The Steel Bridge Development Group ( BDG ) was formed in March 2004, as an initiative of HERA’s Structural Division, with support from Steel Construction New Zealand (SCNZ). Its main goal is to ensure that steel bridges get fair and equal consideration for forthcoming bridges project’s in New Zealand , allowing the competitive benefits of steel to be captured.
One of its first tasks has been to identify the barriers that the steel industry has to overcome for this to happen and then to take steps to remove them. These steps include increasing the clients’ and engineers’ awareness on the benefits of steel in bridges, by providing technical support in the form of design workshops, BDG publications and design aids.
Since its formation in 2004 the Steel Bridge Development Group has, and still is, labouring hard in promoting the benefits of steel in bridges. The publications to date provide guidance on a number of topics ranging from the limitation and benefits of weathering steel, steel bridge fabricators in New Zealand with the interest and capability to fabricate steel bridges. A design seminar has been given that talked about the benefits of steel, design aid and the current barriers to steel bridges and how to solve them.
Future design seminars are planned especially after the publication of the “Short Span Steel Bridge Manual”, in the second half of 2007, which will cover all the design aspects of short span steel bridges.