Each girder of the lift bridge (see figure) is 180 ft long and simply supported at the ends. The design load for each girder is a uniform load of intensity 1.6 k/ft. The girders are fabricated by welding three steel plates so as to form an I-shaped cross section (see figure) having section modulus S =
3600 in3
What is the maximum bending stress σmax in a girder due to the uniform load?
