Engineering Students Design, Fabricate, and Build Real Steel Bridges

CHICAGO – Clear Creek in Golden, Colo., needs a new steel pedestrian bridge—and the hypothetical owners are turning to students at colleges and universities to make it happen!

That’s the challenge the American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers have set for the 2027 Student Steel Bridge Competition.

To solve it, the students must design a bridge, analyze and optimize their design, then fabricate a 1:10 scale version in steel so it can be constructed and tested in real life. 

They’ll have to tackle the same challenges a real engineer would in this situation as they figure out how to provide clearance for kayaking and other river recreation, stay within limited construction zones, build without piers, and remotely stage materials and equipment—all while balancing strength, stability, aesthetics, construction time, and cost.

Teams of student engineers will face off in regional competitions across North America in the spring. Eligible teams will then meet at the Colorado School of Mines on June 4 and 5 to compete in the national finals!

“The Student Steel Bridge Competition is a flagship program for AISC and a genuine favorite among our team—especially those who competed themselves during college,” said AISC Senior Director of Education Christina Harber, SE, PE. “Year after year, participants tell us that it was the absolute highlight of their degree, and so many move on to build careers as professional bridge engineers!”

The University of Florida currently holds the crown after taking the top prize at the 2026 National Finals—for the sixth year in a row.

Additional Media Resources

Regional competitions will take place throughout North America, and members of the media are welcome to attend. Press can expect to see:

• Students assembling 20-ft scale steel bridges in a competitive timed setting, adhering to strict safety rules and construction standards
• Real-life testing of those bridges with 2,500 lbs of steel angles
• Lots and lots of enthusiasm from the generation that will design, maintain, and build tomorrow’s infrastructure!

The media is also welcome to attend the National Finals in June.

Please contact Dani Friedland (information below) for further information about attending a Student Steel Bridge Competition event. For more information contact:

Dani Friedland

Director of Communications

773.636.8535

friedland@aisc.org

About the American Institute of Steel Construction

The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), a not-for-profit technical institute supported by the steel industry, partners with the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) community to develop safe and efficient steel specifications and codes while driving innovation to make steel the most sustainable, economic, and resilient structural material. For more than a century, AISC has been a reliable resource for information and advice on the design and construction of domestically fabricated structural steel buildings and bridges.