DEID Bridge Project

June 2022 - July 2022

Abstract

As the co-project manager of the DEID West Virginia bridge project, I lead a team of students to construct a bridge for reconstruction efforts after the historic flooding in 2016. Many homes, stores, and farms were deemed inaccessible as the floods knocked out or covered old bridges and culverts, severely limiting a family’s immediate access to important resources such as hospitals, grocery stores, or simply a way to get out in an emergency. We were able to construct a 20 ton, 15 foot long vehicular bridge for a farm just outside of Frankford for a lovely couple Mike and Judy Rosolina.

Goals

  • Work on the design, certification, and material planning during the school semester
  • Coordinate students, engineering firms, and relief organizations for the project.
  • Aid in construction of the bridge in Frankfort, WV.

Targets

  • Adhere to the pre-planned construction schedule without delays.
  • Better understand how flooding impacts livelihood and communities in effected areas.
  • Explore the surrounding West Virginia nature and New River George national park.
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Project Features

Solidworks
Construction
Supply Chain Management
Project Leadership
Power Tools
Engineering Firm Collaboration

Bridge Construction

On June 23rd, 2016, a massive flood caught much of West Virginia and Virginia by surprise, resulting in 23 deaths, massive infrastructure damage, and 12 continuous hours of deadly rainfall. Duke's DEID team partnered with EIA (Engineers in Action), JZ Engineering firm, WV-VOAD (West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), and the Mennonites Disaster Service in order to help aid people heavily affected by flooding damage from the 2016 West Virginia flood.

In preparation for the West Virginia trip in June-July, I was co-project managers with a fellow classmate, leading a group of 12 students. Months before the project took place, we were in close contact with both JZ Engineering and EIA who both mentored and guided us through both designing the vehicular bridge and on-site safety training. During our preparation throughout the semester, we conducted beam analysis for deflection, communicated with JZ engineering for material sourcing and cost estimation, and also worked with relief teams on-site to make sure proper accommodations for students and engineers were made.

A smaller group of students went to West Virginia to oversee and aid in the construction of the bridge. From ordering materials to scheduling plans to learning more about the on-site construction process, I was in charge of making sure that the bridge construction went as smoothly as possible. As co-project manager, I was also in charge of making sure everyone followed safety protocol both on-site and off-site in West Virginia. On-site, I helped brief students on proper power-tool procedures, ensured that parts were cut and made to specifications, and worked with JZ engineering to plan out action items for the day.

Reflections

Working on the DEID WV 2022 Bridge was quite a learning experience! I learned a great deal about civil engineering, construction, and the good causes that many organizations had. As a project manager, going into this project was quite daunting with the level of inexperience across the team. However, I learned a great deal about project management, bridge analysis and design, and construction planning as well!