NC State Engineering
Fall 2009 Online Magazine

Standing tall

NC State engineering students built a bridge in downtown Raleigh—in one day.

A group of students had just one day to build a fully functional temporary pedestrian bridge outside the Legislative Building in Raleigh.

They did it.

Students from several engineering departments worked all day April 21 to erect the bridge and spent the following day giving tours and answering questions from legislators about its construction. Seniors Lina Lawrence, Matthew Poisel, and Ahmad Saffouri of the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering led the bridge design, which won them the 2009 Future of Engineering Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of North Carolina (ACEC/NC).

The students were also recognized for their work by Sen. Tony Rand in the NC Senate Chambers.

The student-built bridge was no small structure. The walkway from one side to the other spanned 50 feet, and its arches reached 20 feet high. The bridge also featured an LED lighting system, an LED clock and data collection systems, all powered by on-bridge solar panels. Eleven students from the departments of industrial and systems engineering, electrical and computer engineering, computer science and materials science and engineering were part of the bridge team.

Students built the bridge after winning a competition that required teams to design a temporary pedestrian bridge suitable for quick deployment in remote areas.

The bridge was taken down after the competition, but officials plan to rebuild it on Centennial Campus.

The bridge construction occurred as part of Engineering Days, a biennial event held by the engineering companies of ACEC/NC to highlight the leadership role that engineering plays in the present and future prosperity of North Carolina.