As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students designed a new marina with boat ramps and a parking lot in the city of Keokuk, whoch would provide an additional access point for residents and vistors to enjoy water recreation on the Mississippi River.

Keokuk officials are interested in better understanding the potential for a new marina that would provide access to the Mississippi River and storage for boats on water, particularly because of ongoing issues of traffic congestion entering and leaving the Keokuk Yacht Club about a mile south of the project location.

The engineering team designed three boat ramps as well as nine boat docks. Both the ramps and the docks include two-way directional traffic flow. The project location is south of Prices Creek, running parallel with the BNSF Railroad and the Mississippi River. In addition to the boat ramps and boat docks, the team designed a parking lot to accommodate boat trailers and passengers along with a bathroom facility and investigated whether it would be possible to utilize existing sediment that has built up at the project location.  Additionally, the group designed extensive green space, a concrete levee, landscaping, and exterior improvements for the marina.