The World Steel Bridge Symposium (WSBS) is back at this year’s NASCC: The Steel Conference in Louisville, Ky., from April 2–4. This year’s program features a fantastic lineup of expert insights on the latest innovations and projects everyone is talking about, including: 

• Competitive short-span steel railway bridges (a prototype is currently in testing)
• Rehabilitation techniques for steel bridges
• Innovations in steel network tied arch bridges
• Steel bridge sustainability
• Design, fabrication, and construction perspectives on the new Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (the 2024 NSBA Bridge of the Year)

A narrative photography exhibit that shines a spotlight on the skilled workers powering the built landscape along Florida’s Gulf Coast is now open, attracting nearly 100 local architects, engineers, fabricators, and other AEC professionals to its unveiling Tuesday.

Visions in Steel: The People Who Bring Designs to Life, on display at the Center for Architecture & Design, Tampa Bay through March 11, tells the unique stories of 10 featured welders, quality control inspectors, and other fabrication professionals through written profiles and photographs.

Tuesday’s opening reception, a collaborative effort between the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Institute of Architects’ (AIA) Tampa Bay chapter, drew in AIA Tampa Bay members and leaders from the three featured companies (GMF Steel Group, Morrow Steel, and Precision Build), as well as several of the exhibit’s subjects and their families.

When Megan Patton was working toward her chemistry degree at the University of Alabama, she didn’t picture herself overseeing processing operations at a steel fabrication shop. In her mind, future Megan wore a lab coat and goggles--not steel-toed boots.

“I originally wanted to go into food science,” Patton says. “You know the Lay’s potato chip flavors that nobody keeps asking for? Yeah, I wanted to do that.”

The 24-year-old Naperville, Ill., native first came across GMF Steel Group at a career fair, where she was drawn to the breadth of opportunities steel fabrication offered--and a chance to stay in the South.

Ten years ago, Francisco Rodriguez put on a suit and tie, knocked on the recruitment and development manager’s door at Tampa Tank, and said “I need a job.” It was the day after his high school graduation.

When he walked to his welding station for the first time, the 18-year-old Rodriguez, with years of work experience under his belt already, was the sole provider for his family.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation's (ARDOT) first design-build project, the I-30 Corridor Reconstruction Project (30-Crossing), reached substantial completion months ahead of schedule in December. It was originally projected to wrap up in summer 2025.

A crucial part of ARDOT’s Connecting Arkansas Program, 30-Crossing replaced a 3,360-ft steel bridge over the Arkansas River, upgraded other bridges on Interstate 30, and widened I-30 through Little Rock and North Little Rock.

Annie Guerra has been a welder for 20 years, and she can count on one hand how many women she has worked with throughout her career.

It doesn’t surprise her. The work is gritty and strenuous, and two decades in, the 43-year-old Guerra still feels like she’s proving herself every day. But when you tune out the noise and focus on the craft, you find a career that’s uniquely beautiful and rewarding, she says.

“I had never in a million years thought I would be a welder,” Guerra says. “But as an immigrant, you have to do basically whatever you can to adapt and figure it out. Jobs are on every corner, but the opportunity to make a career and do the same job for your entire life…it’s like being a doctor or lawyer, right? The opportunity was right in front of me, and I didn’t think twice—the money is decent, and the work is interesting.”

An inferno from an oil tanker compromised a bridge over Interstate 95 near downtown Norwalk, Conn., last May, ensnarling a significant transportation artery in closures and detours. The steel bridge industry’s swift response, though, limited highway disruptions to mere days and put a replacement bridge in motion almost immediately after the fire.

That replacement bridge, which carries Fairfield Avenue over I-95, reopened exactly seven months after the incident. It’s the latest example of the steel bridge industry’s collaboration and capacity to mobilize quickly in emergency repair and replacement situations.

“Every partner on this project overperformed the ambitious deadlines we set in May,” said Garrett Eucalitto, Connecticut Department of Transportation commissioner. “This is a remarkable achievement and demonstrates what we can get done for the traveling public when federal, state, and local partners share a common purpose.”

Edward "Eddie" Williams, one of the nation's most recognized and respected structural steel fabricators, died on January 13 at age 90. Williams was one of the founders of the Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) and was known for hundreds of notable and challenging projects such as the UNC Dean Dome and the Carolina Panthers Stadium.

A draft of the next edition of the AISC Standard for Certification Programs (AISC 207) is now available for public review and comment.

The next edition of AISC 207 will supersede the 2023 version and is anticipated to be finalized and released later this year.

The updated standard will notably exclude safety program requirements in recognition of the evolution of safety standardization and practices in the industry over the past several decades. The updated standard also harmonizes terminology with the AISC Code of Standard Practice, among other improvements.

What if steel could be preheated to a lower temperature for welding, creating a safer working environment, cutting costs and emissions, and improving efficiency?

The University of California, San Diego’s Machel Morrison, PhD aims to find out--and the American Institute of Steel Construction is helping him do so with a four-year, $300,000 Milek Fellowship.

“This research may lead to lower preheat requirements for some of the most common steel shapes and plate--which would have huge benefits,” said AISC Director of Research Devin Huber, PE, PhD. “This is precisely the kind of forward-thinking research that keeps structural steel at the forefront of efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and sustainability.”

Registration is now open for a one-of-a-kind event for any architect who designs in steel--anyone who’s looking for ingenious solutions to tough challenges, need-to-know designs, and the innovations that will define a greener, safer, more beautiful future.

Architecture in Steel, incorporated into NASCC: The Steel Conference, takes place April 2 in Louisville, Ky., and architects can save more than $500 off the regular registration price.

Architecture in Steel combines insightful education sessions--and up to 12 hours of AIA continuing education credit--with networking that’s just not possible anywhere else.

NASCC: The Steel Conference, the must-attend event for anyone involved in the design or construction of steel buildings and bridges, is coming to Louisville, Ky. in April--and registration is now open! 

“NASCC: The Steel Conference is the only place to talk with the professionals who work on a given product, from the design process to steel erection,” said Scott Melnick, senior vice president of the American Institute of Steel Construction and the conference’s main organizer. “Year after year, participants tell us that they made valuable connections they can’t have made anywhere else--and that attending the Steel Conference helped them do their jobs better.