I know that I don’t have to tell you about the sinkhole(s) debacle we dealt with for the better part of this year. I did not travel South on Route 15 during that time. There have also been delays and re-routing of traffic due to numerous bridge repairs along the same route! The past few years have been trying for those of us who need to use this vital corridor.

I am pleased though to say that New Jersey, namely Rutgers, is at the forefront of evaluating the condition and safety of our bridges. The BEAST (Bridge Evaluation and Accelerated Structural Testing Facility) developed by Rutgers’ Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT) is taking on this mission. From an article published by CAIT, “the BEAST is the only full-scale bridge laboratory that highly compresses the time it takes to gather critical data on how extreme weather and heavy traffic affect the structural integrity of bridge superstructures. In just one year, the BEAST creates a decade’s worth of real-world wear and tear, according to Rutgers professor of civil engineering Nenad Gucunski.” The BEAST does this by simulating numerous levels of traffic and varying weather patterns and temperatures to help develop new materials and methods for repair. Most recently they determined a better ultra-performance concrete that is being piloted in several New Jersey counties.

New Jersey is home to 6,800 bridges with 410 classified as structurally deficient according to data compiled from the Federal Highway Administration. Hopefully with continued use of the BEAST and dollars being allocated towards infrastructure our bridges will be better and stronger for many years to come.