How fast can you build a bridge?

05/23/2014

Bridge

IT TAKE MONTHS, even years, to build a steel bridge. But at the University of Akron this weekend, bridges will be built in less than 20 minutes. 

In a fast and furious national competition, engineering students from around the nation will race against time and each other, using pieces and parts stored in a rectangular box to build a 17- to 19-foot-long steel bridge capable of bearing about 2,500 pounds.

The National Student Steel Bridge Competition comes to the University of Akron College of Engineering for the first time in the event's 100-year history this Saturday, May 24.

Teams of top engineering students from 50 universities will race to build bridges designed with innovation and judged on lightness and stiffness, along with construction and structural economy.

Two Ohio engineering colleges qualified for the finals of this year’s national contest: 

  • The University of Akron, and
  • Youngstown State University

The competition on Saturday, May 24, is from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the John S. Knight Center, 77 E. Mill St., Akron. The UA team will compete starting at 8:30 a.m.

Related:

Steel bridge