The city of London hosted the 2025 Municipal Engineers Association (MEA) Conference this week, bringing together municipal engineering professionals from across Ontario under the theme “Building for Tomorrow: Sustainable Infrastructure for Growing Cities.” While the conference delivered technical sessions, one of the most charming moments came from the balam-wood bridge competition.
This year only one competitor stepped forward Utkarsh Singh, a Construction Inspector from the City of Peterborough, but the lack of rivals did nothing to diminish the excitement.
Singh’s bridge, built entirely from balsam wood and glue, showcased thoughtful truss design and careful attention to load distribution. Singh later explained that, during his trial run at home, the bridge had actually withstood significantly more weight than what the ten pounds that caused it to fall.
What made the moment memorable wasn’t just the engineering behind the model but the atmosphere around it. Instead of a tense, high-pressure competition, the event unfolded more like an open workshop. Employees asked Singh about his design decisions, turning the demonstration into a lively hands-on learning session.
For Singh, that meant building a structure out of balsam sticks that not only impressed the crowd but also earned him the title of this year’s MEA Bridge Champion.
As the MEA Conference continues with tours, Singh’s bridge offered a simple but engaging reminder of the fundamentals behind good engineering.
