Top Honors for Timber Bridge Team at Student Design-Build Competition

A team of NC State University students won the award for the strongest bridge at the APT-PETC Student Design-Build Competition, held Nov. 15-16, 2024, in Montreal, Canada. The event, hosted by the Association for Preservation Technology and the Preservation Engineering Technical Committee, brought together students from across the country to showcase their skills in preservation engineering.

The competition consisted of three phases. In Phase 1, participants conducted fieldwork and site visits to select a historic covered bridge for study. The NC State team chose the Bunker Hill Bridge in Claremont, North Carolina, and submitted a report that was accepted, advancing them to Phase 2. This phase required teams to complete a detailed structural analysis and environmental study of the bridge.

Out of all the submissions, only four teams nationwide were invited to the final phase in Montreal, where they constructed scale models of the bridges they studied.

At the national competition, teams presented their research and poster designs to a panel of judges, answering questions about their work. The teams then participated in a timed challenge to assemble their model bridges in under one hour. All components of the bridge had to be transported in standard travel luggage and assembled on-site to span a required five-foot distance between supports.

The NC State team’s model, constructed using wooden members and dowels to replicate the trusses of the original Bunker Hill Bridge, held a maximum load of 1,000 pounds with a total deflection of less than an inch. This achievement earned them the award for the strongest bridge.

Team members included Hunter Bowman (team captain), Anthony Rurka, Laney Hunt, Christopher Lee, Taylor Brodbeck, and Cameron Stevenson. Steven Welton, professor and faculty advisor, supported the team throughout the competition.