Context Sensitive Conceptual Bridge Design course is designed to present a holistic approach to developing bridge concepts for highway girder bridges that best fit the intended context. It teaches the student the art of finessing influences from technical, multi-discipline, construction, and site challenges in crafting solutions that achieve the owner’s objectives. Feasible solutions are quantified and evaluated in relative terms to hone in on the preferred concept. Constructability is an integral consideration in the development of practical and cost-effective conceptual designs. This course not only describes common construction methodologies for typical highway bridges but also walks you through rigorous step-by-step examples (but note that this is not a construction engineering course). Since the focus of this course is at the conceptual stage, it stays relatively high level concerning analysis and deep mathematical formulations. Instead, it encourages first principle, rules-of-thumb and hand-calculation based approach in sizing components. There is a module presented by Engineers and Geoscientists of British Columbia (EGBC) on professional practice and quality management guidelines.

From fresh entrants to candidates in the first phase of their bridge engineering career (0-8 years) will find this course extremely beneficial. This course will give you the mindset and skills to accelerate your development as a top-performing bridge engineer! For the engineers who are currently looking to enter the bridge engineering field, this course starts by providing an introduction to the design philosophy that bridge codes follow, the various bridge elements and their functions, and the primary design considerations. In essence, we do not assume that the participants taking this course have much prior knowledge about bridges and bridge engineering. We do, however, expect a basic understanding of principles taught within a typical 4-year Bachelors's degree in Civil Engineering. At the same time, engineers in the first phase of their careers (0-8 years) will find this beneficial as this holistic approach to conceptual designs is rarely inculcated in their professional training at design offices (due to production pressures).

If you assess the bridge engineering landscape, you will find only a handful of few that take the lead in developing concepts. The majority is engaged in production engineering or putting together calculations and drawings. Our flagship course has been developed to address the statement – “ Most engineers can design but only a few can create meaningful concepts”. How do some engineers develop skills to synthesize concepts from scratch while others don’t? First, we believe that experience and creativity aside, it’s a MIND-SET! And second, even with the right mindset, it takes years of good mentorship to pick up these skills. It takes so long because it is not possible to concisely impart this training in a typical consulting environment due to productivity pressures. In many ways, it’s also better for a business to have a few queen bees and many workers. In the end, many of us feel the frustration of not being able to realize our full potential but just can't pinpoint the cause. Therefore, we have poured our years of experience in bridge concept development, analysis, design, mentoring of teams, and erection engineering into this course with one goal in mind – to have you tuned to the right mind-set and acquire this specialized training under one concise umbrella!

We don’t think there is a sequence you need to follow for your learning in the field of bridge engineering. If you would like to become a bridge design engineer, the core of the subject would be bridge design with knowledge of construction techniques as an important supplement. Constructability including construction methodologies is a critical aspect of becoming a good bridge design engineer. However, note that there are bridge construction engineers who specialize in developing construction methodologies. Raj has been engaged in both design as well as construction engineering, which is rare as one generally tends to get an initial opportunity in one or the other (mostly design as there are many more such jobs) and one tends to stick with it. Therefore, we have injected a balanced dose of constructability knowledge required by a design engineer during conceptual design as a part of this course (Pease see free preview lesson in Module B).

The course will provide 2.4 Continuing Education Units (CEUs) and 24 Professional Development Hours (PDHs). These will be noted on the completion certificate issued to all registrants who have achieved the requisite passing grade in the Module Tests, Final Test, and paid the full dues for the course.

The course community forum is an open platform to promote discussion for students enrolled in Context-Sensitive Conceptual Bridge Design. You can share your learning experience, create posts, ask questions, and interact with colleagues. Posts can include an image, video, or a file link. You will be able to view and comment on existing posts. This feature will enhance your learning experience.

The course presentations and design spreadsheets will be available for download as you work through the course material. The course material is for you to retain for your future reference.