The Engineering Bridge Competition has been an annual tradition at Tech for over thirty years. This competition is where young students from the Engineering Academy create a bridge to hold the most amount of weight before collapsing. This year, the competition will be managed by the new head of the Engineering Academy, Leroy Hurt.
Mr. Hurt is an Oakland Tech Alumnus, from the Class of 1989, who graduated from UC Davis and later became a civil engineer. “The competition, to me, kind of gives back,” Mr. Hurt states.
“We get to see the ingenuity of the younger generation,” Mr. Hurt shares. “What will they do? What will they think? How will they build it?”
Established in 1995, by John Bliss and Parker Merrill, this year marks the 31st annual competition at Oakland Tech. Still sponsored by John Bliss, as well as the American Society of Civil Engineering, this year’s competition will be held on April 22, 2026 in the Student Center.
Although the goal of the competition to create a bridge that holds the most weight remains the same, Mr. Hurt will be bringing several changes for this year’s competition. Although students from any grade and academy will be able to join, Mr. Hurt will be reintroducing this competition as a mandatory assignment for his sophomores.
Another exciting addition to this competition is that Mr. Hurt will be personally giving an additional $200 to the first place winner, on top of the initial $200 that the competition gives to the first place winner.
Other minor changes include the competition moving back into the Student Center, compared to the previous year’s being held in the Girl’s Gym.
Mr. Hurt believes that the most important part of the competition is when the competitor’s bridge snaps. “Because bridges fail—Bay Bridge, right? It failed during the earthquake. Things fail,” Mr. Hurt stated. He wants students to learn from their mistakes and take away what went wrong with their bridge to further improve their skills.
On Wednesday, March 11, lead sponsor John Bliss handed out materials as well as explained the event to Mr. Hurt’s Class, to begin preparing their bridges for the competition.
The competition day itself, which all students are welcome to come and attend, will be held on April 22 at 5:00 p.m. in the Student Center at the front of the school.