       ``(2) Purpose.--The purpose of the Center shall be to 
     contribute at a national level to a systems approach to 
     improving the overall performance of bridges, with an 
     emphasis on--
       ``(A) increasing the number of highly skilled individuals 
     entering the field of transportation;
       ``(B) improving the monitoring of structural health over 
     the life of bridges;
       ``(C) developing innovative technologies for bridge testing 
     and assessment;
       ``(D) developing technologies and procedures for ensuring 
     bridge safety, reliability, and security; and
       ``(E) providing training in the methods for bridge 
     inspection and evaluation.
       ``(3) Objectives.--The Center shall carry out--
       ``(A) basic and applied research, the products of which 
     shall be judged by peers or other experts in the field to 
     advance the body of knowledge in transportation;
       ``(B) an education program that includes multidisciplinary 
     course work and participation in research; and
       ``(C) Aa ongoing program of technology transfer that makes 
     research results available to potential users in a form that 
     can be implemented.
       ``(4) Maintenance of effort.--To be eligible to receive a 
     grant under this subsection, the institution specified in 
     paragraph (1) shall enter into an agreement with the 
     Secretary to ensure that, for each fiscal year after 
     establishment of the Center, the institution will fund 
     research activities relating to transportation in an amount 
     that is at least equal to the average annual amount of funds 
     expended for the activities for the 2 fiscal years preceding 
     the fiscal year in which the grant is received.
       ``(5) Cost sharing.--
       ``(A) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of any 
     activity carried out using funds from a grant provided under 
     this subsection shall be 50 percent.
       ``(B) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share of the cost 
     of any activity carried out using funds from a grant provided 
     under this subsection may include funds provided to the 
     recipient under any of sections 503, 504(b), and 505 of title 
     23.
       ``(C) Ongoing programs.--After establishment of the Center, 
     the institution specified in paragraph (1) shall obligate for 
     each fiscal year not less than $200,000 in regularly budgeted 
     institutional funds to support ongoing transportation 
     research and education programs.
       ``(6) Program coordination.--
       ``(A) Coordination.--The Secretary shall--
       ``(i) coordinate the research, education, training, and 
     technology transfer activities carried out by the Center;
       ``(ii) disseminate the results of that research; and
       ``(iii) establish and operate a clearinghouse for 
     information derived from that research.
       ``(B) Annual review and evaluation.--At least annually, and 
     in accordance with the plan developed under section 508 of 
     title 23,

[[Page S4402]]

     the Secretary shall review and evaluate each program carried 
     out by the Center using funds from a grant provided under 
     this subsection.
       ``(7) Limitation on availability of funds.--Funds made 
     available to carry out this subsection shall remain available 
     for obligation for a period of 2 years after the last day of 
     the fiscal year for which the funds are authorized.
       ``(8) Amount of grant.--For each of fiscal years 2005 
     through 2010, the Secretary shall provide a grant in the 
     amount of $3,000,000 to the institution specified in 
     paragraph (1) to carry out this subsection.
       ``(9) Authorization of appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated from the Highway Trust Fund (other than 
     the Mass Transit Account) to carry out this subsection 
     $3,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2010.''.

