Caltrans has awarded the Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center (PEER) a $5.075 Million contract to continue the PEER-Bridge Research Program. Caltrans has had a well-established bridge research program, which was significantly expanded in response to the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake. This program continues to yield numerous advancements that make Caltrans a world leader in bridge engineering. The research program funds several new contracts each year, each lasting 2 to 3 years.
The PEER-Bridge Research Program is a streamlined framework of the Caltrans bridge research program, supporting innovative work on a wide range of topics such as new materials, accelerated bridge construction, maintenance, sustainability, design, foundations & walls, and analysis. A single master contract is established between Caltrans and PEER, and different projects are executed as Task Orders under the master contract. The PEER-Bridge Program is open to researchers from all public core institutions.
Caltrans will select projects for the PEER-Bridge Research Program through a PEER-administered request-for-proposal (RFP) process. This process will be synergized with the PEER TSRP program, which will continue. The first RFP will be issued soon. "PEER has had a long working relationship with Caltrans, which has resulted in many impactful projects," noted CEE Professor and PEER Director Khalid Mosalam. "The current award represents a three-fold increase in funding from the original Lifelines Program with about a 13% increase from the previous PEER-Bridge master agreement, which indicates a deeper commitment between the two organizations. Moreover, the seven priority topics allow a much larger proportion of PEER researchers to engage in this program. We look forward to continuing to work with Caltrans engineers in the PEER-Bridge Research Program."