Florida International University’s (FIU) first ever Accelerated Bridge Construction university
Transportation Center (ABC-UTC) completed its kick-off steering committee meeting on December 2013. Building experts from across the nation arrived at FIU to attend the meeting discussing how to build bridges faster and better. In September, FIU was awarded a $1.4 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation to work on deteriorating bridges across the country. The FIU ABC-UTC is the first federally-funded entity focused on developing technology and methods to improve and accelerate the construction of bridges.
The event began with opening remarks from President Rosenberg, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen and a video of support from Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart. The Vice President for Research, Andres Gil, and representatives from Congressman Joe Garcia and Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz were also in attendance.
Throughout the two-and-a-half day meeting, steering committee members, which include academic experts and representatives of the departments of transportation of several states, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and the Federal Highway Administration, as well as representatives of non-profit organizations for steel, concrete and advanced materials, discussed strategy for the future of the ABC-UTC at FIU, as well as develop a plan that will help the nation cope with the pressing problem of replacing deficient bridges by using the accelerated processes that minimizes the interruption to traffic.