For their capstone project in Civil and Environmental Engineering, a team of students developed a comprehensive plan to evaluate, prioritize, and design utility replacements in a subdivision in West Branch. 

The City of West Branch aims to balance historical identity with the demands of a growing community, necessitating the modernization of aging core infrastructure. City officials sought assitance on a process for identifying and prioritizing projects in order to best utilize limited public funding. 

To assist the City, the engineering project team developed a Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool for the evaluation and prioritization of the city’s water, sanitary sewer, and roadway systems to ensure long-term serviceability. 

The team also applied the MCDA tool using selected roadways to identify high-priority improvement areas. This evaluation is supported by a dynamic cost estimation tool, which will allow city leadership to budget projects effectively and facilitate phased infrastructure planning. 

The final deliverables include a full engineering redesign of the highest-priority locations, incorporating updated specifications for utility and roadway modernizations tailored to the City’s evolving needs.