Abstract: The theme of the 10th Inter-University Invitational Civil Engineering Competition is to design a curved bridge, capable of withstanding static and dynamic loadings. A model is required to have a sufficient load-carrying capacity and a reasonable stiffness. Moreover, its mass should be as small as possible. According to the model made by Southwest Jiaotong University, the steps and the methods of the structural optimization are described in terms of the material mechanical properties, the bridge conceptual design and the numerical optimization. The results of the static and dynamic numerical simulations are compared with those of prototype testing. The advantages and disadvantages of the model design are summarized.