04 Nov 2022-2023 UGA Capstone Senior Design at Benton Tract in Pooler
Thomas & Hutton works with two student groups for the University of Georgia College of Engineering’s 2022-2023 Capstone Senior Design course. As a community partner, Thomas & Hutton works with senior engineering students on an active, tangible project to help develop essential skills required of them when entering the workforce. In addition to the Richmond Row Townhomes in Suwannee, Georgia, a group of UGA students will help develop a conceptual layout of proposed utilities, tract access, drainage/grading, stormwater retention, and erosion control plans for the 240-lot Benton Tract townhome project in Pooler, Georgia. To facilitate the professional practice of designing within a regulatory framework, programs must meet all required codes provided by the City of Pooler cost-efficiently.
The Benton Tract team’s first site visit in October covered a variety of site elements and how they interact with the FEMA floodplain. Namely, the two bridges constructed to access the site and the process for displaying to FEMA how there would be zero net effect on the floodplain after the bridges were built. Thomas & Hutton, professional engineers and landscape architects, gave an overview of on-site conduits and accommodation for power, gas, and communication services to run under roadways. The students observed the master pump station, water laterals, sewer laterals, curb types, grading transitions, transformer locations, lot staking, and other site features to help familiarize them with each structure and how they connect to larger systems in the City, like wastewater treatment plant for effluent or the Pipemakers Canal for drainage. Finally, the group observed the roundabout and center island that will accommodate larger trucks and the preservation of existing trees for the future City park area.
