ITEM 1: INTRODUCTION

SELECTING THE LOCATION OF A PROPOSED HIGHWAY IS

AN

IMPORTANT

DECISION

TO

USUALLY

INITIAL

STEP

SELECT

BASED

IN

ITS

PARTICULAR

ON

DESIGN.

THE

LOCATION

TOPOGRAPHY,

IS

SOIL

CHARACTERISTICS, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SUCH AS

NOISE AND AIR POLLUTION, AND ECONOMIC FACTORS.
THE DATA REQUIRED FOR THE DECISION PROCESS ARE
USUALLY OBTAINED FROM DIFFERENT TYPES OF SURVEYS,
DEPENDING ON THE FACTORS BEING CONSIDERED. MOST
ENGINEERING
PRESENTLY

CONSULTANTS

INVOLVED

IN

AND

STATE

HIGHWAY

AGENCIES

LOCATIONS

USE

COMPUTERIZED TECHNIQUES TO PROCESS THE VAST

AMOUNTS OF DATA THAT ARE GENERALLY HANDLED IN
THE DECISION PROCESS. THESE TECHNIQUES INCLUDE
REMOTE SENSING, WHICH USES AERIAL PHOTGRAPHS
FOR

THE

PREPARATION

OF

MAPS,

AND

COMUTER

GRAPHICS, A COMPUTER MONITOR. IN THIS REPORT, WE

PRESENT

BRIEF

DESCRIPTION

OF

THE

CURRENT

TECHNIQUES USED IN HIGHWAY SURVEYS TO COLLECT

AND ANALYZE THE REQUIRED DATA, AND THE STEPS
INVOLVED IN THE PROCEDURE FOR LOCATING HIGHWAYS.
WE ALSO COVER EARTHWORK COMPUTATIONS AND MASS

DIGRAMS, SINCE AN ESTIMATE OF THE AMOUNT OF THE

EARTHWORK
ASSOCIATED WITH ANY
GIVEN

LOCATION

REQUIRED

IS
FOR

ECONOMIC EVALUATION
OF

THE

THAT

HIGHWAY

LOCATION.

RESULT

OF

AT
THE
THE

ECONOMIC EVALUATION
AIDS IN THE DECISION TO ACCEPT OR REJECT THAT
LOCATION.

ITEM 2: HIGHWAY SURVEY METHODS

HIGHWAY SURVEYS USUALLY
INVOLVE

MEASURING

COMPUTING
AND

AND

HORIZONTAL

VERTICAL

VERTICAL

ANGLES,
HEIGHTS

(ELEVATIONS)

AND

HORIZONTAL DISTANCES.
ITEM 3: GROUND SURVEYS
GROUND

SURVEYS

ARE

TECHNIQUES
HIGHWAYS.
STATION

THE
IS

MEASURING
BOTH

FOR
TOTAL

USED

OF

ANGLES

IN

VERTICAL

HORIZONTAL

AND
PLANES,

DISTANCES AND CHANGES

IN ELEVATION.
ITEM 5: TOTAL STATION

THE

BASIC

LOCATION

A TOTAL STATION IS BOTH AN

ELECTRI-THEODOLITE
ELECTRONIC

AND
DISTANCE-

MEASURING DEVICE (EDM).

ITEM 5a: ELECTRIC DISTANCE
MEASURING DEVICES (EDM)
AN EDM DEVICE CONSISCTS MAINLY OF A TRANSMITTER
LOCATED

AT

ONE

END

OF

THE

DISCANCE TO BE MEASURED AND A

REFLECTOR AT THE OTHER END. IT IS
DETERMINES THE DISTANCES UP TO
1,000

METERS

IN

AVERAGE

ATMOSPHERIC CONDITIONS.

ITEM 6: MEASUREMENT OF HORIZONTAL ANGLES

A HORIZONTAL ANGLE CAN BE MEASURED BY SETTING
THE THEODOLITE OR TOTAL STATION DIRECTLY OVER THE
POINT O. WHEN USING A TOTAL STATION, THE ANGLE
MEASURED IS SHOWN IN A DIGITAL READOUT WHEN A
HORIZONTAL READ OUT IS SELECTED.

