This past September, Hurricane Helene and its resulting floods damaged or destroyed more than 13 miles of track on a Norfolk Southern Railway line between Newport, Tenn., and Asheville, N.C., forcing the line to close. About a month after the storm, though, another problem arose. A steel bridge over the Pigeon River near Newport collapsed, adding a rapid bridge replacement project to a lengthy list of fixes on the line. Originally, the existing two-span bridge appeared to need only a pier repair.

Structural steel designers with technical questions can now go straight to the authoritative information they need at lightning speed thanks to Clark, a new AI chatbot from the American Institute of Steel Construction.

"AISC literally wrote the book on structural steel--and has for more than a century," said AISC Director of Technology Integration Luke Faulkner. "AISC has hundreds of thousands of pages of go-to, trusted publications like the Steel Construction Manual. Clark is designed to cut straight through that vast library to find the answer to a designer's specific technical question."

The Steel Erectors Association of America (SEAA) recognized four AISC members and AISC-certified erection companies with a 2025 Project of the Year award.

Hodges Erectors, Inc. won in the Structural Class I (up to $500,000) for its role in the Kaseya Center renovation project in Miami. The arena is home to the NBA’s Miami Heat and recently underwent a $50 million renovation.

Hodges Erectors was responsible for demolishing existing steel structures and installing new framework to accommodate four corner scoreboards, a center scoreboard, and a catwalk. The arena was not closed for construction, and work revolved around concert and game schedules. On multiple occasions, Hodges Erectors’ crew had to completely demobilize--removing the crane, equipment, tools, and materials offsite—and remobilize a short time later.

The National Steel Bridge Alliance, a division of the American Institute of Steel Construction, is looking for the country’s most innovative steel bridges.

The 2026 Prize Bridge Awards will honor outstanding bridges of all sizes and scopes, along with the most innovative owner in the country. Winning projects get a national spotlight in a variety of media, including Modern Steel Construction magazine, over the course of the following two years.

The Steel Design Student Competition--with $20,000 in cash prizes and a spotlight on student work--is once again challenging tomorrow's great designers to come up with something great.

Administered by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA) and sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC), the program is intended to challenge undergraduate and graduate students, working individually or in teams, to explore a variety of design issues related to the use of steel in design and construction. Winning designs are featured on both ACSA and AISC's websites as well as displayed to 6,000+ architects, engineers, steel fabricators, and the rest of the AEC industry at NASCC: The Steel Conference (April 22 to 24, 2026, in Atlanta).

The competition accepts entries in two categories each year: one that sets a specific challenge, and one open to all design ideas.

The American Institute of Steel Construction's Fabricator Education Training Program has developed and released new resources to help fabrication shops boost employee familiarity with the layout and fitup of columns.

AISC's award-winning online Fabricator Education Training Program is a supplement to in-person instruction. It helps new hires acquire necessary skills as quickly as possible, which will, in turn, help them progress into more specialized career paths that become available with experience. They're also an excellent way for a steel fabricator to demonstrate investment in the potential of individual employees, which is key for retention.

For a record-breaking fifth consecutive year, student engineers at the University of Florida were crowned the John M. Parucki National Champions in the 2025 Student Steel Bridge Competition, placing in five categories and taking home $8,000 in scholarships.

This year's national finals at Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa, brought together 43 qualifying teams from colleges and universities across North America. The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) offer the Student Steel Bridge Competition to give future engineers hands-on steel design knowledge beyond the classroom.