Student project gives shelter

Students at WSU who ride the shuttle will find asylum from the weather this spring. New bus shelters are in the works for the main campus, and they stand to make a lasting impression.

Last year WSU Facilities Management allocated funds for a senior project like none before at Weber. Five manufacturing/mechanical engineering students worked last semester designing and building two bus shelters for the campus. The students, who graduated in December, said they felt the project was needed.

"The culminating moment was one day it was raining and we noticed that a student in a wheelchair was sitting next to a bus shelter because he couldn't get in," said Brad Boyce, the project team leader. "That's when we thought that maybe we could try this out."

The project team, made up by Boyce, Aaron Peterson, Megan Preston, Levi Rasmussen, and Brock Staheli, all transferred to WSU from Utah State Uniersity and were surprised by the huge contrast in shelters between the two campuses.

Size was the biggest focus of the project.

"We noticed that the old shelters only hold about three people," Boyce said, "and if one person was inside no one else wanted to go in."

The new shelters dwarf the current ones, at 135 square feet internally, enough for twenty people to fit comfortably. They have three large entryways, a design feature suggested by Megan Preston, the only woman on the project team.

"She told us that for a woman it was scary to sit in the current shelters alone because there is only one small door," Boyce said, emphasizing the added safety the new shelters will bring.

The shelters are made up of an aluminum skeleton that frames large glass panes.

The frames were designed and assembled to be functional but also aesthetically pleasing.

"A lot of people asked us why we didn't use an aluminum wire feeder to weld our project, which is much faster," Brock Staheli said, "but the reason we chose to TIG (hand) weld everything was to improve the overall appearance."

The glass will feature WSU icons, and will allow for adequate venting and airflow

The roof of the shelter, which is made up of custom trusses, was a challenge during design. Levi Rasmussen, the principal designer of the distinct truss system, ran his plans by a group of engineers.

"They said it makes the trusses a little bit stronger," Rasmussen said. "We now have more of a scissor-truss design to improve the overall strength."

WSU Facilities Management will order a bench system from a supplier that will wrap around the inside of the shelter, creating both standing and sitting room. The shelter will also feature a small plaque recognizing the students who sacrificed so much time to the project.

The project team will assemble one shelter in March at the Dee Events Center; the other will be left for Facilities Management to put either at the Social Science bus stop or near the Lind Lecture Hall.