TWM Contributor: Jeff Reis, PE, PTOE
Director of Transportation Engineering

TWM Guides SIUE Students in Shaping a Safer Intersection
At TWM, we believe in mentoring and some of the best transportation solutions begin with collaboration and real-world experience. This spring, we had the opportunity to partner with Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) civil engineering students on a transportation-focused senior design project that challenged students to apply classroom knowledge to a meaningful infrastructure improvement initiative in St. Clair County, IL.

Mentorship in Motion
What started out as a conversation between St. Clair County Engineer Norm Etling and TWM about several challenging intersections evolved into a unique opportunity for collaboration. Recognizing the chance to combine education with real-world problem solving, TWM partnered with SIUE’s Civil Engineering Senior Design program to lead a transportation engineering project. The goal was to provide students with hands-on preliminary design experience at one of the locations while addressing a roadway safety challenge through the development of a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) grant application.

The 4-student team worked on a proposed roundabout at the intersection of Scott-Troy Road and O’Fallon-Troy Road in St. Clair County, replacing an existing four-way stop with a design focused on improving traffic operations and safety. Throughout the 15-week semester, students were responsible for a variety of tasks, including performing traffic analysis, evaluating IDOT crash data, developing preliminary roundabout layouts, preparing signing and pavement marking concepts, and assembling the documentation necessary for an HSIP grant application. If funded, the roundabout would certainly improve safety and traffic flow.

Lena Nguyen, EI, one of TWM’s transportation engineers, and TWM traffic engineer Michelle Schwierjohn, PE, PTOE, attended weekly progress meetings with the students. Lena served as a dedicated mentor throughout the semester, meeting regularly with the students to guide them through the engineering process, answer technical questions, and provide insight into transportation design standards and industry practices. Michelle guided the students on how to perform traffic counts and shared her extensive knowledge of geometrics to assist in their design of the roundabout. This mentorship component was especially valuable in helping bridge the gap between academic theory and professional application.

“Being able to mentor these students was one of the highlights of my year,” said Lena. “They were eager to learn, willing to work as a team, and take on challenges. It was so rewarding to watch them connect classroom concepts to a practical solution.”

Bridging the Classroom & the Community
In addition to engineering design, the students gained experience using industry tools and standards—including Synchro traffic analysis software, CAD design, IDOT BLRS guidelines, and MUTCD requirements—to develop cost estimates, sustainability considerations, risk analyses, and support grant exhibits, all critical components for successful transportation project development.

A highlight of the semester came in May, when the students delivered their final senior design at SIUE, showcasing the work they completed throughout the project. Their presentations demonstrated not only technical proficiency, but also professionalism, teamwork, and creative problem-solving skills that are essential in the transportation engineering field.

“One of the most valuable aspects of this project was exposing students to the many factors that influence transportation engineering,” Michelle stated. “Beyond the design concepts and calculations, they had to understand how people move through a community and find ways to make those trips safer and more efficient. Watching them apply their learned knowledge and think critically about a solution was a great reminder of why mentorship is so important to our profession.”

Programs like SIUE’s Senior Design course provide tremendous value to both students entering the profession and to industry partners. For students, it offers exposure to real clients, real schedules, and real engineering challenges. For us at TWM, it creates an opportunity to mentor the next generation of engineers while supporting our communities through meaningful infrastructure planning and innovation.

We’re proud to have partnered with SIUE and St. Clair County on this project and look forward to continuing our support of future engineers through mentorship, collaboration, and hands-on learning experiences.

Read more about TWM’s transportation/traffic engineering services and projects.