A Monmouth Academy team’s spaghetti bridge holds almost three tons.

MONMOUTH – The Monmouth Academy Mathematics Department recently held the seventh annual Spaghetti Bridge Project.

All students in geometry and algebra II are required to build a bridge using Delverde Perciatelli 6 pasta and Elmer’s Glue. The bridges must weigh less than one pound, have a driveable road bed, five-inch span, at least a three-inch space beneath the roadbed and no more than three pieces of pasta can be bonded together.

Last year the winning bridge, built by the freshman team of Ryan Buckley and Bianca Cloutier, reached a record 1,100 pounds before the contest was aborted due to the dangerously high pile of weights.

Two bridges looked promising this year. Myles Butler, a sophomore, and the defending champions, Ryan and Bianca, submitted bridges that teachers David Heckman and Susan Small and project director Jeff Gosselin believed would hold some serious weight.

“Our only hope was to find a hydraulic pressure crusher to safely test the bridges. I contacted the Civil Engineering Department at UMO and they invited the three teachers and students to come to the university.”

Department Head Dana Humphrey and Professor Will Manion greeted the group and thought the bridges were “quite good.” Myles’ bridge went first, literally, and supported 1,320 pounds. As the pressure was applied to the champions’ bridge, the group could hardly believe the numbers generated by the $40,000 hydraulic crusher.

The bridge hardly cracked as it passed 2,000 pounds and the group looked on in awe as the number rose to an incredible 5,882 pounds. A loud cheer rose from all as the bridge finally failed.

The group received a tour of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department and were invited to bring the competition to Orono next year.

Prize winners for 2003 received T-shirts. They were:

First-year prize winners

Aesthetics: first, Zac Sager and Lindsey Shepherd; second, Jerod Bechard and Jess Mihalik; third, Ashley McDonald and Andrew Bourret.

Total weight: Jake Dumais and Jon Retelle, 847 pounds; Zack Mayo and Ben Seefeldt, 565; Ashley McDonald and Andrew Bourret, 500.

Efficiency: Jake Dumais and Jon Retelle, 2.41 lbs/gram; Zack Mayo and Ben Seefeldt, 2.32 lbs/gram; Alex Burnham and Mike Davidson, 2.17lbs/gram.

Second-year prize winners

Aesthetics: Ryan Buckley and Bianca Cloutier; Myles Butler.

Total weight: Ryan Buckley and Bianca Cloutier, 5,882 pounds; Myles Butler, 1,320; Matt Elliot and Chelsea Janelle, 837.

Efficiency: Ryan Buckley and Bianca Cloutier, 13.81 lbs/gram; Myles Butler, 3.91 lbs/gram; Matt Elliot and Chelsea Janelle, 3.24 lbs/gram.