Capstone Design Fall 2022

Project Partners: Chelaque Homeowners Association, Gresham Smith
Team Members: Braden Boyd, Ashley Hightower, Bryce Lott, Ben Tran

The Homeowner’s Association (HOA) of Chelaque Estates contracted Knoxx Engineering to assess the current state of their roadways and produce a multi-year roadway repair plan. Chelaque Estates is a private community located on Cherokee Lake in Mooresburg, Tennessee, and the HOA dues allow the community to have an average annual budget of $100,000 to maintain their 12 miles of roadway. The Chelaque community has experienced unsafe driving conditions due to the degradation of their roadways, many of which were not laid on top of a suitable foundation. The community is continuing to grow, with an average of four new houses under construction every year, which has accelerated the degradation of the roadways. The roadway assessment and repair plan are required to fortify the roadways to withstand heavy construction loads and to improve the overall resilience of the roadway network, which requires efforts in geotechnical, transportation, water resources, and construction engineering.

Project Partners: Barge Design Solutions, TDOT
Team Members: Ryan Baker, Jared Galloway, Eric Mendez, Ryenne Ross, and Mackenzie Simmons

The SR131 road widening project consists of improvements along a 2-mile section of Emory Road in Knox County, Tennessee. The project was initiated to improve the roadway’s safety and operational conditions. The existing roadway experiences congestion and delayed travel times during periods of high volume due to the number of daily users mixed with the low number of lanes. The existing roadway has a crash rate of 3.8 and severe crash rate of 0.15 which are both higher than the statewide rates of 2.3 and 0.09 respectively. TDOT’s design service request seeks engineered solutions to lead to a reduction in crashes, an increase in roadway capacity, better pedestrian and bicycle mobility, and enhanced connectivity between two major state routes and two Knox County communities, Halls and Corryton. JMERR Engineering Consultants has been contracted to develop roadway design solutions for the route in agreement with TDOT standards for roadway construction.

Project Partners: City of McMinnville, OBED Watershed Community Association, CEC Inc., S&ME
Team Members: Savannah Jobkar, Kaylee Stanton

The City of McMinnville and partners in the Obed Watershed Community Association are interested in restoring the wetland adjacent to Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary School. The wetland does not currently function at ideal capacity, which has sparked interest of revitalizing the site. Concerns involving flooding of homes adjacent to the wetland also sparked talk of rehabilitation efforts. The city seeks to revitalize the currently unusable wetland for community and educational use. The design of a functional wetland will yield both environmental and aesthetic improvements for the local area. Queenley Engineering, Inc. was solicited by the city in partnership with Civil and Environmental Engineering Consultants Incorporated (CEC Inc.), Obed Watershed Community, Bobby Ray Memorial Elementary School, and S&ME Inc. to perform civil engineering services with a goal of preparing a design to restore the wetland.

Project Partners: Tellico Area Services Systems (TASS), W.K. Dickson & Co.
Team Members:: Zach Barnette, Sean Kenmuir, Paige Lowe, and Alex Moore

Tennessee Hydraulic Engineers (TNHE) was requested to perform engineering analysis and design to improve Tellico Area Services System’s (TASS) raw water intake system. The current intake system is located at the confluence of two rivers, leading to unstable water quality parameters during winter pooling and after large storm events. The alkalinity and turbidity levels change rapidly during these periods, providing inconsistent water testing samples for TASS’ operators. TASS is also interested in increasing their system’s flow capacity to account for potential population growth within their service area. The TASS team has engaged TNHE to assess the intake system and develop a design solution resolving the intake system’s technical issues. TNHE collaborated with W.K. Dickson and TASS to address the needs of the intake system. The following report provides an overview of the project, engineering design solutions developed, and is accompanied by a set of permit-ready engineering drawings.

