FHWA Response To Letter Report No. 1 (May 30, 2012)

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May 30, 2012
In Reply Refer To:
HRDI-60

Mr. Ananth K. Prasad
Chair
Transportation Research Board
Long-Term Bridge Performance Committee
Washington, DC 20001

Dear Mr. Prasad:

Thank you for your March 16 letter report of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Committee and for the opportunity to discuss the LTBP program with your committee. We appreciate the committee's comments to enhance the LTBP program and look forward to this continuing collaboration.

We have reviewed your concise statement on the goals and objectives of the LTBP program as the committee understands them. We will consider your suggested format as a starting point and provide a concise statement of the program's mission and connecting activities for discussion at our next meeting. We will also expand our outreach activities to include your suggestions and keep you informed of future activities.

We are revising the program's pilot study, protocols, and other reports to share with your committee and the bridge community at large. We will make them available as soon as they are revised. We are also working to host the Bridge Portal on an internal Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) server and expedite its release.

We appreciate the Committee's concurrence and suggestions for our top study topics and three expert task groups. As you suggested, we will include a selection of new and old bridges in our initial study, and we will continue to evaluate the latest National Bridge Inventor,' data as we assess and select these bridges.

The FHWA concurs with your observation that the performance of scour countermeasures is important. The FHWA, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, and State departments of transportation have demonstrated their commitment and support for research and technology transfer efforts by gathering and disseminating new informational tools and requirements regarding inspection of countermeasures under the biennial and underwater provisions ofthe National Bridge Inspection Standards. This collaborative effort couples with the research and physical evaluations of designed countermeasures to adjust for geographic diversity. The LTBP program will continue to monitor these efforts and incorporate the information and tools that we learn from the results.

Lastly, we worked with TRB to form the three proposed Expert Task Groups and scheduled their meetings to take place prior to your next committee meeting.

Thank you to you and the others for taking time out of your busy schedules to serve on this committee. We look forward to your continued support, which is pivotal to the success of the LTBP program. Should you have any questions regarding this response, please feel free to contact Mr. Michael Trentacoste at (202) 493-3999, or Dr. Hamid Ghasemi at (202) 493-3042.

Sincerely,
Victor M. Mendez
Administrator