Daily Pioneer News

UWP students (from left to right) Amanda Arndt, Jim Romlein, Greg Soufal, Adam Moris and Laura Nowicki, are working with Delta 3 Engineering Inc. of Platteville on restoration and conservation plans for a section of the Rountree corridor.

PLATTEVILLE - Over 128 acres of land currently owned by the Platteville Development Group, and located on the east side of Platteville next to U.S. Highway 151 interchange, is being transformed into commercial lots, single-family housing and multi-family housing. This area is divided by the Rountree Branch of the Little Platte River and has conservation easements designated on both sides of the stream. For the development to connect to Mitchell Hollow Road, a bridge will need to be constructed across the stream and corridor. Working with Delta 3 Engineering Inc. of Platteville on the initial plans for this project are UWP senior design students, Amanda Arndt, Adam Moris, Laura Nowicki, Jim Romlein and Greg Soufal.

"We plan to develop several bridge design alternatives that meet all applicable codes and regulations as well as develop a report detailing restoration and conservation alternatives for the conservation easements in the Rountree corridor," said Romlein, the team's project manager.

Nowicki, Soufal and Moris are working specifically on the conservation easement, stream rehabilitation and flood analysis whereas Arndt is focusing on the structural aspects.

Commented Soufal, "There are three main options we are analyzing to rehabilitate this section of the Rountree Branch." These options include a lunker structure where a wooden, crib-like crate is embedded into the bank creating overhead bank cover and a fish habitat; a root-wad method where a stump is laid on its side with roots protruding to provide head loss and fish habitat; and a rip-rap method where rocks are used to dissipate the energy of fast-flowing water.

As far as the plant communities are concerned, the students plan to restore the uplands area to an oak savannah and the wetland area to a wet prairie habitat.

"The invasive species thriving there now need to be removed. Prescribed burning is the primary mechanism and anything that doesn't burn will need to be chopped down or removed manually. The establishment of the desired native plant communities will be evident by a number of grass species including big bluestem, the most common and characteristic grass for these areas, and further recruitment of trees such as burr oak," said Moris.

The team used a software program called HEC-RAS, which was developed by the Army Corps of Engineers, to provide a flow analysis and determine flood elevations. They also looked at water quality parameters such as the amount of dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, pH and conductivity to determine a baseline for maintaining the highest water quality possible.

"It's important to keep the water quality up because the Rountree Branch is a class two trout stream and cold, clean water is necessary for maintaining the brown trout population," said Arndt.

The bridge she will design has the potential for vehicle traffic and a bike lane connecting Wal-mart to surrounding residential areas. One section adjacent to the Rountree Branch corridor is an old Chicago/Milwaukee/St. Paul-Pacific railroad grade, owned by the Wisconsin DNR, who proposed using it as an extension of the already existing Belmont bike path. Following the final design, a cost estimate will be prepared and presented to the students' client.

UWP professors of engineering, Max Anderson, Mike Penn and Keith Thompson, and UWP professor of agriculture, Thomas Hunt, were influential in helping the students locate the correct information for various aspects of their project. "The UWP academic staff are pro-active and more than willing to help, especially with senior design projects like this," said Nowicki.

Added Romlein, "This is a great project that involves many aspects of civil engineering. Everyone on the team has his or her specialty so even though I'm not an environmental engineering major, I'm learning a lot. As the project manager, I'm the group's glue holding everyone together."

Moris, Soufal, Arndt and Nowicki anticipate graduating in December 2006. Moris is double majoring in environmental engineering and reclamation with a physical emphasis and a minor in environmental science. He is the son of Mark Moris of Bloomington. Soufal is a civil engineering major with emphases in transportation and geotechnical. He is the son of Kevin and Jean Soufal of Green Bay. Arndt is double majoring in mathematics and civil engineering with emphases in structural, transportation and geotechnical. She is the daughter of Kathy and Jeffrey Arndt of Whitewater. Nowicki is an environmental engineering major and the daughter of Greg Nowicki and Michelle Bauer of Oshkosh. Romlein anticipates graduating in May 2007. He is a civil engineering major with an emphasis in construction and the son of Jim and Barbara Romlein of Watertown.

Contact: Jim Romlein, UWP student, (920) 988-8005,romleinj@uwplatt.edu Prepared by: Rachael Lehr, UWP Public Relations, (608) 342-1194,lehrr@uwplatt.edu