SSSBA to host free webinar on short-span steel bridge design

Washington, D.C. — In cooperation with the American Galvanizers Association (AGA), the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) will host a free one-hour webinar on the design of short span steel bridges (under 140 feet) on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The webinar is titled Economical Design Tools and Cost Analysis of Short Span Steel Bridges and will be conducted by Michael G. Barker, Ph.D., P.E., professor of civil engineering at the University of Wyoming’s College of Engineering and Applied Science and a technical consultant at the SSSBA Bridge Technology Center.

The webinar is being held in conjunction with Infrastructure Week 2014, a national outreach being conducted May 12-16 to build awareness of and educate policymakers and citizens about the infrastructure challenges in the United States. Infrastructure Week will explore emerging solutions, innovative approaches and best practices being developed nationwide to modernize aging infrastructure.

The webinar will provide an overview of the mission and goals of the SSSBA, a review of newly developed short span steel bridge standard designs, the use of the new web-based design tool eSPAN140, and an economic analysis of the use of steel vs. concrete for short span bridge design. Interested persons can register at the American Galvanizers Association website (www.galvanizeit.org/education-and-resources/education/educational-seminars/webinar-series).

It is being presented as a special addition to the AGA’s Galvanize It! seminar series and is approved for continuing education units (CEUs), learning units (LUs), and/or professional development hours (PDHs) in health, safety and welfare (HSW). The American Galvanizers Association is a registered provider with the American Institute of Architects (AIA), National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying (NCEES), and the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

eSPAN140 (www.eSPAN140.com) is a free, interactive web-based preliminary design tool that assists bridge professionals in the optimal, cost-effective design of short-span steel bridges. According to AGA, it provides bridge professionals with a single resource to find optimized steel solutions for their projects in three easy steps and in less than five minutes — a “one-stop shop” for steel fabrication and erection details.