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HANCOCK -- There are thousands of bridges that connect drivers from one location to the next in the state of Michigan.

When the Michigan Department of Transportation has to inspect them, it causes traffic delays and it is also a safety risk for the workers but one company is looking to change all of that with the development of new software called BridgeGuard.

“We developed it for running concrete bridge decks for our nation’s infrastructure. What it allows us to do is find delaminations within the deck and we can collect the data, analyze the data, and map it,” said BridgeGuard President Jay Ruohonen.

That information can be sent to the Department of Transportation of each state and the Federal Highway Administration.

As the sun beams down on the surface of a bridge every delamination has a different thermal temperature and BridgeGuard’s infrared technology is used.

The infrared scanner picks up the damage that is located within the surface of the bridge and transfers that information into the computer.

“Now what’s unique about the thermal properties or BridgeGuard itself is that we’re able to drive over it at a highway speed of 45 miles an hour,” said Ruohonen.

With this new technology there is an increase in savings especially once it is compared to the traditional methods used today.

BridgeGuard says saving the DOT money is beneficial to the average citizen because it means tax dollars are used efficiently.

After spending three in a half years in development, BridgeGuard is finally launching and hopes that this infrared technology will be a much safer and effective way to inspect bridges.