SSSBA Holds Semi-Annual Meeting in Denver

This week, the Short Span Steel Bridge Alliance (SSSBA) held its Semi-Annual meeting in Denver, CO.

Over 60 members of the SSSBA attended the 3-day meeting, including county engineers and representatives from the National Association of County Engineers.

Throughout the week, steel bridge stakeholders from around the country came together to focus on key areas related to short span steel bridges including innovation, standardization, education and market development.

County engineers attended the 3-day event in Denver, CO.

3-Days of Technical, Marketing and Industry Focused Events

The meeting kicked off Monday afternoon with a distinguished lineup of speakers and topics for the Innovation and Technical Standards Council sessions that included:

• Built-up Press-brake Formed Tub Girders
  • Ashley Thrall, University of Notre Dame
• Skewed Girders, Improved Load Distribution Factors and- State Standards Design Update
  • Greg Michaelson, Ph.D., P.E., Marshall University
• Metal Deck Sections
  • Brian Keierleber, Buchanan County, Iowa
• Structures 101, Railroad Bridges
  • Jose Mares, BNSF Railway
• Steel Bridge Railroads Standards
  • Tony Peterson, National Steel Bridge Alliance

On Tuesday, the schedule featured SSSBA’s Communications Council, Marketing and Education Council and the SSSBA General Meeting, which included another round of noteworthy presenters and information:

• Leveraging Digital Tools to Keep Specifiers Engaged
  • John Krzywicki, American Galvanizers Association
• Steel Bridge Resiliency, Education and Outreach
  • Michael Barker, Ph.D., P.E., University of Wyoming
• Steel Bridge Project Updates and Success Stories Roundtable
• Colorado Department of Transportation (DOT) Buy Clean Act Collaboration
  • Hailey Goodale, Colorado DOT
• National Association of County Engineers (NACE) and Legislative/Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Update
  • Kevan Stone, Executive Director, NACE

The meeting ended with a short span steel bridge workshop, the first held during an SSSBA semi-annual meeting. The workshop featured presentations from 10 participants representing various counties throughout the United States such as Iowa, Ohio and Texas, among others.

The feedback received was positive. Attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn from real-world examples provided by industry experts on the advantages steel bridges present to the transportation industry.

Big thank you to the SSSBA members that sponsored Monday’s networking event.

Networking Event Sponsors

A big thank you to the following companies who sponsored Monday’s networking event at the SSSBA meetings:

Diamond Sponsors

• Acrow (website)
• AZZ Metal Coatings (website)
• High Steel Structures (website)
• National Steel Bridge Alliance (website)
• Nucor (website)
• V&S Galvanizing (website)
• Veritas Steel (website)

Gold Sponsors 

• Commercial Metals Company (website)
• Contech Engineered Solutions (website)
• Sherwin Williams (website)
• South Atlantic LLC (website)
• Valmont Coatings (website)

Silver Sponsor

• Central Steel Service (website)
• Quality Bridge & Fab (website)
• St. Louis Bolt and Screw (website)
• Wheeler (website)
• Wyatt Resources (website)

American Galvanizers Association

Also, a big thank you to the American Galvanizers Association for sponsoring the full Tuesday networking event!

SSSBA members and guests at the networking event in Denver, CO.

Next Meeting, January 2024 in New Orleans

The next SSSBA Semi-Annual meeting will be held on January 22-23, 2024 in New Orleans, LA.

If you would like more information on this  event or to become a member of the SSSBA, please contact Dustin Young at dyoung@steel.org or complete an online membership application.