LONG-TERM BRIDGE PERFORMANCE PROGRAM; INNOVATIVE BRIDGE RESEARCH AND DEPLOYMENT PROGRAM.

SEC. 5202. LONG-TERM BRIDGE PERFORMANCE PROGRAM; INNOVATIVE BRIDGE RESEARCH AND DEPLOYMENT PROGRAM.(a) Long-Term Bridge Performance Program.—(1) In general.—Section 502 of title 23, United States Code, is further amended by adding at the end the following:“(j) Long-Term Bridge Performance Program.—“(1) Authority.—The Secretary shall establish a 20-year long-term bridge performance program.“(2) Grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts.—Under the program, the Secretary shall make grants and enter into cooperative agreements and contracts to—“(A) monitor, material-test, and evaluate test bridges;119 STAT. 1786“(B) analyze the data obtained under subparagraph (A); and“(C) prepare products to fulfill program objectives and meet future bridge technology needs.”.(2) Funding.—Of the amounts made available by section 5101(a)(1) of this Act, $7,750,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009 shall be available to carry out section 502(j) of such title.(b) Innovative Bridge Research and Deployment Program.—(1) In general.—Section 503(b)(1) of such title is amended to read as follows:“(1) In general.—The Secretary shall establish and carry out a program to promote, demonstrate, evaluate, and document the application of innovative designs, materials, and construction methods in the construction, repair, and rehabilitation of bridges and other highway structures.”.(2) Goals.—Section 503(b)(2) of such title is amended to read as follows:“(2) Goals.—The goals of the program shall include—“(A) the development of new, cost-effective, innovative highway bridge applications;“(B) the development of construction techniques to increase safety and reduce construction time and traffic congestion;“(C) the development of engineering design criteria for innovative products, materials, and structural systems for use in highway bridges and structures;“(D) the reduction of maintenance costs and life-cycle costs of bridges, including the costs of new construction, replacement, or rehabilitation of deficient bridges;“(E) the development of highway bridges and structures that will withstand natural disasters;“(F) the documentation and wide dissemination of objective evaluations of the performance and benefits of these innovative designs, materials, and construction methods;“(G) the effective transfer of resulting information and technology; and“(H) the development of improved methods to detect bridge scour and economical bridge foundation designs that will withstand bridge scour.”.(3) Funding.—(A) In general.—Of the amounts made available by section 5101(a)(1) of this Act, $13,100,000 for each of fiscal years 2005 through 2009 shall be available to carry out section 503(b) of such title. (B) High-performance concrete bridge technology research and deployment.—The Secretary shall obligate $4,125,000 of the amount described in subparagraph (A) for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009 to conduct research and deploy technology related to high-performance concrete bridges.(c) High Performing Steel Bridge Research and Technology Transfer.—119 STAT. 1787 (1) In general.—The Secretary shall carry out a program to demonstrate the application of high-performing steel in the construction and rehabilitation of bridges.(2) Funding.—Of the amounts made available by section 5101(a)(1) of this Act, $4,100,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009 shall be available to carry out this subsection.(d) Steel Bridge Testing.—(1) In general.—The Secretary shall carry out a program to test steel bridges using a nondestructive technology that is able to detect growing cracks, including subsurface flaws as small as 0.010 inches in length or depth, in the bridges.(2) Funding.—Of the amounts made available by section 5101(a)(1) of this Act, $1,250,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through 2009 shall be available to carry out this subsection.(3) Federal share.—The Federal share of the cost of activities carried out in accordance with this subsection shall be 80 percent.