The Bridge Breaking Contest held during National Engineer’s Week at White Oaks Mall was an opportunity for local high school students to showcase their bridge engineering skills. Coordinated by the Illinois Society of Professional Engineers (ISPE) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), Bridges were created from manila file folders and are required to meet specific dimensional parameters. CMT’s Derek Cochran, Evan Ackerson, Grace Kurcab and Matt Overbey helped coordinate and volunteered for the event.
At the contest each bridge was loaded using a platform that fits within the bridge and an empty bucket hung below. Then, the bucket was loaded with sand until the bridge failed. The amount of sand the bridge was able to hold is converted to points for the overall scoring. Cash awards are presented for the following: 1st, 2nd, and 3rd for highest points scored, best-constructed bridge, and most-innovative bridge.
- First place – Sacred Heart Griffin, “Griffin Bridge Building”
- Second place – Riverton High School, “TI-84 Plus”
- Third place – Lanphier High School, “My Bridge”
- Most Innovative – Lanphier High School, “Rocky Road Co.”
- Best Constructed – Lanphier High School, “My Bridge”
