Transportation

Enabling sound construction and maintenance decisions via precise and affordable 3D digital elevation data tailored to meet the needs of transportation-based GIS / geospatial professionals

Accuracy Matters Precise elevation data is necessary for proper transportation corridor planning and is key in determining grade and alignment. Used to support volumetric calculations, this data also enables the accurate appraisal of critical cut and fill operations. When examined in concert with geological and hydrodynamic information, it can be used to assess potential landslide risks. Additionally, accurate elevation data can help identify possible ecological impacts resulting from construction and use.  Traditional corridor planning involves the use of surveying and/or photogrammetry to generate topographic information. However, surveying requires a considerable investment of time and labor and is not the most efficient approach for large projects. Photogrammetry also involves significant time and labor costs and efforts are often restricted by weather.

Precision Digital Elevation Models and Geometric Images
Highly accurate and affordable 3D digital elevation models (DEMs), collected as part of our ongoing NEXTMap® countrywide mapping program, have already saved numerous county roads departments throughout the state of California hundreds of thousands of dollars in survey costs for new road developments and improvements.

In addition, our digital terrain models (DTMs) have significantly improved the horizontal accuracy component of countless geospatial transportation projects throughout the world. Moreover, our high-resolution DTM is central to the creation of our road vector layer that can provide transportation agencies with critical slope and grade information for a variety of road maintenance projects.

Likewise, our precision black and white and color orthorectified radar images (ORIs) provide a current and uniform base layer for collecting and positioning road network centerlines - including private roads, and municipal, county, state, and national highways.

Our DEMs and geometric images affordably support a number of mission-critical geospatial applications, including:

feature extraction corridor planning route selection planimetric mapping digital ortho image rectification  cut and fill analysis volumetric calculations

• Highway Planning - Kern County, CA
• Rail Network Planning - URS Corporation and the California High-speed Rail Authority