For the past two years, final year engineering students have participated in real-world experiences re-designing the Darlington Road upgrade – taking advantage of a major local project that encompasses a range of civil engineering challenges.

The project is part of the Advanced Infrastructure Systems Design 2 taught by Professor Rocco Zitto, which is the final year Civil Engineering capstone topic where students work in teams to design a large piece of infrastructure.

Construction consortium Gateway South is building the Darlington Upgrade and the Flinders Link rail extension, and organised a site visit for the students on 16 October. The opportunity, in collaboration with the Department of Planning, Transport and Infrastructure, presented students with the various stages of construction and shared first-hand insights from project engineers. Students gained valuable knowledge of everyday design and construction challenges and opportunities, and also made an appearance on the DPTI home page.

A further site visit on 1 November (pictured below) saw the students examine drainage and retaining wall construction, which they had been working on throughout Semester 2 for their Darlington projects.

Flinders civil engineering provides two or more site visits each year for students at all levels, as part of the goal to keep the course practical and ensure it exceeds accreditation requirements.