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Bentley Systems, Incorporated was a title sponsor of the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO) STEM Solutions Bridge Challenge Finals in Seattle, Washington, on May 16.
Formerly known as the AASHTO TRAC Contest, the AASHTO Bridge Challenge is a national competition designed to promote an interest in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through hands-on, real-world applications. It 
also provides a unique opportunity for students to gain confidence in their speaking skills in front of a large audience, which included departments of transportation, engineering consulting firms, AASHTO government officials, parents, teachers, and students. Also sponsoring the event were Michael Baker International, TopoDOT, HDR, HNTB, Headlight, and Houseman & Associates.
For the first time in three years since the pandemic, students from around the United States were able to compete in person in the bridge design contest, with the finalists winning the opportunity to join the AASHTO community at the Spring Meeting in Seattle.
Students from 19 states across the U.S., from seventh to 12th grades, designed and built innovative bridges using Bentley applications, including MicroStation and ContextCapture to design the models. Eighteen teams were selected for the finals by a panel of judges, who rated each team’s design and portfolio. During the finals on May 16, the teams gave presentations and then had their bridges tested for strength-to-weight ratio until each bridge failed, in some cases spectacularly, under pressure. The team receiving the most points from the judges was selected as the national winner in their grade categories.
The winning team for the 11th and 12th grades, 906 Bridge Co. from Negaunee High School in Negaunee, Michigan, has participated in the program for several years under the guidance of teacher/advisor Kevin Bell. In addition to designing a deck arch truss bridge with Bentley’s MicroStation, they also flew a drone and used ContextCapture to create a reality model of their bridge.
Congratulations to all the students, teachers, sponsors, and departments of transportation who made this year’s competition a success.
To learn more and become involved with the program, visit transportation.org/stem-outreach.