Civil & Environmental Engineering

3D building model

Bondurant Public Works Facility

Published
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
Academic year
2024-2025
Partner

Bondurant is currently developing a Civic Campus area that will include new municipal buildings. One of these is a a new public works facility. The current building housing this area of city government is being transitioned into the central parks and recreation building.

Digital image of two rows of trees with a path down the middle.

Bondurant - Chichaqua Valley Trailhead and Trail Improvements

Published
Tuesday, July 25, 2023
Academic year
2023-2024
Partner

For their capstone project in Civil and Environmental Engineering, a team of students devised a way to connect two sections of the popular Chichaqua Valley Trail. Their design will create a more direct path for bikers and pedestrians. The design also includes a new bridge to replace an existing railroad bridge that has deteriorated and is no longer safe. Additionally, the team designed a food truck plaza, arboretum, and parking.

Metal round storm water cover

Dubuque - Stormwater Design for Climate Resilience

Published
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Academic year
2023-2024
Partner

The capacities for Dubuque’s stormwater detention basins were established in the early 1990s. Since that time, annual rainfall has outpaced predictions and is expected to increase in the coming decades. The City and area watershed administrators are considering redesigning existing detention basins while also understanding the capacities for future ones.

Cross walk button on side of a pole with universal image for a pedestrian.

Dubuque - JFK Road Safety Redesign

Published
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Academic year
2023-2024
Partner

As Dubuque seeks to make its streets more accessible to bikers and pedestrians, it is especially interested in ways to make several major thoroughfares safer. One of these is JFK Road, a major north-south arterial road.

Four young adults wearing winter coats and hats stand in front of a bronze sculpture.

Sidney Park Expansion

Published
Monday, June 19, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023
Partner

For their senior capstone project in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, four students create plans to expand features in Sidney's central downtown park. The space is relatively small, but the City wanted to add a multipurpose court for both basketball and pickle ball; a restroom; storage; and increased car and bicycle parking. The team calculated the wastewater runoff created by the additional surfaces in the park and also added a rain garden.

Headshots of three young adults, one white skinned woman, one white skinned man, and one brown skinned man.

North Liberty Traffic Impact Study

Published
Monday, June 19, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023

On behalf of the City of North Liberty, a group of Civil and Engineering students reviewed current conditions at an intersection in the growing municipality. The team set up traffic counters and used that data to create a simulation model to investigate different traffic scenarios along both Ranshaw and Penn corridors.

Three young people wearing winter coats and hats stand outside with a small patch of snow and bare ground behind them.

North Liberty Ranshaw Way Underpass

Published
Monday, June 19, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023

Three students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering created plans for an underpass for the City of Norther Liberty. The underpass is part of the final phase of a reconstruction of Ranshaw Way.

image of a design floorplan in bright colors

Keosauqua Building Rehabilitation

Published
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023
Partner

Students in a senior capstone project in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering created plans to rehabilitate an abandoned building in Keosauqua, Iowa. The team responded to the client's request to maintain a facade that matches the overall look and feel of the historic downtown; provide residential apartments on the second floor; and create a first-floor restaurant.

designs for a new gymnasium

Manning Gymnasium

Published
Thursday, June 15, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023
Partner

As part of their senior capstone project, three students in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering designed a new gymnasium for the City of Manning. The project features a new full-sized basketball court that be split in half for practice courts and that will give the city more practice space as well as the ability to host basketball and volleyball tournaments.

image of a planning map

Maquoketa Single Family Subdivision and Drainage Plan

Published
Monday, June 12, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023
Partner

Students in Civil and Environmental Engineering created plans for an affordable housing subdivision on five parcels of land in Maquoketa. The project includes stormwater management and remediation of a hazardous chemical. 

Overhead image of a small town's downtown area

Maquoketa Open Space Redevelopment

Published
Friday, June 9, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023
Partner

Students in the College of Engineering's Civil and Environmental Engineering department created plans to redevelop an existing green space in Maquoketa. The site was created when several buildings burnt down decades ago, leaving an open space. This space now serves as an informal gathering place for concerts and other public events. The City asked the team to provide plans to formalize the area as an event space, adding a permanent stage and restrooms. 

Project Team

Clinton - Development of City Property (infill development)

Published
Tuesday, February 21, 2023
Academic year
2022-2023
Partner

Civil and Environmental Engineering students studied options for building on several city-owned vacant lots in Clinton with an emphasis on low- and medium-income single-family homes. For their senior capstone project, the team researched the costs of various housing materials, styles of housing, as well as financing options. They provided plans for two sites, each with design and amenities options for potential residents.