The objective of this project is to design an alternative to complete the Eastern Inner Loop.
Sponsored by: Penn State University
Team Members
Kenny Le John Pituch Jason Soma Lee Zanardini
Instructor: Brian St John, Prakash Poudel, Chris Song
Project Poster
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Project Video
Project Summary
Overview
The design project is to implement an eastern alternative option to complete the Inner Loop Project. Teams in CE 421W were tasked with designing 3 Eastern alternatives that start at the Park Avenue – University Drive intersections, and connect to either Vairo Boulevard, Blue Course Drive, or the Mount Nittany Expressway. Many challenges were presented throughout the design process, such as the environmental impact of these alignments and the costs to construct each alignment.
Objectives
– Design 3 alternative routes that can be used to complete the Inner Loop Project
– Calculate the costs of construction and environmental impacts each alignment
– Evaluate the safety of each alignment
– Design the two intersections of the alignment
– Recommend an alignment based on overall design, cost, and safety analysis
Approach
– Utilize Civil 3D and AutoCAD softwares to design alternative options for Blue Course, Vairo, and Mount Nittany Expressway connections
– Investigate environmental impact results, safety evaluations, and benefit-cost analysis for each alignment
– Develop profiles and cross-sectional plots for the final design alternative
Outcomes
The outcome of this design project was the alternative design of Vairo Boulevard, which demonstrates the lowest cost of construction, the lowest number of crashes, and the highest benefits with the amount of travel time saved when compared to the other two alternatives.