My Calendar

Events in April 2026

  • In Response to Fern Hallow Bridge Collapse, City of Pittsburg Overhauls Bridge Asset Management Program

    Category: Events - General In Response to Fern Hallow Bridge Collapse, City of Pittsburg Overhauls Bridge Asset Management Program

    N/A
    April 15, 2026

    Eric J. Seltzer, P.E., Chief Engineer, Dept of Mobility & Infrastructure, City of Pittsburg;
    Lou Ruzzi, P.E., Vice President, Structural Engineer, WSP, (former PennDOT)

     Earn 1-hour Certificate of Attendance (https://abc-utc.fiu.edu/webinars/certificates-of-attendance/)

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    Announcements: This portion of the IBT/ABC-UTC Monthly Webinar will provide you with the latest happenings related to Innovative Bridge Technologies and ABC in the US and abroad to keep you informed. (10 minutes)

    Featured Presentation: In Response to Fern Hallow Bridge Collapse, City of Pittsburg Overhauls Bridge Asset Management Program (35 minutes)

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    Description:
    The City of Pittsburgh owns and maintains 143 bridges ranging in size from 8’ to over 1600’ in length.  In 2022, the City’s Fern Hollow Bridge collapsed suddenly.  While the bridge was quickly rebuilt in collaboration with PennDOT, the disaster raised questions about the safety of the rest of the City’s inventory.  The City hired a team led by WSP to review the condition of all City bridges and develop a comprehensive bridge asset management program.  The City has increased engineering staff and formed a new Bridge Maintenance Division to better manage its bridges.  In this presentation, you will learn about the bridge collapse, the reconstruction, and the new bridge asset management program.  We will also share lessons learned.

    Presenters:

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    Eric Seltzer, P.E.
    Chief Engineer
    Department of Mobility and Infrastructure
    City of Pittsburg

    Eric Setzler is the Chief Engineer for the City of Pittsburgh’s Department of Mobility and Infrastructure (DOMI).  In this role, he is responsible for managing the Project Design and Delivery Bureau, which consists of 28 project managers, engineers, inspectors, and support staff.  The Bureau maintains over 1000 miles of city streets, 143 bridges, 800 sets of city steps, and 500 retaining walls; and delivers capital improvement projects for these assets.  Eric is a licensed Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania and Ohio and serves on the Board of Directors of the Engineer’s Society of Western Pennsylvania.

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    Lou Ruzzi, P.E.
    Vice President
    Structural Engineer
    WSP

    (Former PennDOT)

    Lou Ruzzi has worked as a Vice President, Structural Engineer for WSP since October 2020. Prior to joining WSP, he spent 35 years at PennDOT in 2 districts.  In District 11-0 he was the District Bridge Engineer and Assistant Bridge Engineer (Inspection), and in District 12, he was the Bridge Inspection Supervisor, bridge designer, and load rater.  He served as the Chair of the AASHTO T 20 Tunnel Committee for 10 years, a member of the IBC EXCOM and the ASHE Pittsburgh and Southwest Pa sections. He serves on the IBT/ABC-UTC Advisory Committee.  He is a Professional Engineer in Pennsylvania, Colorado, Utah and West Virginia.

    Presentation Photos/Graphics:

    1) The Fern Hallow Bridge, which Collapsed on January 28, 2022  

    2) Example of Drone Imagery Obtained to Verify Bridge Conditions 

    3) The Canadian Port of Entry 

    4) Example of In-House Work by New Bridge Maintenance Division

    3) Bridge Maintenance Crew Sealing a Joint on a Bridge

    Question & Answer Period: Submit your questions when you register for the webinar and also in the question box during the webinar. (15 minutes)

    Certificate of Attendance: Each site registered for this webinar will receive an email for your response. Just click the first link in the email to obtain a certificate. For multiple participants at a site, the point-of-contact registrant for that site also clicks the second link in the email, logs in, and clicks “Attendees” to provide first name, last name, and email address for each participant at that site; each participant will then receive an automatic email with link to print an individual certificate. Accessing the second link in the email will also allow participants to print certificates for past webinars that were attended by simply clicking the webinar title. Please let Arslan Khan at FIU know if you have questions or need assistance with receiving your certificate. Arslan’s email address is arskhan@fiu.edu.

