Even during a worldwide pandemic, technology makes it possible for four University of Virginia Engineering students to design a footbridge in a Bolivian village — thousands of miles away from Charlottesville. When complete, the footbridge will allow residents of Guayabitos year-round safe passage across a river that floods frequently, cutting off access to services such as health care and schools.
The bridge, a partnership with the nonprofit group Engineers in Action, is the students' fourth-year capstone project. The team of civil engineering majors includes Dallas Barnes (infrastructure focus) of Radford, Virginia; John McClorey (structural and materials engineering focus) of Vienna, Virginia; Marlene McGraw (environmental and water resources focus) of Fredericksburg, Virginia; and Robert Peacock III (infrastructure focus) of Woodbridge, Virginia. Their engineering systems and environment faculty advisor is Jose Gomez.
A Bridge for the People of Guayabitos
By connecting people to vital services, these students are changing their lives.
Through Engineers in Action's Bridge Program, the students work both individually and collaboratively on tasks ranging from fundraising to estimating construction costs to making AutoCAD bridge designs and cross-checking their calculations. As they do the work, they are also taking Engineers in Action online courses on subjects related to the tasks. In addition to weekly team meetings on Zoom, the students hold regular review calls with Gomez, Engineers in Action site managers and other personnel, and industry mentors — including UVA Engineering alumni — from Thornton Tomasetti, who are supporting the project.
By semester's end, Gomez said, the students will deliver a set of plans with supporting calculations for the suspended footbridge to be built. Construction is estimated to be completed at the end of summer 2021. He has been impressed with the students' passion for seeing the bridge built despite not being able to travel to Guayabitos in person, which would have been a goal if not for the pandemic.
“They saw an opportunity to make a difference, and they're going after it,” Gomez said.While Engineers in Action identified the village's need for the bridge, the students all chose the project for their capstone for similar reasons — to use their engineering skills to help real people in a way that changes their lives. According to Engineers in Action, bridge infrastructure results in a 12% increase in children enrolled in school, an 18% increase in healthcare treatment, a 30% increase in labor market income, a 59% increase in employed women and a 75% increase in farm profits.
Barnes and McClorey both said the international reach was important. “Civil engineering duties extend beyond helping people of our own nation,” Barnes said, although the students' contributions are only part of the story. The local community provides the labor and materials for the bridge construction.
“The only aspects they're lacking are the engineering expertise and necessary funding,” said McClorey. “This is where we come in, employing our engineering education and harnessing the generosity of our University community in support of Engineers in Action's mission.”
McGraw said she appreciated the collaborative design approach that seeks input from community members and considers cultural differences, which led to team discussions exploring the intersections of culture, privilege and design.
“Some of the coolest things I have learned in college have been the potential for community-integrated design processes to create outcomes where infrastructure really works better, not only for the client, but also for all the stakeholders involved in the process,” she said.
Peacock, in addition to his technical responsibilities, is leading the team's efforts to raise $3,000 to help fund the bridge. The whole experience has brought joy to his heart, he said.
“This project is very important to me because what may seem like a simple footbridge to a person on the outside looking in, will completely change the lives of the people who reside in those communities for the better,” Peacock said.