LAUTENBERG: $8.8 MILLION HEADED FOR RUTGERS UNIVERSITY PROJECT TO INCREASE BRIDGE SAFETY IN NJ, ACROSS COUNTRYWASHINGTON, D.C. - Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) today announced a Rutgers University-led project will receive $8.8 million from the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop technology that would provide a solution for improved bridge deck maintenance and bridge inspection.  Rutgers Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation will lead a partnership with a Pennington, New Jersey based company and others on this university-industry joint venture."Every day, millions of New Jerseyans drive cars or ride buses across bridges to and from their jobs," said Sen. Lautenberg, who serves as Chairman of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee.  "After the tragic bridge collapse in Minneapolis two years ago, we must ensure our bridges can safely and effectively handle the increasing volume of cars and trucks.  Rutgers University has always been at the forefront of technological innovation and this forward-thinking project has the potential to help us find smarter ways to strengthen and improve our vital transportation infrastructure."The funds will be used to implement a project that will focus on bridge monitoring, assessment, remediation and repair. The planned system, called the Automated Nondestructive Evaluation and Rehabilitation System (ANDERS), focuses on identification and mitigation of bridge deck deterioration, which bridge engineers and owners have identified as one of their most acute problems.  Between 50 and 85 percent of bridge maintenance funds are spent on repair or replacement of bridge decks. The project will use a combination of human-operated and robotic vehicles that allow rapid, comprehensive analysis of bridges.   The Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Technology Innovation Program supports new technologies that address critical national needs. The merit-based, competitive program provides cost-shared funding for research projects by single small-sized or medium-sized businesses or by joint ventures that also may include institutions of higher education, nonprofit research organizations and national laboratories.  ###