     

    For More Information: Please visit our website (abc-utc.fiu.edu) for more information. You can also contact us by sending an email to abc@fiu.edu.

  • Exploring the Engineering Marvel of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

    Category: Events – General Exploring the Engineering Marvel of the Gordie Howe International Bridge

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    April 16, 2026

    Zaher Yousif, P.Eng., Chief Bridge Engineer and Vice President for Engineering, Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority; Johnnathan Quijano Vargas, P. Eng., Senior Bridge Engineer, Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority; Kyle Kopper, P.E., Chief Structure Design Engineer, Michigan DOT (former), Senior Technical Director, WSP

    Video Link to “Connecting the Gordie Howe International Bridge”:
    https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=SzjpfHg5r6s

    Presentation begins: 06:20
    Q&A begins: 39:50

    Documents:
    April Presentation Gordie Howe WDBA
    April News & Intro

    Description:
    The Windsor-Detroit gateway is the busiest commercial land crossing on the Canada-United States border.  More than 25 percent of the $1.3 trillion in overall Canada-United States trade crosses at Windsor-Detroit, with more than 7,000 trucks crossing daily.  More than a quarter of a million jobs in Michigan depend on that trade and investment, and approximately 6,000 workers cross at Windsor-Detroit every day to work on the other side of the border.  The new Gordie Howe International Bridge Project addresses key regional transportation needs that support the efficient and effective movement of people and goods through the Windsor-Detroit gateway by providing redundancy, improved border processing, and providing highway-to-highway connectivity.  The project is being delivered as a Public-Private Partnership (P3) and includes the construction of the longest cable stayed bridge in North America as well as two of the largest ports of entry on the Canada-United States border.  This presentation will provide a history of the project, discuss some of the project’s key design features, and highlight some of the key steps in the construction of the project.

    Presenters:



    Zaher Yousif, M.Sc., P. Eng., P.E.
    Chief Bridge Engineer and Vice President for Engineering
    Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority


    Zaher is a Structural Engineer with 30 years of experience specializing in the field of Bridge Engineering. Zaher has worked extensively in roadway and highway bridge planning, design, P3 project management, light rail and pedestrian bridges, contract administration and rehabilitation planning. Zaher has been integral to the delivery of large and complex highway projects using the design-build and P3 model of delivery including the East Calgary ring road functional plan, Stoney Trail and Nose Hill Drive, Stoney / Macleod trail, Balzac interchanges, Northeast Stoney trail P3, Northwest Anthony Handy P3, Northeast Anthony Henday P3 and Circle Drive DB.



    Johnnathan Quijano Vargas, P. Eng.
    Senior Bridge Engineer
    Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority


    Johnnathan is the Senior Bridge Engineer for the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority. Johnnathan is responsible for overseeing the development of design and providing technical support for the Gordie Howe Bridge and Michigan Interchange. Johnnathan’s 16 years experience includes the design and construction of the Herb Gray Parkway, a P3 project which connects the future Gordie Howe International Bridge on the Canadian side to Ontario’s 401 Highway.



    Kyle Kopper, P.E.
    Chief Structure Design Engineer
    Michigan DOT (former)
    Senior Technical Director
    WSP


    Kyle is a Senior Technical Director for Structural Engineering at WSP.  Previously, Kyle served as MDOT’s Chief Structure Design Engineer and MDOT’s lead bridge engineer on the Gordie Howe International Bridge project.  In his role as MDOT’s lead bridge engineer Kyle was responsible for coordinating MDOT’s review of design and construction submittals, engaging other subject matter experts from across MDOT, and helping to communicate MDOT’s position on questions and issues that arose on the project to the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and to Bridging North America.  Prior to serving as MDOT’s lead bridge engineer Kyle also served as MDOT’s Construction Engineer for the Michigan Interchange component of the Gordie Howe International Bridge project.

    Presentation Photos/Graphics:


    1) Project Location  


    2) The main span of the Gordie Howe International Bridge 


    3) The Canadian Port of Entry 


    4) The US Port of Entry


    5)  The new connection between the US Port of Entry and I-75 in Detroit