LTAP Webinar: Steel Bridges for Local Communities

Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 10:00–11:00 am
Virtual

About the Webinar

This webinar will present overviews of several topics from the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA), a group of bridge and buried soil steel structure industry leaders who have joined together to provide educational information on the design and construction of short span steel bridges. The topics will include:

Short span steel bridges and eSPAN140
Bridge economy and life cycle costs of steel and concrete bridges
Prefabricated steel bridges and accelerated bridge construction
DIY: local crews building county bridges
Simple-for-dead, continuous-for-live steel bridge construction
Education resources through the SSSBA

Registration

Register
Cost: Free, but registration is required.
Registration contact: Natalie Niskanen, niskanen@umn.edu

Please let us know how we can ensure that this workshop is inclusive to you. What accommodations or access needs can we help facilitate? Contact Natalie Niskanen when you register to help us provide you with the best access.

Topics Covered

Short span steel bridges and eSPAN140: The SSSBA has developed standardized steel bridge design aids (eSPAN140) and plans to significantly reduce design time and fabrication costs, provide cost effective solutions, and increase construction efficiencies in the nation’s effort to repair and upgrade the bridge infrastructure. Coupling standard bridge designs with the interactive web-based eSPAN140 design package allows bridge designers and owners to efficiently consider alternative steel solutions to meet bridge project needs.
Bridge economy and life cycle costs of steel and concrete bridges: State, county, and community bridge owners are replacing—and need to replace—many older and deteriorated bridges in their inventories. This segment examines first costs and life cycle costs of typical concrete and steel girder type bridges.
Prefabricated steel bridges and accelerated bridge construction: Several bridge projects from manufacturers and prefabricated built bridges will be showcased to demonstrate their merits in bridge quality and accelerated construction. Accelerated Bridge Construction (ABC) uses planning, design, material selection, and construction methods to reduce the onsite construction time and mobility impacts that occur when building new bridges or replacing and rehabilitating existing bridges.
DIY—local crews building local bridges: This section will cover topics like: 1) Can My Crew Build This Bridge?; 2) Permits, Environmental Issues, and Geotech Considerations; 3) Selecting Bridge Type and Bidding an Award; 4) Foundation and Substructure Design/Installation; 5) Installing the Bridge; and 6) Commissioning and Opening to Traffic will be discussed.
Simple-for-dead, continuous-for-live steel bridge construction: An example bridge bundling case study that used steel simple-for-dead, continuous-for-live (SDCL) bridge design will be presented. The success of the SDCL project will be explained through interviews with the state bridge engineer, project manager, design team, and contractor.
Education resources through the SSSBA: The SSSBA has free technical resources and educational opportunities that can help Tribal communities in their effort to manage their bridge infrastructure—these will be highlighted to close the session.

Speakers

Michael G. Barker, PE, Professor is a professor of civil & architectural engineering at the University of Wyoming. He is the Director of Education for the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance. Dr. Barker’s primary research pertains to steel bridges, experimental testing, bridge design specifications, bridge field testing, high-performance steel, and reliability analyses of structures. He received his BS and MS in civil engineering from Purdue University and his PhD from the University of Minnesota.

Dan Snyder is vice president for the construction program at the American Iron and Steel Institute. Dan helped to establish the SSSBA in 2007, growing membership to over 100 organizations and increasing market share for steel bridges with spans under 140 feet. He earned a bachelor of science degree in education from Pennsylvania State University and a master of business administration from Johns Hopkins University.

Who Should Attend

County, municipal, and state engineers, engineering consultants, bridge contractors, and county commissioners.

Credit

To the best of our knowledge, this course/activity meets the continuing education requirements for 1.0 PDH as outlined in Minnesota Statute 326.107. Learn more about continuing education for professionals from the Minnesota Board of AELSLAGID.

More Information

Questions? Please contact Natalie Niskanen at niskanen@umn.edu.