Many concrete bridges and pavements today are in disrepair, victims of damage caused by deicing salts, repeated cycles of freezing and thawing, and chemical reactions in the concrete, among other things. For years, inefficient test procedures, a lack of funding for rehabilitation, increased traffic, and other obstacles have made it difficult for highway agencies to prevent this damage.

Under the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP), researchers developed or evaluated 24 products for assessing the condition of and rehabilitating steel-reinforced portland cement concrete bridges. These products can help highway agencies extend the service life of concrete bridges and more precisely target bridge maintenance treatments.

The members of the Lead States Team for concrete assessment and rehabilitation are pioneers in the use of the SHRP bridge assessment and rehabilitation technologies. From 1995-2000, the team worked to help other States implement the SHRP products.

In September 2000, the Concrete Assessment and Rehabilitation Team transferred its responsibilities to the Subcommittee for Bridges and Structures of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) . The Team prepared a Transition Plan detailing the results of their work and recommendations for the future.