Caltrans adopted UC Berkeley's BRACE2 platform to stream real-time sensor data from 22 California bridges, letting engineers replace routine time-based inspections with condition-based assessments at under $20 a month in hosting costs.
22
Bridges monitored (pilot expansion)
<20 US$/month
Cloud-hosting cost, full 22-bridge deployment
Details
Maturity
Pilot
Promoter
California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) & UC Berkeley STAIRLab
Period
2023-2025 (ongoing pilot)
Keywords
transportation, infrastructure, public works, structural engineering
Context
After the 2019 Ridgecrest earthquakes exposed slow bridge-safety confirmation, Caltrans began piloting BRACE2, a UC Berkeley STAIRLab structural health monitoring platform streaming sensor data into near-real-time condition estimates.
Results
The pilot expanded from 5 to 22 bridges statewide with cloud-hosting costs under $20 a month for the full deployment, but BRACE2 remains a monitoring/decision-support pilot rather than a statewide standard, and its performance has not yet been tested against a major damaging earthquake.
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