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May 2013
This month’s newsletter includes information about: - Call for Papers: World Steel Bridge Symposium
- Steel Bridge Design Seminar at International Bridge Conference
- Two Part Webinar: Fatigue of Welded Connections
- Spotlight Your Organization's Innovation Success Stories in Transportation Builder Magazine
- Students Head to Seattle for National Steel Bridge Competition
- Legislative Update
- People to Know: Karl Frank
Call for Papers: World Steel Bridge Symposium 
The World Steel Bridge Symposium brings together design engineers, construction professionals, academicians, transportation officials, fabricators, erectors, and constructors to discuss and learn state-of-the-art practices for enhancing steel bridge design, fabrication, and construction techniques. The organizers of the 2014 World Steel Bridge Symposium are interested in papers that deal with all aspects of steel bridge design and construction. Papers will be requested based on acceptance of abstracts of 500 words or less. Abstracts are due July 1, 2013 Authors will be notified of acceptance by August 15, 2013 Completed papers for review must be received by November 18, 2013
The 2013 NASCC: The Steel Conference recently concluded in St. Louis and included a comprehensive bridge track for bridge designers, contractors, and owners. Slides and audio from the sessions are now available for online viewing.
Steel Bridge Design Seminar at International Bridge Conference NSBA is hosting a steel bridge design seminar at this year’s International Bridge Conference in Pittsburgh, which will take place June 2-6 at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center. Title: Steel Bridge Design - Tools, Resources, References for Designers Date and Time: Thursday, June 6, 2013 - 8:00 a.m. –noon Program Guide Information: Objective of this seminar is to introduce new, complimentary tools and resources available to the bridge design community, including girder design software, girder splice software, and the new Steel Bridge Handbook from FHWA. Participants will review efficient girder and splice design using NSBA’s new SIMON program and NSBA Splice software. Attendees will develop better insight into economical bridge design, enabling them to use the provided software to quickly develop preliminary and final designs of steel bridge superstructures. Additionally, an overview of eSPAN140, a web-based tool for a quick and easy assessment of steel options for simply supported, short span bridges will be provided. Finally, an introduction to the FHWA’s new Steel Bridge Design Handbook, a compendium of 19 chapters and six design examples prepared by a ‘Who’s Who’ of bridge design. A more detailed at the Redundancy and Bracing chapters will be provided. Register and download NSBA’s complimentary Steel Bridge Design Suite and register for this year’s International Bridge Conference. Also make sure to visit NSBA staff at booth 521! The agenda for this session is as follows: 8 a.m. - 8:05 a.m. – Welcome, Introduction
8:05 a.m. - 8:50 a.m. – Steel Plate Girder Design Using SIMON - Mike Grubb (M.A. Grubb & Associates)
8:50 a.m. - 9:35 a.m. – Steel Plate Girder Splice Design using NSBA Splice - Bob Cisneros (High Steel Structures)
9:35 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. – AISI eSPAN140 – Karl Barth (University of West Virginia)
10 a.m. - 10:15 a.m. – BREAK
10:15 a.m. -10-45 a.m. – Steel Bridge Handbook, Intro & Example – Brandon Chavel (HDR)
10-45 a.m. -11:15 a.m. – Steel Bridge Handbook, Bracing System Design – Brian Kozy (FHWA)
11:15 a.m. -11:45 a.m. – Steel Bridge Handbook, Redundancy – Dennis Mertz (University of Delaware)
Two Part Webinar: Fatigue of Welded Connections AISC is offering the opportunity to dive into the topic of fatigue of welded connections with a two-part live webinar on May 23 and May 30 titled “Fatigue of Welded Connections - A Primer.” 
Part 1, on May 23, will examine the basic concepts behind fatigue including the definition, application and causation, as well as welded connections and variables affecting fatigue. It will also review the aspects of the design model including fatigue testing, categories of connection details and predictive model. Part 2, on May 30, considers weld geometries in detail with a practical focus on how to increase the fatigue resistance of welded connections. Fatigue enhancement methods will be presented and the role of material toughness on fatigue life will be discussed, along with case studies. Both parts of the webinar are 1.5 hours long and will use AISC 360 Appendix 3. On both days they will begin at the following times, relative to time zone: 10:30 a.m. PDT | 11:30 a.m. MDT |12:30 p.m. CDT | 1:30 p.m. EDT Registrants will receive access to a PDF file of the presentation slides prior to the webinar, CEU/PDH certificates for all attendees upon completion of the live webinar (up to 0.30/3.0 CEUs/PDHs) and complete instructions for accessing the live webinar. For more information and to register, go to www.aisc.org/webinars.
Spotlight Your Organization's Innovation Success Stories in Transportation Builder Magazine Each year, ARTBA dedicates the May/June issue of Transportation Builder (TB) magazine to spotlighting the industry's use of innovation in designing and building all modes of transportation improvement projects. ARTBA is asking you to share with them examples of your company's innovative design and construction techniques, materials, equipment, state-of-the-art technology or improved safety features.
In your explanation, which should be 250 words or less, be sure to include the project's official name, a short description, its location, cost, completion date, a list of any appropriate partners and your contact information. They also request you send the appropriate photo (minimum 300 dpi). To help in your writing, view an example of last year's project profiles. Please send your write up and photo to TB Editor Jenny Ragone by May 24, 2013.
Students Head to Seattle for National Steel Bridge Competition In less than two weeks, 49 university teams will converge at the University of Washington in Seattle to compete in the 2013 National Student Steel Bridge Competition finals, which take place May 31-June 1. The competition challenges student teams with building their own designed and fabricated steel bridges, one-tenth the size of a full-scale bridge, under the pressure of the clock. Bridge rankings are based on a variety of factors, including: display, construction speed, stiffness, lightness, construction economy and structural efficiency. The 49 student engineering teams that have qualified for the national competition were the top finishers at 18 regional competitions that took place across North America between January and April and included a total of 210 teams. For more information about the competition, visit www.aisc.org/steelbridge or www.nssbc.info.
Legislative Update On Wednesday, May 14, 2013, Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) announced that the confirmation hearing for Charlotte Mayor Anthony Foxx, the President’s nominee to succeed Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, will take place at 2:30 p.m. EDT on May 22. Mayor Foxx has been in Washington, D.C., throughout the week meeting with key members, in particular committee Republicans. Mayor Foxx has already received endorsements from members on both sides of the aisle, including a strong endorsement from Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and a more subdued endorsement from committee member Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO). All indications are that the confirmation process should go smoothly with few issues publicly raised by members in advance of the hearing. Chairman Rockefeller has indicated that he will push the full Senate to vote on Mayor Foxx’s confirmation quickly following the hearing. With the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and Senate Environment and Public Works Committee focused on advancing water resource bills, surface transportation issues have not seen much discussion. However, last week Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) introduced a bill that would fund the construction and repair of the most critical roads and bridges (based on the degree of damage, relative importance, and other factors). The bill would be funded with revenue generated from repatriated overseas capital incentivized with a lower tax rate. Rep. John Delaney (D-MD) will be releasing a bill shortly that would fund the establishment of a national infrastructure bank financed through a similar tax break on repatriated capital. It is unlikely that either of these bills would gain traction, but they reflect a trend of legislators proposing alternative transportation funding sources in lieu of (or in some cases in addition to) a gas tax increase.
People to Know: Karl Frank 
Karl Frank, an engineer and former professor, kicks it into high gear with his structural and automotive pursuits in the May issue of Modern Steel Construction magazine.
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