AISC Steel Bridge Competition
The Student Steel Bridge Competition is an annual competition that challenges student teams to develop a scale-model steel bridge. The team must determine how to fabricate their bridge and then plan for an efficient assembly under timed construction at the competition. Bridges are then load tested and weighed. The bridge must span approximately 20 feet, carry 2,500 pounds, and must meet all other specifications of the competition rules. Bridge aesthetics are also judged and considered in the final results of the competition.
MISSION
The mission of the Student Steel Bridge Competition is to challenge students to extend their classroom knowledge to a practical and hands-on steel-design project that grows their interpersonal and professional skills, encourages innovation, and fosters impactful relationships between students and industry professionals.
HISTORY
The Student Steel Bridge Competition began with three schools (Lawrence Tech, Michigan Tech, and Wayne State) competing in a parking lot at Lawrence Institute of Technology, in 1987. The competition consisted of designing, fabricating, and building a 20’ long, 3’-6” wide steel bridge, and was developed to give students a hands-on learning experience that mimics “real-world” scenarios. Following the success of the first competition, other local contests developed around the country, each claiming to have the best bridges in the country. To determine the top bridge, in 1992, Michigan State University challenged all bridge teams to a competition, in which thirteen schools competed in the first national competition. Over the last twenty-five years, the popularity of the competition has grown, and today there are approximately two hundred schools that compete each year across the country.