  Mr. BINGAMAN. Mr. President, I am pleased to join with my colleague 
Senator Domenici today to introduce legislation that I believe will go 
a long way in helping to improve the safety and durability of the 
Nation's highway bridges. It is with great pleasure we are today 
introducing the New Mexico State University Bridge Research Center 
Establishment Act of 2005.
  The purpose of our bill is to authorize the Secretary of 
Transportation to establish a new University Transportation Center 
focused on the safety of highway bridges. The new center will lead the 
Nation in the research and development of technologies for bridge 
testing and monitoring, procedures for ensuring bridge safety and 
security, and training in methods of bridge inspection. New Mexico 
State University is one of the Nation's leaders in bridge research and 
I believe worthy of being designated as one of the Nation's university 
transportation centers.
  Our highway network is a central component of our economy and 
fundamental to our freedom and quality of life. America's mobility is 
the engine of our free market system. Transportation via cars, buses, 
and trucks plays a central role in our basic quality of life. Much of 
the food we eat, the clothes we wear, the materials for our homes and 
offices, comes to us over the 4 million miles of our road network.
  One critical element of our highway network is the highway bridges 
that span streams, rivers, and canyons of our cities and rural areas. 
Bridges also help traffic flow smoothly by carrying one road over 
another.
  Most highway bridges are easy to overlook. Notable exceptions are New 
England's covered bridges, the new Zakim Charles River Bridge in 
Boston, San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge, and the spectacular Rio 
Grande Gorge Bridge near Taos, NM. The fact is, according to the 
Federal Highway Administration, we have about 590,000 highway bridges 
in this country that are more than 20-feet long. The total bridge-deck 
area of these 590,000 bridges is an amazing 120 square miles, or 
slightly smaller in area than the entire city limits of Albuquerque, 
NM, roughly twice the size of the entire District of Columbia, or five 
times the area of New York's Manhattan Island. The State of Texas leads 
the Nation with almost 49,000 bridges, about ten percent of the total. 
Ohio is second with about 28,000 highway bridges.
  A little known and disturbing fact about these 590,000 highway 
bridges is that nearly 78,000, or 13 percent, are considered to be 
structurally deficient according to the most recent statistics from the 
FHWA. The percent of structurally deficient bridges varies widely among 
the 50 states. For example, this chart shows the top ten states with 
the highest percentage of deficient bridges.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                                                                                                      Percent of structurally deficient bridges
                            State                                          Number of bridges               Number of structurally deficient bridges                   (percent)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Oklahoma.....................................................                                     23,312                                      7,307                                         31.3
Rhode Island.................................................                                        749                                        193                                         25.8
Pennsylvania.................................................                                     22,253                                      5,464                                         24.6
Missouri.....................................................                                     23,791                                      5,028                                         21.1
Iowa.........................................................                                     24,902                                      5,259                                         21.1
Mississippi..................................................                                     16,838                                      3,379                                         20.1
Vermont......................................................                                      2,690                                        484                                         18.0
South Dakota.................................................                                      5,961                                      1,072                                         18.0
North Dakota.................................................                                      4,507                                        803                                         17.8
Nebraska.....................................................                                     15,455                                      2,550                                         16.5
Michigan.....................................................                                     10,818                                      1,764                                         16.3
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The source is the FHWA National Bridge Inventory System, December 2004

  Florida and Arizona have the lowest percentages of structurally 
deficient bridges at less than 3 percent each.
  Structurally deficient bridges are a particular concern in rural 
areas of our country. According to FHWA's 2002 edition of its 
Conditions and Performance Report to Congress, 16 percent or rural 
bridges are structurally deficient compared to only 10 percent of urban 
bridges. The report estimates the average costs required to maintain 
the existing 590,000 highway bridges is $7.3 billion per year.
  Another surprising fact about our Nation's highway bridges is their 
age. Almost one-third of all highway bridges are more than 50 years 
old, and over 10,000 bridges are at least 100 years old. About 4,200 of 
these century-old bridges are currently rated as structurally 
deficient.
  I do believe the number of deficient bridges in this country should 
be a concern to all Senators. Ensuring that States and local 
communities have the funds they need to help correct these deficient 
bridges will be one of my priorities when Congress reauthorizes TEA-21. 
However, because there may not be sufficient Federal and State funding 
to address all of the deficient bridges, it will be important to 
identify the bridges that are most in need of replacement or 
rehabilitation.
  To ensure the most efficient use of limited resources, Congress 
should also address the need for new technologies to help States 
monitor the condition of the Nation's 590,000 highway bridges and 
determine priorities for repair or replacement. Such monitoring 
technologies, or ``smart bridges,'' should be quick, efficient, and not 
damage the bridge in any way. I am very pleased that New Mexico State 
University is one of the Nation's pioneers in the development of non-
destructive methods of determining the physical condition of highway 
bridges. Such smart bridges can record and transmit information on 
their current structural condition as well as on the traffic crossing 
them. Sensors embedded in the concrete monitor the stresses on the 
bridge as the weather changes or under the weight of vehicles and show 
how the materials change with age. The information can then be used by 
engineers to help design more durable and economical bridges. 
Eventually NMSU's methods could be used to help design better 
buildings.
  In 1998, NMSU installed 67 fiber-optic sensors on an existing steel 
bridge on Interstate 10 in Las Cruces and converted it into a ``smart 
bridge.'' This award-winning project was the first application of 
fiber-optic sensors to highway bridges. In 2000, sensors were 
incorporated directly in a concrete bridge during construction to 
monitor the curing of the concrete; the bridge crosses the Rio Puerco 
on Interstate 40, west of Albuquerque. A third smart bridge, on I10 
over University Avenue in Las Cruces, opened in July 2004.
  In February 2003 I had an opportunity to tour the facilities at NMSU 
and to see firsthand the fine facilities and work being conducted on 
bridge technology. NMSU has an actual 40-foot ``bridge'' in a 
laboratory on campus to allow studies of instrumentation and data 
collection.
  I will ask unanimous consent that two recent articles describing 
NMSU's accomplishments on smart bridge technology be printed in the 
Record at the end of my statement.
  New Mexico State is also a leader in other areas of bridge 
inspection. The university has provided training for bridge inspectors 
for over 30 years. It has also developed expertise in using a virtual 
reality approach to document a bridge's physical condition.
  This is just a glimpse at the high quality bridge research at New 
Mexico Sate University. The university is widely recognized as national 
leader in

