Nathan Murdoch

I work as part of a team of engineers to design and analyze structural components for transportation projects (mostly short and medium span bridges). For a given project, there are typical three major phases I am involved in: preliminary design, detailed design and construction. During the preliminary design phase, our team of structural engineers tackle the overall design problems. This can include determining the length of the bridge, what shape it will have, what materials it will be made from, etc. Usually, we develop two or three options to present to our client. We work closely with roadway and geotechnical engineers to make sure our different designs will work with the planned roadway and the soil conditions.

In the detailed phase, we work on detailing every single little piece of the bridge. We create 2D and 3D models which help us analyze how the structure will perform when it’s loaded with vehicles. We also use Excel and MathCAD (a calculation software) to complete hand calculations that check that the bridge is safe under a variety of different conditions. The calculations we use are based heavily on concepts from math and physics. At the end of the detailed phase, we prepare a package for our client which includes 2D drawings of the bridge and design specifications. A contractor is then hired to build the bridge based on our package.

During construction, we work with the contractor to ensure the bridge is built the way it was designed. This involves reviewing construction drawings, answering the contractor’s questions about the design, visiting the construction site to review installations and solving site specific problems with the Contractor. A typical project can take anywhere from 2 to 5 years to complete.