Project Partners: University of Tennessee, Knoxville Facilities Services, Haines Structural Group
Team Members: Trey Lavender, Madeline McClary, Reese Sorgenfrei, Alexander West

The University of Tennessee Facilities Services has requested engineering services to design a pedestrian bridge connecting the Agriculture Campus (Ag Campus) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UT) to the Sherri Parker Lee Softball Stadium. The bridge is desired by the client to expand access to often underutilized parking on the Ag Campus, allowing main campus guests additional parking options and a safe walking route to the softball venue. The proposed site for the project contains physical constraints, such as major utilities, multiple property owners, proximity to the nearby creek, and railroad right-of-way. Design will require consideration of these as well as ADA and permitting regulations. Smokey Engineering Services was hired to perform geotechnical, structural, and construction engineering services to develop a pedestrian bridge complying to all these standards and conforming to the site conditions.

Project Partners: Clayton-Bradley Academy, C2RL Engineers
Team Members: Jonathan Shell, Griffin Bedell, Ben Archibald, Will Pugh, Jack Bristol

Clayton-Bradley Academy (CBA) is an independent school located in Maryville, TN seeking to improve their campus athletic and recreational capabilities with a multi-use sports field and play area for middle school students. CBA has requested that MOE Services, alongside C2RL Engineers, Inc., design the new sports field and provide civil site work for the new play area location. The sports field has been identified by CBA as a major growth opportunity for the school as their athletic programs are expanded. The sports field design will include a TSSAA compliant field for flag football and soccer, and will include a fieldhouse with restrooms, locker rooms, storage, and concessions capabilities. The need for the play area relocation is to address both capacity concerns and signs of flooding in the current play area. The play area site work will involve ensuring the stormwater management needs of the site are met along with appropriate traffic control measures to provide safe access to the site for students on foot. This project will add value to CBA’s campus community by expanding their athletic and recreational facilities.

Project Partners: Faith N Friends Horse Rescue, EMC Structural Engineers, P.C., S&ME, Inc.
Team Members: Devina Langarica, Hunter Davis, Cody Sadoff, Josh Lacey, Tommy Wheeler, and Jeffrey Chen

Faith N Friends Horse Rescue requests a multipurpose pavilion to host horse-riding lessons and shows for their clients. Founder and Director of Faith N Friends, Faith Sadiku, seeks a structure strong enough to withstand annual weather conditions to provide shelter during events. Sadiku also requests for the pavilion to be easily disassembled in under six months in the event they must relocate. Southeast Design Group performed site work and developed a pavilion design to provide the client with year-round weatherproofing for events while remaining economically efficient.

Project Partners: Private Property Owner, Retired local engineer
Team Members: Natalie Hester, Isaac Macon, Libby Vanderloo, Steven Tremayne

Anne is a local property owner along the Little River. The riverbank along Anne’s land has severely eroded over the past several years. She is left with less than the original two acres of land, which has greatly devalued her property. Little Projects Big Designs Inc. was commissioned to prevent erosion and restore our client’s property along a section of Little River.

Project Partners: Weigel’s, MBI Companies
Team Members: Jarel Dillard, Blake Hoffmaster, Kaitlyn Ireson, Jackson Muncy, Caleb Napper, & Kevin Schnadelbach

Weigel’s is a convenience store chain in East Tennessee seeking a new location to be constructed in west Knoxville, TN. Waddle Engineering has been contacted by Weigel’s to design a new Weigel’s store on a previously purchased plot of land. Waddle Engineering, Inc. was founded in partnership with MBI and Weigel’s for this project. Waddle Engineering was contracted to complete the site design and layout, structural design and review, and transportation flow review.

Project Partners: Oak Ridge Parks & Recreation, S&ME
Team Members: Patrick Biddle, Jeremy Bradt, Kirby Krivsky, Robert Lyszczarczyk, Hank Powell

The Melton Lake Bridge and Trail Connections project sponsored by the City of Oak Ridge Parks & Recreation department requires the completion of technical engineering analysis and design of a pedestrian bridge and walkway extensions within Melton Lake Park. An evaluation of alternative design options using different materials and their associated costs has been suggested for successful completion of the project. The desired outcome of the enclosed engineering work is a near-complete construction-ready design solution, supported by engineering documentation including reports, computational work, and drawings.