[[Page S4403]]

all aspects of bridge research and technology. I believe it is fully 
appropriate for NMSU to be recognized as the university technology 
bridge research center.
  The bill we are introducing today authorizes the Secretary of 
Transportation to establish and operate the New Mexico State University 
Bridge Research Center. I do believe NMSU has earned this honor. The 
bill mirrors the language for University Transportation Centers in the 
Senate-passed SAFETEA from the 108th Congress and provides $40 million 
in funding over 6 years from the Highway Trust Fund to operate the 
bridge technology center.
  The Federal Highway Administration has long recognized the quality of 
the work at NMSU and has provided grants to support their outstanding 
work. In November 2004, NMSU's bridge center was awarded a $400,000 
grant to install fiber-sensors in a new bridge over Interstate 10 in 
Dona Ana, NM. The sensors will relay information about the effects of 
stress on the bridge long before any signs of aging are visible. This 
is the fourth bridge in New Mexico to be equipped with the smart bridge 
technology. NMSU's Dr. Rola Idriss is the principal investigator of 
these projects.
  NMSU's work is also being recognized internationally. Highway 
departments in Switzerland, Belgium, and Japan are experimenting with 
the smart bridge technology. In October 2004, NMSU's Dr. David Jauregui 
and Dr. Ken White were invited speakers for the International 
Conference on Bridge Inspection and Bridge Management in Beijing, 
China. Dr. White delivered the keynote address for the conference. NMSU 
is currently developing a memorandum of agreement with the Chinese 
bridge community to develop a bridge inspection and management training 
program.
  Congress has also already recognized the fine work at NMSU. For 
example, at my request, Congress provided $600,000 in 2001 for bridge 
research at New Mexico State University, $250,000 in 2003, $500,000 in 
2004 and $125,000 for the current fiscal year.
  The specific purpose of NMSU's Bridge Research Center will be to 
contribute to improving the performance of the Nation's highway 
bridges. The center will emphasize five goals: 1. Increasing the number 
of skilled individuals entering the field of transportation; 2. 
Improving the monitoring of the structural health of highway bridges; 
3. Developing innovative technologies for testing and assessment of 
bridges; 4. Developing technologies and procedures for ensuring bridge 
safety, reliability, and security; and 5. Providing training in the 
methods of bridge inspection and evaluation.
  Building on NMSU's research work, the University Technology Center 
will develop a strong educational component, including degree 
opportunities in bridge engineering at both the undergraduate and 
graduate levels. In addition, the center will have a cooperative 
certificate program for training and professional development. Distance 
education technology and computer-based learning will allow programs to 
be offered at any of the universities.
  The engineers at New Mexico State University have applied their vast 
talents, tools, and techniques to solving technological problems with 
highway bridges for over 30 years. The team is well established and 
maintains cutting-edge expertise. The members of the team are 
recognized and respected at the national and international levels 
through accomplishments in bridge testing, monitoring, and evaluation.
  I ask all senators to support the designation of the New Mexico State 
University Bridge Research Center. I look forward to working this year 
with the Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, 
Senator Inhofe, and Senator Jeffords, the ranking member, to 
incorporate this bill into the full 6-year reauthorization of the 
transportation bill.
  I now ask unanimous consent that the letters to which I referred be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

              [From the Albuquerque Journal, Mar. 1, 2004]

     NMSU Designs High-Tech Beams To Monitor Soundness of Structure

                            (By Andrew Webb)

       What if a highway bridge could actually tell you it was 
     wearing out? Or, how about a building that could warn its 
     owners of unseen structural damage after an earthquake?
       That's what researchers from New Mexico State University 
     hope to produce by embedding high-tech optical sensors in 
     concrete beams. The six 90-ton beams, each with 120 sensors, 
     will support the westbound lanes of the Interstate 10 
     overpass at University Avenue in Las Cruces, expected to be 
     completed in July.
       When the bridge is complete, the sensors will give federal 
     and state highway departments feedback about the performance 
     of its design, the new high-performance concrete it is made 
     of, and its structural soundness as it ages, says NMSU 
     professor of civil engineering Rola Idriss.
       ``We'll get information on how the bridge carries its load 
     throughout its entire life,'' said Idriss. She was in 
     Albuquerque last week to help supervise the placement of the 
     sensors and fiber-optic lines in molds at an Albuquerque 
     construction materials business.
       The bridge will be the first of its kind in the country, 
     Idriss says. NMSU embedded similar sensors, which are 
     manufactured by the Swiss flrm Smartec, in a much smaller 
     Interstate 40 bridge over the Rio Puerco west of Albuquerque 
     in 2000.
       ``That research was very promising, so we're taking what we 
     learned on that bridge and putting it on a much larger 
     Interstate bridge,'' says Jimmy Camp, a state bridge engineer 
     with the New Mexico Department of Transportation, which 
     helped fund the $500,000 sensor project along with the 
     Federal Highway Administration.
       The total cost of the Las Cruces project, which began last 
     summer, is about $6.3 million.
       As the expected lifespan of concrete bridges has gone from 
     about 50 years in the Interstate system's early days to 
     nearly 80, builders are seeking better data on bridge 
     conditions, Camp says.
       ``We make a lot of assumptions with bridge theory,'' he 
     says.


