History:
The Student Steel Bridge Competition is sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), and co-sponsored by the American Iron and Steel Institute, the James F. Lincoln Arc Welding Foundation, the National Steel Bridge Alliance, Nucor Corporation, and Walter P. Moore and Associates, Inc. Students design a steel bridge by themselves but may seek advice from faculty and other consultants. Ideally, students fabricate the entire bridge themselves. However, appropriate shop facilities and supervision are not available at every university. Therefore, the services of a commercial fabricator may be used provided that students develop the work orders and observe the operations. Students are encouraged to maximize their involvement in fabrication.

The rules are changed every year to improve the contest and assure that competitors design and build new bridges. The rules are intended to be prescriptive but may require some interpretation. There are two levels of competition: regional and national. Regional competitions are held in conjunction with ASCE regional student conferences. Only one bridge per university may compete in a regional competition, and a university may compete in only one
region. Invitations to compete at the national level are extended only to the winner from a region in which two, three or four bridges competed, to the top two teams from a region in which five to ten bridges competed, and to the top three teams from a region with eleven or more competing bridges. Only one bridge per university may be entered in the national competition. The 15th Annual National Student Steel Bridge Competition will be held at University of Utah (Salt Lake City, UT).