Engineering Students Propose Designs For New Bridge Between U.S. And Canada

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A controversy over plans for a new bridge to link the U.S. and Canada has provided students in a new master's-degree program in engineering at the University at Buffalo with a chance to contribute to the discussion of the international project, while at the same time learning skills needed to manage a large project not typically taught in a classroom.

Organized like mini-companies, groups of students were charged with developing innovative bridge designs that were realistic, cost-competitive and feasible from engineering, political and financial perspectives.

"We wanted our students to contribute to the discussion," said Andrei Reinhorn, Ph.D., professor and chair of the UB Department of Civil, Structural and Environmental Engineering and a developer of the new master's program. "We saw that the level of information in the community about the expansion was rather superficial, but we knew our students were preparing very detailed and well-thought-out solutions, and that maybe the community would want to incorporate some of the students' solutions into a final design."

The students' proposals, presented at a recent symposium at UB, have been well-received by community leaders and are generating more public discussion. Noting that most of the students consider Buffalo their hometown, John Mander, Ph.D., pointed out that "these students have a vested interest.

"They are true citizen designers; these proposals come from the heart," added Mander, associate professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering and project coordinator.

At its root, the controversy over the new bridge reveals stark contrasts in what the international crossing means to local residents and politicians.

The authority that operates the bridge has proposed construction of a parallel span that nearly duplicates -- but would not replace -- the existing Peace Bridge, which was built in 1927 and spans the Niagara River, connecting Buffalo with Ft. Erie, Ontario.

An independent group has argued vociferously for a signature span (locally known as "SuperSpan"), a single, dramatic structure that would replace the Peace Bridge.

Powerful supporters have lined up on both sides of the controversy.

"The students have tried to provide an array of choices and to do comparative designs," said Mander. "It would be presumptuous of them as designers to say which bridge is better because you never know if some contractor has innovative construction expertise that makes one design more cost-competitive. Ideally, several designs should be submitted and the marketplace should decide."

Each student "firm" was required to come up with an alternative to the bridge authority's twin-span concept and an alternative to the SuperSpan proposal.

The students developed proposals that included appropriate data on materials, prestressing load-balancing techniques, designing for strength and serviceability, or the "user-friendliness" of a structure (e.g. how much vibration a driver feels when driving across it).

Also required in each proposal were recommendations on construction techniques, a serious consideration since most of the work will be done out of the Niagara River, which has some of the swiftest-flowing currents on the continent.

"It's a common myth that aesthetics cost more," said Mander. "The reason is that good designers are often more cognizant of efficiencies that can be built into a design that can more than offset the potential costs of improved aesthetics."

He added that the most beautiful designs often are the least-expensive proposals because design firms know that once completed, such structures will become a major advertisement for their work.

Among the major differences students cited in their designs for the twin span was the use of prestressed concrete rather than steel, the material chosen by the bridge authority.

They noted that maintenance costs for this type of concrete run about 10-15 percent of that required by steel because it does not require painting.

Alternatives proposed by the students for the signature span include a prestressed concrete through arch that would be the longest concrete arch in North America.

Another dramatic design, called a curved, cable-stayed bridge, features two towers that connect to upper and lower bridge decks by diagonal tendons.

All of the cost estimates for the students' twin-span designs are near the $50 million pricetag of the current one proposed by the Buffalo Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority; cost estimates for the signature designs are in the vicinity of the $80 million proposed by SuperSpan advocates.

Construction times also are comparable for each design.

The project was designed to teach students how to manage and integrate different kinds of engineering expertise on a project: structural, geotechnical, construction and environmental.

Preparation by the students was intense. To complete their proposals, they worked almost around-the-clock during the university's winter shutdown.

The experience has reinforced their personal feelings about how the Peace Bridge should be expanded.

During a recent presentation, Michael Craig, one of the students in the UB program whose cable-stayed design is one of the class's most dramatic, quoted renowned engineer and author Henry Pietrowski, who has said that a bridge tells the world what a community thinks about itself.

Supporters of a signature span have argued that such a structure would symbolize to Buffalo and the world-at-large that the city has advanced beyond its rust-belt mentality.

Donald Lazzaro, on the other hand, is a part-time student who works for an engineering consulting firm that is involved in the bridge authority's plan.

"I understand their current design, it makes sense and it works," he said.

"But it can do more than work," countered Craig, noting that a drive along the Sunshine Skyway in Tampa Bay, Fla., shows what a beautiful bridge can do for a community.

Unlike other academic projects that would be filed and forgotten at the end of the semester, this one will continue to live and change shape as the planning process evolves.

Whatever form the bridge finally takes, the experience has engendered a sense among the students that they may actually have an influence on a major, international structure in their own backyard.