Eligibility

• Funds are available for bridge project/s that meet one or more of the eight program goals listed in Section 5202 (b)(2) of SAFETEA-LU, Public Law 109-59:

  Goals-the goals of the program are:

  1. The development of new, cost-effective, innovative highway bridge applications;
  2. The development of construction techniques to increase safety and reduce construction time and traffic congestion;
  3. The development of engineering design criteria for innovative products, materials, and structural systems for use in highway bridges and structures;
  4. The reduction of maintenance costs and life-cycle costs of bridges, including costs of new construction, replacement or rehabilitation of deficient bridges;
  5. The development of highway bridges and structures that will withstand natural disasters:
  6. The documentation and wide dissemination of objective evaluations of the performance and benefits of these innovative designs, materials, and construction methods;
  7. The effective transfer of resulting information and technology; and
  8. The development of improved methods to detect bridge scour and economical bridge foundation designs that will withstand bridge scour.

• The project may be on any public roadway, including State and locally funded projects.

• Funds may be used for costs of preliminary engineering, repair, rehabilitation, or construction of bridges or other highway structures, and costs of project performance evaluation and performance monitoring of the structure following construction.

Selection Criteria:

The FHWA will use the following criteria to evaluate the submitted candidates for selection:

1. Project/s that will meet the FHWA's Every Day Counts (EDC) Initiative on Accelerating Technology & Innovation Deployment, which meets one or more of the goals of the program as listed in the Eligibility Section;
2. Project/s that will be ready for construction by fiscal year 2012; and
3. Project/s that leverages Federal funds with other public or private resources.

In addition, the FHWA may consider:

1. State priorities - For States that submit more than one project application, consideration is also given to the individual State's priorities if specified.
2. Innovative technology that has statewide and national application.