LTBP Community

• State Coordinators
• BCOM
• BSPEC
• LTBP Program Contacts
  • FHWA Staff
  • Contractors

In order for the Long-Term Bridge Performance (LTBP) Program to succeed, it must have strong partnerships with the State transportation departments that own bridges, consultants who design and inspect bridges, industries that supply the materials for bridges, and academics who provide innovative technologies for use on bridges. The LTBP Program staff and contractors have been working to strengthen these partnerships through the various forums discussed below.

State Coordinators

Every year since 2011, the LTBP Program has held a 2-day meeting with the LTBP Program State Coordinators. During these meetings, the LTBP Team provides program updates and collects key information to provide practical insights to help understand bridge performance.

The LTBP Program State Coordinator is a bridge engineer selected by his or her State transportation department to be their representative to support the Program. There are 52 State Coordinators, one for each State transportation department including the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. These Coordinators get access to valuable Program resources including the LTBP Program Bridge Portal and LTBP Program SharePoint site and are involved in the selection of bridges in their State to be included in Program research. Additionally, they provide the following:

• Documentation on the selected bridges, maintenance data, etc.
• Access to the bridges for inspection.
• Bridge timelines.
• Ideas and feedback.
• Review and revisions to protocols and articles.

Figure 1. Map. LTBP Program State Coordinators.

Transportation Research Board (TRB) Long-Term Bridge Performance Committee

The TRB Long-Term Bridge Performance Committee commonly referred to as BCOM, provides policy and programmatic advice and assistance on the conduct of the LTBP Program. The Committee consists of State transportation department executive leadership including deputy secretaries, chief engineers, State bridge engineers, and directors of research; academia including chaired professors from leading departments of civil and environmental engineers; and members of industry from consulting, engineering, and construction firms, many of whom were formerly State bridge engineers. Liaisons to the committee include representatives from American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), National Academies of Science and Engineering, concrete and steel institutes and the American Trucking Association.

BCOM meets twice a year with the LTBP Program team for two days of informational briefings, status reports, and discussion of the program. From the meetings, the Committee is charged with developing a consensus report of findings and recommendation to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Administrator. A committee finding is a conclusion based on the meeting's reading material, presentations, and discussions. A committee recommendation is a suggested action by the LTBP team as a consequence of this finding.

TRB Long Term Bridge Performance Special Activities Committee BSPEC

The TRB Long-Term Bridge Performance Special Activities Committee, also known as BSPEC, provides technical guidance and assistance on the conduct of LTBP Program. BSPEC was formed by the merger of three expert technical groups (ETGs) that covered bridge traffic and truck weights (BT&T); bridge durability and preservation (BD&P); and bridge evaluation and monitoring (BE&M). Like BCOM, BPSEC is comprised of State department of transportation representatives, academia, and industry.

The BSPEC Committee meets with the LTBP Program team twice a year for 2 days of informational briefings, status reports, and discussion of the program. The committee uses the materials presented to examine the technical direction of the LTBP Program to maintain the program's track consistent with the program mission, goals, and objectives. BSPEC provides findings and recommendations to BCOM for incorporation into BCOM's report to the FHWA Administrator. BSPEC findings are utilized by the LTBP Program to make adjustments to the research effort and to refine the research methodologies to create outcomes that are beneficial to bridge owners.

LTBP Program Contacts

FHWA Staff

Hamid Ghasemi, Ph.D.
Team Leader, Infrastructure Management Team
Office of Infrastructure Research and Development 
Email: Hamid.Ghasemi@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
Room F-211/HRDI-50
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3042

Robert (Rob) Zobel, P.E., Ph.D.
Program Coordinator
Long-Term Bridge Performance Program
Email: Robert.Zobel@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
Room F-211/HRDI-50
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3024

Sue Lane, P.E.
Field Operations Engineer
Long-Term Bridge Performance Program 
Email: Susan.Lane@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
Room F-211/HRDI-50
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3151

Hoda Azari, Ph.D.
Nondestructive Evaluation Research Program Manager
Infrastructure Management Team
Email: Hoda.Azari@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3064

Fred Faridazar
Highway Research Engineer
Long-Term Bridge Performance Program
Email: Fred.Faridazar@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
Room F-211/HRDI-50
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3076

Yamayra Rodriguez, MSCE
Development and Outreach Engineer
Long-Term Bridge Performance Program
Email: Yamayra.Rodriguez@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
Room F-211/HRDI-50
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3252

Frank Jalinoos
Research Structural Engineer
Long-Term Bridge Performance Program
Email: Frank.Jalinoos@dot.gov

Federal Highway Administration
Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center
6300 Georgetown Pike
Room T-211/HRDI-50
McLean, VA 22101
Office: (202) 493-3082

Contractors

The LTBP Program is designed as a coordinated, collaborative, multi-institutional, and multidisciplinary effort with researchers in government, academia, and industry. The primary contractor for the LTBP Program is Rutgers University's Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT). In addition, a contract was initiated to provide additional resources in support of the LTBP Program, primarily for data collection. Four companies are available through that contract: Michael Baker, Jr., Inc.; Parsons Brinckerhoff; Pennoni Associates, Inc.; and Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI).

Center for Advanced Infrastructure and Transportation (CAIT)
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
100 Brett Road
Piscataway, NJ 08854-8058
Ali Maher, Ph.D., CAIT Director and LTBP Contract Principal Investigator

Pennoni Associates Inc.
One Drexel Plaza
3001 Market Street, Suite 200
Philadelphia, PA 19104
Jeffrey E. Purdy, P.E., Principal Investigator

Professional Service Industries, Inc. (PSI)
13873 Park Center Road
Suite 315
Herndon, VA 20171
Mohammad S. Khan, Ph.D., P.E., Principal Investigator

WSP | Parsons Brinckerhoff
2202 North West Shore Boulevard
Suite 300
Tampa, FL 33607
Jose (Pepe) Garcia, P.E., Principal Investigator

Michael Baker International, LLC
Airside Business Park
100 Airside Drive
Moon Township, PA 15108
Scott D. Vannoy, P.E., Principal Investigator