Missouri FARM Design/Build Bundle Project Wins Prize Bridge Award

The latest issue of Modern Steel Construction highlights the winners of the 2026 AISC/NSBA Prize Bridge Awards, recognizing eight outstanding steel bridge projects that demonstrate innovation, collaboration, and engineering excellence. More than 600 bridges have received a Prize Bridge Award since the program began in 1928, making it one of the steel bridge industry’s most prestigious honors.

Among this year’s winners is a project is especially familiar to the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA). The FARM Bridges Design/Build Bundle in Missouri earned the National Award in the Short Span Category (no single span greater than 140 feet). The project showcases the work of SSSBA member DeLong’s, Inc., which served as the steel fabricator and detailer.

A Short Span Success Story

The FARM (Fixing Access to Rural Missouri) Bridges Design/Build Bundle replaced 31 aging rural creek crossings throughout northern Missouri using an innovative steel solution that delivered both exceptional value and accelerated construction. Working together, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), Wilson & Company, Capital Construction, and DeLong’s refined the Simple for Dead Load, Continuous for Live Load (SDCL) bridge system for steel applications—an approach traditionally associated with precast concrete bridges.

The results demonstrate why steel continues to be an outstanding choice for short-span bridges. By using steel, the project team was able to simplify fabrication and erection, eliminate field splices, reduce beam depths, minimize transportation and construction costs, and accelerate installation across multiple rural locations.

The bundled project was completed one month ahead of schedule and within its $26 million budget, despite supply chain disruptions and material shortages during the COVID-19 era.

Learn how the award-winning Missouri FARM Bridges Design/Build Bundle project utilized SDLC design approach to improve short-span bridge delivery. In this on-demand webinar recorded in December 2025, Missouri State Bridge Engineer Bryan Hartnagel explains how SDCL combines efficiency, constructability, and long-term durability to provide an innovative solution for rural bridge replacement projects.

Transforming Rural Bridge Replacement with Steel

Of the 31 replacement bridges, steel was selected for 26 because of its lighter weight, constructability, and ability to support an accelerated design-build schedule. Steel’s adaptability allowed the project team to use shorter beam lengths, eliminate complex field operations, and reduce erection challenges across multiple rural construction sites.

The galvanized steel superstructures are expected to provide an approximately 100-year service life while reducing future maintenance requirements. The project demonstrates how steel can provide an effective combination of durability, economy, and constructability for short-span bridge applications.

Model for Future Projects

Perhaps most importantly, the success of the FARM Bridges project has extended beyond these individual structures. The innovative steel SDCL approach proved so effective that it has since been adopted by MoDOT as a standard option for future bridge programs, demonstrating how innovation on one project can influence bridge design and construction across an entire state.

The FARM Bridges Design/Build Bundle is an excellent example of the benefits steel provides for short-span bridges, including speed of construction, cost-effectiveness, durability, and long-term value. Congratulations to MoDOT, Wilson & Company, Capital Construction, SSSBA member DeLong’s, Inc., and the entire project team on this well-deserved national recognition.

To learn more about all eight 2026 Prize Bridge Award winners, read the July issue of Modern Steel Construction.