Virginia Tech’s student steel bridge team earns a third-place finish at national competition

When you build a bridge, you hope it holds. When you build a bridge in six-and-a-half minutes that weighs less than your average linebacker and still holds 2,500 pounds without breaking, you earn third place in the nation.

Virginia Tech’s student steel bridge team, made up civil and environmental engineering undergraduate students, did just that at the American Institute of Steel Construction’s Student Steel Bridge National Competition at Iowa State University. Competing against 43 other elite teams from across the country, the team finished third overall, as well as first in aesthetics, second in structural efficiency, third in lightness, and third in stiffness. They also placed fourth in construction speed, with a time of just 6.5 minutes, compared to the almost 14-minute average.

“It’s not actually just a competition on the structure of the bridge,” explained team captain Evan Marshall. “It also includes the assembly process.” To win the competition, the bridge needs to be stiff under heavy loads while at the same time being as light as possible. The team also needs to assemble individually fabricated pieces of the bridge as quickly as possible with the fewest people.

After construction, the bridge undergoes structural testing. First, it’s loaded laterally to see how much it sways under horizontal force — “basically checking how wobbly it is,” Marshall explained. Then comes the real challenge: placing 2,500 pounds on the bridge while measuring how much it bends. The team’s bridge passed thanks to a carefully engineered balance of stiffness and lightness.

The journey to nationals started in the fall, when the competition rules were released. The team used computer programs to model efficient structural designs, then cut steel tubes using the computer-numerical control machine in the Frith First-Year Makerspace in the Classroom Building.

“The hands-on experience provided me with structural analysis experience before I took any of the structural engineering courses,” said team co-captain Morgan Douglass. “Since then, it has reinforced what I’m learning in class and will help my future career to have practical experience in the field.”

Once all the pieces were made, the team practiced assembly numerous times, eventually competing against 202 other teams at a regional event and earning a spot at the national competition. Before heading to nationals, they gave the bridge a final Hokie makeover with a powder coating at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, which left the steel with a gleaming glossy sheen that earned the team a first-place finish in aesthetics. 

The competition wasn’t all smooth. In fact, on the long drive to Iowa, the vehicle transporting the bridge was broken into. A window was smashed and the battery charger for their impact wrenches was taken. Luckily, the bridge was locked tightly and no bridge parts were stolen.

Despite that hiccup and the demanding work, competing with the student steel bridge team was worth it for Marshall. “I’m proud to have made a small part of VT history,” he said. “Getting to represent Virginia Tech and the civil and environmental engineering department at nationals and win third felt amazing.”