AI Engineers Inc.

Since 1991, AI Engineers Inc. (AI) has provided comprehensive civil engineering, surveying, bridge safety evaluations and building systems incorporating sustainable design and construction inspection and management for a range of federal, state, municipal and private clients throughout the East Coast. As a leader in high quality engineering and technical services, AI’s innovation supports the design, construction and maintenance of bridges, highways, transportation and transit systems, airports, buildings and utility infrastructure.

Although the Connecticut-based firm offers a range of consulting engineering services, AI’s true specialty lies in bridge inspection and safety evaluation work.”We’re a multidisciplinary consulting engineering company and we provide design services for all kinds of state, municipal and private clients, but in addition to all of that, one-third of our portfolio is bridge safety work,” explains Rohit Pradgan, associate vice president of AI. “We maintain a sizable staff of 30 to 40 qualified construction inspectors so we’re truly a one-stop-shop; that’s pretty atypical of most design engineering firms.”

Rohit, who’s been in the engineering business for over 27 years, says he was attracted to the company’s specialty services and ability for expansion. “I’ve always known of AI and its growth potential was appealing to me, but the time was also right when I made the switch to the company.”

Since its founding in 1991, AI has experienced a period of exponential growth. “We’ve expanded every year since our inception,” reveals Rohit. Today, the company is based in Middletown, Conn., but also has branch offices in Albany, N.Y., New York City, Boston, Rhode Island and Richmond, Va. “We span the Northeast and central East Coast,” notes Rohit. “We perform a great deal of Department of Transportation (DOT) projects throughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, Virginia, Rhode Island and New York.”

Delivering for the DOT

Over the years, AI’s managers, team leaders and inspectors have gained experience performing bridge inspections, evaluation and load ratings for multiple state DOTs. The company’s staff is familiar with Federal and individual state polices, guidelines and manuals for all types of bridges, from single span to complex long-span bridges carrying traffic over major interstates or waterways. “We’ve easily done well over 1,000 bridge inspections in Connecticut alone,” shares Rohit.

In most cases, AI evaluates bridges with NBIS and Pontis coding databases. “We understand the importance of through and independent inspections, error free reports and expedient report processing and responsive service,” explains Rohit. “This has resulted in our excellent record and reputation for successfully managing numerous bridge projects.”

Responsive Service

AI’s reputation for responsive service has won the engineering firm multiple repeat clients up-and-down the East Coast. “As far as our key performance indicators, I think winning repeat business is the best one,” adds Rohit. “There’s no better indicator of a job-well-done than when a client calls you back and wants you on their next project. Our responsiveness and the quality of our product is what keep customers coming back.”

In 2002, AI was selected by the Connecticut DOT for the NBIS Biennial Bridge inspection contract and again in 2006 and 2008. The project involved the inspection of highway and town bridges, including underwater inspection and field work from scheduling lane closures and fracture-critical inspections. From 1999, to present AI has also provided team leaders to perform inspections on some of New York City’s historical bridges, from the Manhattan Bridge crossing the East River to the Williamsburg Bridge and the famous Brooklyn Bridge.

But, the company’s largest current project is the CTfastrak New Britain-Hartford (CTfastrak) bus way system in its home state. “This is a major job for us right now,” shares Rohit. “We broke ground about a year-and-a-half ago and we’re about halfway completed.” CTfastrak will help connect the communities of central Connecticut by combining the fast, traffic-free advantages of a train with the frequent, direct and flexible benefits of a bus.

With a solid network of repeat business and a trusted reputation, AI continues to be the go-to bridge expert. “Simply providing a quality service -that’s a huge part of what we do and our success,” details Rohit. “Our president, Abul Islam, wants to double the size of the company over the next three to five years. That’s a tall order, but we’ve grown every year since our founding so we’re on a growth trajectory so-to-speak.”

For 21 years, AI has offered an integrated approach to infrastructure solutions. AI Engineers Inc. continues to support some of the most critical structures and transportation systems central to the operation of cities and towns throughout the Eastern Seaboard.