A practical least cost design of pre-cast reinforced ledge beams is presented , The objective function is chosen to be-. the cost of the beams. The design variables are represented by the cross-sectional dimensions and flexural , shear,. and torsion reinforcements. All structural behavior constraints in accordance with the ultimate strength limit state design of the Egyptian Code for Design and Construction of Reinforced Concrete Structures, 1989. Arational approach is presented to overcome the discontinuities of the shear andtorsional constraints. The optimization technique adopted is the Method of Feasible Directions. Different starting points and other optimization techniques arc used to --assess the convergence characteristic a of the formulation, The technique is applied to practical problems, and. conclusions are drawn.