                             OPTIC MONITORS

       The project entails stringing fiber-optic lines throughout 
     the concrete, through which beams of light are shot. As the 
     beam strains or stretches, the properties of the light 
     change. Those changes are picked up by sensors and relayed to 
     a data collection box near the bridge for eventual analysis 
     by NMSU, which then will give the information to the highway 
     department, Idriss said.
       ``Those changes can be calibrated to measure the strain,'' 
     she said.
       At present, inspection of bridges and other concrete 
     structures is done primarily by visual analysis and 
     electronic sensors on outside surfaces.
       ``Here, you're actually getting measurements from within,'' 
     Idriss said, adding that the added costs would be 
     insignificant in large projects.
       She said she thinks the technology could be applied to 
     other structures, such as buildings.
       ``It could become an industry standard,'' she said. ``Right 
     now, it's still in its infancy.''
       Highway departments in Switzerland, Belgium and Japan are 
     experimenting with similar technology, she said. About 20 of 
     the 560,000 major highway bridges in the U.S. have some sort 
     of onboard sensors to detect changes, vibration and other 
     factors, according to the Federal Highway Administration.
       The beams were cast at Albuquerque-based Rinker Prestress, 
     a division of Florida-based Rinker Materials, which employs 
     75 people at three New Mexico plants.
                                  ____


               [From the Associated Press, Oct. 4, 2004]

            Interstate 10 Bridge To Provide How Bridges Age

       Las Cruces, N.M.--Sensors monitoring stresses on an 
     Interstate 10 bridge will give researchers information on how 
     materials age.
       New Mexico State University tested the technology earlier 
     on a bridge over the Rio Puerco near Albuquerque. It 
     installed the technology in late summer in the I-10 bridge in 
     Las Cruces.
       The idea is that the bridge will provide information for 
     researchers on how to build bridges with high-performance 
     concretes, which could save highway departments money in the 
     future, said Wil Dooley, bridge engineer for the Federal 
     Highway Administration's state division.
       Inside the bridge's beams are fiber optic sensors that 
     monitor how each component bends and changes in different 
     weather and with varying weights of vehicles.
       The sensors carry data from the bridge to a locker-size box 
     near an off ramp, where NMSU scientists download the data 
     each week to a portable computer.
       ``These newer concretes are more durable and they're going 
     to last longer,'' Dooley said. ``All our calculations for how 
     to build bridges are made on traditional concrete. Studying 
     new concretes in the smart bridge will help us modify those 
     equations and make new bridges that last longer and cost less 
     to build.''
       NMSU researchers embedded 120 optical sensors in each of 
     six 90-ton concrete beams in the I-10 overpass. Beams of 
     light are carried by fiber optic lines laced through the 
     beams. As the beam strains or stretches, the properties of 
     the light change.
       New Mexico is an ideal location to test stresses on 
     different types of concrete. Hot days and cold nights cause 
     concrete to bend and flex, and that happens more in New 
     Mexico than in many other states, Dooley said.

[[Page S4404]]

       Rola Idriss, an NMSU civil engineering professor who is 
     developing the smart bridge technology, said the researchers 
     could download information from the sensors remotely, but the 
     I-10 bridge is close to campus.
       In the future, when the technology is put into bridges in 
     rural areas, highway departments could monitor them 
     remotely--even monitoring all the bridges in the state from 
     one location, she said.
       ``This is a trend to the future,'' Idriss said. ``The 
     bridge can give you real data about how things are aging. We 
     can use that data to fix problems early and design better 
     bridges with fewer problems in the future.''
       Highway engineers intend to put the technology next into a 
     bridge on U.S. 70 near White Sands National Monument.
       That might be ideal for testing remote monitoring systems, 
     Idriss said.
       Dooley said the technology also could be used in large 
     projects to sense corrosion and allow problems to be 
     corrected before a catastrophic failure, Dooley said.
       Adding sensors does not add much expense. The I-10 bridge 
     cost $6.2 million; the sensors and monitoring equipment, 
     along with the expense of studying the data, ran $500,000 
     more, with the money coming from the Federal Highway 
     Administration and state Department of Transportation, Idriss 
     said.
       ``We're basically proving out the technology for them,'' 
     she said. ``The information we gather feeds right back to 
     them. They tell us what they want and we research it.''
                                 ______