As part of the Senior Design Capstone Course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students created a design of a bike trail extension and a multimodal bridge for the City of Mason City, IA.
Building on the rapid and successful Phase 1 implementation, the City of Mason City had begun planning and design for Phase 2 of their 2014 Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan. Students worked on a segment along a rural section roadway that crosses Willow Creek and therefore requires a source of bridging. The then existing bridge structure over Willow Creek was built in 1950. The 1950s structure was a 71’ single span bridge, with a width of 22’. The bridge was scheduled for replacement and through design would include additional width to accommodate a 10’ trail. The bridge portion of the project included a complete hydrological report and met all of the requirements for Iowa DNR approval. The designers of the bridge also considered alternative materials and methods that reduce maintenance costs but still provided an acceptable structure life-cycle.