As part of their Senior Design Capstone course, Civil & Environmental Engineering students created design alternatives for a trail system in Volga, Iowa.

The Volga trail committee is interested in an ADA compliant trail that connects the city of Volga, Iowa to the Clayton County Conservation Office. The trail will closely follow the path of the Volga River’s banks, providing the users of the trail with views of the scenery. Outlook points with benches and shade will be placed periodically to allow the users to rest if needed. The trail will be able to accommodate multiple modes of transportation such as bicycles, motorbikes, UTVs, and horses.

The engineering team designed two alternative routes for the trail, one that follows the north banks of the river and another that follows the south banks. The north and south route are 8.07 miles and 8.34 miles in length, respectively.  The trailhead locations of both alternatives are at the Volga Campgrounds and Clayton County Conservation Center.

Design elements for the trail include: handrails and signage throughout the trail to keep the safety of the trail user in best interest; culverts for the streams on both the north and south side of the Volga River; one outlook point designed near the halfway point of each alternative, which will provide shade and seating to the users; erosion control measures to mitigate flooding; and prefabricated bridges as alternatives for stream crossings.