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118 COMMERCIAL CONSTRUCTION & RENOVATION — MAY : JUNE 2016 FEDERAL CONSTRUCTION • REINFORCEMENTS According to the latest American Society of Civil Engineers report card, America's cumulative grade for infrastructure is a D-plus. The condition of bridges in the country, although slightly better, is only a meager C-plus, according to the same report. In 10 years, one in four of our nation's bridges will be 65 years or older. In addition, almost 70,000 bridges in the country are considered "structurally defcient," according to statistics from the Federal Highway Administration. That equates to about one in every nine bridges in the nation. But despite the concerns, there is a glimpse of resolve. New emerging technology can help the United States manage its growing infrastructure problem. Advances in bridge design, engineering and construction, smart bridges, and intelligent self monitoring systems could signifcantly supplement broader national policies to address the issues. These technological innovations may be eligible for federal and state Research and Development Tax Credits, which are available to help stimulate these efforts. The Research & Development Tax Credit Enacted in 1981, the federal Research and Development (R&D;) Tax Credit allows a credit of up to 13 percent of eligible spending for new and improved products and processes. Qualifed research must meet the following four criteria: • New or improved products, processes or software • Technological in nature • Elimination of uncertainty • Process of experimentation Eligible costs include employee wages, cost of supplies, cost of testing, contract research expenses and costs associated with developing a patent. This past December, President Obama signed the bill making the R&D; Tax Credit permanent. Beginning this year, the R&D; credit can be used to offset Alternative Minimum tax and startup businesses can utilize the credit against payroll taxes Bridge design & construction Modern bridge design and con- struction involves a wide range of innovative technologies. From design stage, construction and fnal testing after construction, innova- tion is occurring all throughout. Environmental instability, increasing traffc volumes, and evolving contemporary archi- tecture has increased the need for innovation in the structural engineering of bridges. For example, on the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York, bridge traffc has reached over 138,000 vehicles per day, far more than the Tappan Zee was designed to support when opened in 1955. As a result, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to maintain the structure in recent years. The cost of maintaining the current bridge for the foreseeable future rivals the cost of a new bridge with no improvements under current traffc conditions. Recognizing this, Governor Cuo- mo has scheduled the new bridge for completion in 2018. Already, more than 1,000 steel support pilings have been driven into the riverbed, pile caps have been installed, and work has begun on the iconic 419 foot main span towers.