Materials Technologies, Inc. (MATECH) will market its EPS product, a nondestructive crack inspection technology, to the federal government, state-level department of transportation agencies, 42 bridge authorities, military agencies, railroad companies and other privately owned transportation and construction based firms. The U.S. Congress has publicly acknowledged the problem of the nation’s aging surface transportation system, and has passed legislation for rehabilitation including the Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act (TEA-21).
Replacing and retrofitting bridges is extremely costly; thus, states are required to have an effective bridge management system in place in order to receive funding through ISTEA.
The lack of a viable, cost-effective and dependable system to manage the life span and safety of a bridge has kept final regulations to implement this mandate. Additionally, the $200 billion TEA-21 Act allocated $9 billion in 2000 for bridge deterioration and replacement; however, this funding was for the most part untapped because a proven, effective bridge management system was not available.
The United States’ bridge infrastructure today includes approximately 610,390 bridges, of which 44,650 bridges are rated “structurally deficient” by Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) guidelines and require immediate attention. Bridge replacement cost, as estimated by the FHWA, is $104 per square foot, or more than $20 billion.
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