Twenty-three feet of steel. One national title.
SK&A intern Nate Riker helped the University of Florida team win First Place at the 2026 AISC Student Steel Bridge Competition National Finals, held May 22–23 at the University of Texas at El Paso.
Hosted annually by the American Institute of Steel Construction, the Student Steel Bridge Competition challenges student teams to design, fabricate, and assemble a scale-model steel bridge. Teams are evaluated through timed construction, load testing, weight measurement, aesthetics, and other criteria established by the competition rules.
For the 2026 competition, teams were challenged to design a pedestrian bridge concept for a site over the Rio Grande north of El Paso, with constraints related to navigable water access, erosion control, limited construction zones, height restrictions, and remotely staged materials and equipment.
Nate and the University of Florida team developed a 23-foot bridge featuring an 18-foot backspan and a 5-foot cantilevered section. The bridge was tested through loading on both the backspan and cantilevered portions, then weighed as part of the final evaluation.
“Our final product was a 23-foot bridge featuring an 18-foot backspan and a 5-foot cantilevered section,” Nate shared. “We opted for a design that prioritized structural performance, leading to a first-place finish in structural efficiency and an overall victory.”
The University of Florida team was named First Place and John M. Parucki National Champion, earning the top overall honor among the national finalist teams.
Please join us in congratulating Nate and the University of Florida team on this outstanding accomplishment.
