The Senior Design Project course allows students to apply the knowledge learned throughout the curriculum and work with industry mentors on a capstone project. The students work in teams to provide creative solutions to real-life projects incorporating multiple constraints. Engineering Design Day is the culmination of the Senior Design course, where student teams present their projects to a jury of practicing professionals, showcasing their work in oral and poster presentations. The team of Civil and Environmental Engineering students addressing the FAMU Way Extension was recognized at Engineering Design Day as having the best abstract for succinctly describing the their project, its potential impact, and the constraints affecting its implementation.
Project: FAMU Way Extension
Advisor(s): Sean Martin, P.E., Kamal Tawfiq, Ph.D., P.E. Ren Moses, Ph.D., P.E.
Sponsor: Genesis – Halff
ABSTRACT
The City of Tallahassee’s FAMU Way Extension Project is nearing completion with only the third and final phase of the project remaining. After Gaines Street was reduced from a four-lane road to a two-lane road as part of the Gaines Street Revitalization Plan, a second major east-west roadway was deemed necessary to help alleviate traffic in the south side of Tallahassee, Florida. FAMU Way will serve as this roadway. The two-lane roadway runs just north of Florida A&M University and includes bicycle lanes, on-street parking, and other amenities. Phase I and II of the project extend from South Monroe Street to Gamble Street. The last phase of FAMU Way will extend the roadway from its current endpoint at Gamble Street to its final endpoint at North Lake Bradford Road. These two points are currently connected by Gamble Street, which runs alongside the CSX railway to the north of the site. Gamble Street’s proximity to the railway makes a simple widening of the street impossible. Therefore, our team’s objective is to design a new path for the roadway extension that not only avoids the railway, but also provides a favorable driving experience. All possible paths will be considered, as well as alternatives for drainage and stormwater management. Intersection and signalization alternatives will be designed for FAMU Way’s modified intersections. Any proposed path must cross over a drainage channel and will require a simple precast bridge; retaining walls and foundations will be designed for this structure.