Project Partners: First Utility District, Barge Design Solutions, Inc. CNS Y-12
Team Members: Cale Newport, Sam Jurek, Hira Malik, Grady Owen, Matthew Armstrong, Erica Riley

The Paint Rock Valley Road project incorporates a creek crossing and driveway design. The owners envision future homes on the property which will require civil engineering services for the site development. To establish a driveway for the future homes, a bridge will be designed as a part of the engineering services. The client seeks to develop the land into four separate residential lots and the shared driveway will provide the infrastructure necessary for their interests. NORMAJ DESIGN was hired to complete this project to create access from Paint Rock Valley Road to four lots for the property owners by designing the needed components of the creek crossing and driveway.

Project Partners: Solea Water, First Utility District
Team Members: Lainey Corum, Natalie Holt, Griffin Simmons

Southern Pump Experts is designing a spiral pump and irrigation system for a one-hectare avocado farm along the Membrillo River within Panama’s comarca Emberá-Wounaan in the Darien province. The Indigenous people of this area rely on avocado production, which has historically been disrupted by seasonal droughts and fires. Seasonal droughts also contribute to high salinity levels within the soil. High salt levels in soil can further damage the root systems of avocado trees, which are especially intolerant to high salt content. A controlled irrigation system would allow for consistent agricultural production and prevent seasonal crop devastation from droughts. A spiral pump design would utilize the area’s existing natural resources and provide an easily transportable and maintainable solution. Soil salinization prevention would ensure higher crop yield and longevity. Additionally, a cost study and quantity analysis for the design of an irrigation system and spiral pump allows for determination of full total cost and materials necessary for construction.

Project Partners: Solea Water, First Utility District
Team Members: Violet Boss, Katie Davis, and Cydney Kirby

Uncharted Waters has been contracted by Solea Water of Panama to address the need for more feasible water quality testing in rural, remote Comarcas by creating a mobile kit specific to the parameters required in the region and an accompanying Standard Operating Procedure. Due to the isolated nature of the area, Solea Water employees and volunteers need to be able to perform testing on site to assess potability without sending samples to a laboratory. The Standard Operating Procedure will instruct in-field samplers when using the water testing kit to ensure the accuracy of the results and will prioritize accessibility in language and information for non-technical individuals. Individuals in Comarcas receive their water from multiple source types, so the Standard Operating Procedure will specifically outline sampling and testing procedures for surface water sources, such as rivers, and tap water sources, such as spigots from wells.

Project Partners: TDOT
Team Members: Brett Burns, Brandon Pittman, Michael Puryear, Hayden Rogers, Brian Wacker, Grace Whitehouse

Checkerboard Engineering has been contracted by the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) to upgrade the intersection of State Route 32 (US 25E) and State Route 345 in Claiborne County, Tennessee. Due to increased truck traffic congestion from a nearby industrial park in proximity to residential and commercial zones, TDOT has requested improvement to make the intersection more accessible. The intersection upgrade is sought to improve the safety for both vehicle traffic from the industrial park and pedestrian traffic resulting from the residential zone nearby while posing minimal right-of-way impact and an economically responsible design solution. Checkerboard Engineering worked in collaboration with TDOT Region 1 engineers to design an improved interchange for the local community.

Project Partners: TDOT
Team Members: Thomas Peplow, Zachary Nieves, Tyler Brooks, Maggie Poland, Tanner Marshall, Nabil Jiwani, Levi Matthews

The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is seeking replacement of an existing bridge on State Route (SR) 347 in central Hawkins County. While low traffic volumes exist on this road, the current bridge, built in 1941, is nearing the end of its design lifespan and deteriorating quickly. The structural integrity of the bridge will soon be affected by the projected increase in traffic, causing a possible safety issue for the public. This safety concern led TDOT to perform a field review of the site and create a Transportation Investment Report (TIR) for this project in 2021. TDOT has chosen to work with the student design team, Tennessee Bridge Associates (TBA), to provide technical engineering services to design the replacement of this bridge, including a new roadway alignment and a new bridge.