ITEM 7: MEASUREMENT OF VERTICAL

ANGLES
THE

THEODOLITE

MEASURES

VERTICAL ANDLES BY USING THE

FIXED VERTICAL GRADUATED ARC OR VERNIER AND A
SPIRIT LEVEL ATTACHED TO THE
TELESCOPE. WHEN USING TOTAL
STATION, THE ANGLE MEASURED IS
SHOWN IN A DIGITAL READOUT
WHEN A VERTICAL READOUT IS
SELECTED.
ITEM 8: DUMPTY LEVEL
THE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A LEVEL ARE THE TELESCOPE
WITH VERTICAL AND HORIZONTAL CROSS HAIRS, A LEVEL
BAR, A SPINDLE, AND A LEVELING
HEAD. THE LEVER BAR ON WHICH THE
TELESCOPE IS MOUNTED IS RIGIDLY FIXED

TO

THIS SPINDLE.
ITEM 9: SURVEY DATA COLLECTOR
SURVEY DATA COLLECTORS ARE DEVICES THAT CONNECT
TO ANY SURVEY INSTRUMENT (TOTAL STATION) THROUGH

A CABLE OR BLUETOOTH THAT ALLOWS A SURVEYOR TO

SECURE

INSTRUMENT'S

RAW

DATA STRING INTO COORDINATES

AND ELEVATION.
ITEM

10:

MULTILAYERED

INFORMATION
WITH THE DIGITAL AGE, MANY
PROJECTS

ARE

SUBMITTED

IN

DIGITAL FORMAT LIKE COMPUTER

AIDED DESIGN DRAFTING, OR CADD
USING

PROGRAMS

SUCH

AS

AUTOCAD.
ITEM 11: GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM SURVEYS
THE GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) IS A SATELLITEBASED SYSTEM THAT USES A CONSTELATION OF 28
SATELLITES TO GIVE A USER AN ACCURATE POSITION.
GPS SURVEYING IS AN EVOLVING PERFORMING TYPES OF
GPS SURVEYS RECEIVERS AND SOFTWARE SHOULD BE
SUITABLE FOR A SPECIFIC SURVEY AS STATED BY THE
MANUFACTURER.

ITEM 12: ANTENNAS

WHENEVER

FEASIBLE,

ALL

ANTENNAS USED FOR A PROJECT

SHOULD

BE

IDENTICAL.

VERTICAL

CONTROL

IDENTICAL

ANTENNAS

FOR

SURVEYS,
ARE

USED

UNLESS SOFTWARE IS AVAILABLE TO

ACCOMODATE

THE

USE

OF

DIFFERENT ANTENNAS. THE USE OF RANGE POLES

AND/OR STAKE-OUT POLES TO SUPPORT GPS ANTENNAS
ARE ONLY USED FOR THIRD ORDER HORIZONTAL AND
GENERAL-ORDER
.SURVEYS

ITEM 13: REMOTE SENSING

REMOTE SENSING IS THE MEASUREMENT OF DISTANCES
AND ELEVATIONS BY USING DEVICES LOCATED ABOVE
THE

EARTH,

SUCH

AS

AIRPLAINES

OR

ORBITTING

SATELLITES

USING

GLOBAL

POSITIONING

SATELLITE

SYSTEM (GPS).

ITEM

14:

OBTAINING

AND

INTERPRETING

AERIAL

PHOTOGRAPHS
THE PHOTOGRAPHS ARE TAKEN FROM AIRPLANES WITH
THE AXIS OF THE CAMERA AT A NEAR VERTICAL POSITION.
THE ASIX SHOULD BE EXACTLY VERTICAL BUT THIS
POSITION IS USUALLY DIFFICULT TO OBTAIN DUE TO THE
MOTION OF THE AIRCRAFT.

ITEM

15:

PHOTOGRAMMETRY
PHOTOGRAMMETRY

IS

THE SCIENCE OF MAKING

MEASUREMENTS

FROM

PHOTOGRAPHS,
ESPECIALLY

FOR

RECOVERING THE EXACT

POSITIONS

OF

SURFACE

POINTS. MOREOVER, IT MAY BE USED TO RECOVER THE

MOTION PATHWAYS OF DESIGNATED REFERENCE POINTS.

ITEM 16: FIDUCIAL MARKS

A FIDUCIAL MARK IS AN
OBJECT PLACED IN THE
FIELD OF VIEW OF AN
IMAGING
WHICH

SYSTEM
APPEARS

IN

THE IMAGE PRODUCED,

FOR USE AS A POINT
OF REFERENCE OR A
MEASURE. IT MAY BE
EITHER

SOMETHING

PLACED INTO OR ON THE IMAGING SUBJECT, OR A MARK

OR SET OF MARKS IN THE RETICLE OF AN OPTICAL
INSTRUMENT.

ITEM 17: PRINCIPAL POINT

PRINCIPAL POINT IS THE POINT

OF

INTERSECTION

OF

THE

OPTICAL AXIS OF THE AERIAL

CAMERA

WITH

PHOTOGRAPHIC

THE

PLANE.

