News Release Archive

Colorado High School Bridge Building Contest At Denver Federal Center on Feb. 27

Media Contact: Peter Soeth, 303-445-3615

For Release: February 24, 2016

49th Annual Colorado High School Bridge Building CompetitionThe Bureau of Reclamation will host the 49th annual Colorado High School Bridge Building Contest at its laboratory in Building 56 at the Denver Federal Center on Saturday, February 27. Students from around Colorado will bring their model bridges to compete for scholarships and other prizes. Reclamation staff will test each bridge to failure during the competition to determine the winners. This is a great time to bring the family out to see the contest, tour the labs, and enjoy a hot dog at the concession stand. The competition starts at 8:00 a.m. and is usually over by noon, followed by the testing of a large concrete cylinder in the 5,000,000 pound testing machine.

The contest was started in 1968 with the aim of providing interaction and communication among practicing engineers and high school students. Reclamation has been a cosponsor and host of the contest since 1974. Other sponsors include the Professional Engineers of Colorado (PEC) and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Colorado (ACEC/CO). The contest is held every year during National Engineers Week.

The contest is held at the Bureau of Reclamation’s Concrete, Geotechnical and Structural Laboratory. Reclamation employees staff the contest and perform the testing. Several hundred students, teachers, family members, and other interested people converge on the contest site to witness the bridge breaking. Reclamation employees provide tours of the whole laboratory facility. A grand finale to the contest is a demonstration of the 5,000,000 pound testing machine as it breaks a large concrete cylinder.

Students construct model bridges to precisely conform to specifications established every year by the PEC contest committee (see http://www.pec.org/BridgeBuilding.html). The models are constructed using basswood and glue and are about 12” long, 2” wide, and 4” tall. The contest rules place a limit on the weight of a bridge of around 1 ounce. Each bridge is tested by applying an increasing load to it until it breaks, which often happens dramatically with bridge pieces flying every direction. The winning bridge is the one having the highest efficiency number. The efficiency number is the maximum weight the bridge held divided by the weight of the bridge. In past contests, bridges have held in excess of 20,000 times their own weight – this has been as high as 2,500 pounds!

Prizes have included scholarships to the University of Colorado, scholarships donated by the PEC, ACEC and the American Public Works Association, calculators, and savings bonds donated by Reclamation employees. The top two winners in each region of the Colorado contest are eligible to participate in the International Contest. Reclamation has cosponsored and hosted the International Contest twice in past years.

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The Bureau of Reclamation is a federal agency under the U.S. Department of the Interior and is the nation's largest wholesale water supplier and second largest producer of hydroelectric power. Our facilities also provide substantial flood control, recreation opportunities, and environmental benefits. Visit our website at https://www.usbr.gov and follow us on Twitter @USBR; Facebook @bureau.of.reclamation; LinkedIn @Bureau of Reclamation; Instagram @bureau_of_reclamation; and YouTube @reclamation.