Students in West Virginia middle and high schools shined over the weekend in the 2023 West Virginia Bridge Design and Build Contest.
The event, sponsored by the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT) for over 20 years, was hosted at WVU Institute of Technology Campus in Beckley on Saturday. There were 149 teams, an individual or team of two students, from schools all over the state that submitted designs.
The competition focuses on engineering, using real world design principles in the software with which students design their bridges.
Garrett Ferguson, a senior at Frankfort High School in Mineral County, took home first place in the High School Division of the Software Competition.
“After checking in, we went up into the computer lab and did the software part of the contest,” said Ferguson. “They gave us two different scenarios and we had to design a bridge that passed all the qualifications. On the software, it has a truck run across the bridge and if the truck makes it across it passes.
“We did that for two different scenarios – one was an arch bridge and one was a bridge with a pier.”
Local award winners from the competition include:
Software Competition
Middle School Division
2nd – Emma Vincent, Team: TheDangerousDoggies from Eastern Greenbrier Middle School
3rd – Ellie Burns, Team: Lunacat from Eastern Greenbrier Middle School
Balsa Wood Competition
High School Division
2nd – Nathaniel Vincent, Team: Potato Games from Greenbrier East High School
Middle School Division
1st – Emma Vincent, Team: TheDangerousDoggies from Eastern Greenbrier Middle School
On Sunday, students were rewarded with a tour of the New River Gorge Bridge catwalk, courtesy of BridgeWalk. All students who entered the competition earned a free tour for themselves and their families.
“The walk was pretty cool,” said Cole. “We got to learn about the bridge and see how it was made.”
Partners this year include the West Virginia Department of Transportation (WVDOT), WV Department of Education, WV University Institute of Technology, and BridgeWalk.
