Student-built bridges connect communities thanks to engineering course

Cornell adjunct professor Charlie Trautmann and his wife, Nancy, were walking the footbridge that crosses Fall Creek in an area of the Cornell Botanic Gardens known as Flat Rock. Noting how the bridge had fallen into disrepair, Nancy posed an innocent question, "Can't you do something about this?"

That was the spark that spurred Trautmann, who holds dual appointments as an adjunct associate professor in the Cornell Duffield College of Engineering's School of Civil and Environmental Engineering and in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences, to work with students on honing their engineering skills by designing and building community bridges. Completion of the fourth such bridge occurred June 14.

After that auspicious walk across the Flat Rock footbridge, Trautmann began working with Todd Bittner, director of natural areas for Cornell Botanic Gardens, on repairs. Keeping the bridge open was critical, because it provides access to miles of trails along Fall Creek on the other side. But cost was a concern, and there was no dedicated funding for the project, making student involvement essential.

After more than two years of obtaining permits and six weeks of building, Trautmann and students with the Cornell Student Chapter of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) completed the 180-foot bridge in the spring of 2023.

Bittner reached out to Trautmann again in 2024, and they collaborated to build a new 45-foot truss bridge in the Monkey Run Natural Area along the Cayuga Trail, in the Town of Dryden. It was around then that Trautmann started thinking about creating a course so students could get credit for their work.

"Working on these as a service project of ASCE was great," said Jackie Rohrbacher '27, president of the Cornell Student Chapter of ASCE. "But Charlie recognized that we were doing a substantial amount of work on these projects, and he also wanted us to learn more about planning, organizing and permitting skills."