IT

IS

ALSO THE INTERSECTION OF THE

LINES JOING OPPOSITE FIDUCIAL
MARKS GIVES THE GEOMETRIC
CENTER OF THE PHOTOGRAPH.
ITEM 18: CONTROL POINTS
CONTROL POINT IS THE PRIMARY/BASE CONTROL USED
FOR PRELIMINARY MEASUREMENTS;
IT MAY CONSIST OF ANY KNOW POINT
CAPABLE

OF

ESTABLISHING

ACCURATE CONTROL OF DISTANCE

AND DIRECTION.
ITEM 19: AERIAL SURVEY
AERIAL

SURVEY

IS

METHOD

OF

COLLECTING

GEOMATICS OR OTHER IMAGERY BY USING AEROPLANES,

HELICOPTERS, UAVS, BALLOONS AND OTHER AERIAL
METHODS.

ITEM 20: STEREOSCOPES

STEREOSCOPES

IS

INSTRUMENT
CONVERTS

THE
THAT

THE

AERIAL

PHOTOGRAPHS INTO MAPS.

IT IS ALSO A TECHNIQUE
FOR

CREATING

OR

ENHANCING THE ILLUSION

OF DEPHT IN AN IMAGE BY
MEANS OF STEREOPSIS FOR
BINOCULAR VISION.
ITEM 21: SCHEMATIC OF A SINGLE AERIAL PHOTOGRAPH
EVEN WHEN THE AXIS OF THE CAMERA IS PERFECTLY
VERTICAL THE SCALE ON THE PHOTOGRAPH VARIES FROM
POINT TO POINT AND DEPENDS ON THE ELEVATION OF
THE POINT AT WHICH THE SCALE IS DETERMINED.

ITEM 22:

LIDAR

SCANNING
LIDAR IS A REMOTE SENSING
TECHNOLOGY
MEASURES

THAT
DISTANCE

ILLUMINATIONG

BY

TARGET

WITH LASER AND ANALYZING

THE REFLECTED LIGHT.
ITEM23: AIRBORNE LIDAR

AIRBORNE LiDAR IS PERFORMED

FROM

AN

INSTRUMENT

AIRCRAFT.
IS

THE

ATTACHMENT

ATTACHED TO A FIXED-WING OR
ROTARY-WINGS AIRCARFT AND
THE SCANNER EMITS A LIGHT
LASER BEAM THAT IS REFLECTED FROM A MIRROR AND
DIRECTED AT THE SURFACE OF THE EARTH.
ITEM 25: TERRESTRIAL LIDAR
THE

TERRESTRIAL

LiDAR

SCANNER

IS

SPECIFIC,

LOCALIZED FORM OF LiDAR. THE SCANNED IS MOUNTED

ON A TRIPOD OR STATIONARY VEHICLE. A LIGHT PULSE IS
TRANSMITTED AND THE TIME IT TAKES TO RETURN IS
MEASURED

PROVIDING

THE

POSITIONING ON THE EARTH.

SOFTWARE

OF

ITEM 26: SCANNER ADVANTAGES

THE SCANNER IS MOST USEFUL WHEN CONFIDENCE IN
THE DATE IS IMPORTANT, THERE ARE TIME CONSTRAINTS
ON A PROJECT, FAST TURN-AROUND IS NEEDED, OR
WHEN THE AREA IS DIFFICULT OR DANGEROUS TO
ACCESSOR DANGEROUS TO MEASURE.

ITEM

27:

GEOGRAPHIC
INFORMATION

SYSTEMS

GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEMS (GIS) CAPTURE,

STORE,

ANALYZE,

AND

MANAGE

DATA

ASSOCIATED

ATTRIBUTES WHICH ARE SPATIALLY REFERENCED TO THE

EARTH. GIS IA A COMPUTER SYSTEM ACCESSING A
DATABASE OF LAYERS OF INFORMATION.

ITEM 28: GPS

SATELLITE SURVEYING AND SATELLITE IMAGERY
SURVEYORS USE GLOBAL POSTIONING
SYSTEMS (GPS) IN ALL KINDS OF SURVEYING. SATELLITE
IMAGERY IS ALSO BEING USED TO MONITOR MOVEMENTS
ON

THE

EARTH'S

SURFACE-EARTH

QUAKE

ZONES,

POTENTIAL MUD SLIDES OR EVEN TROOPS ON THE MOVE

IN A WAR ZONE.

ITEM

29:

HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEYING
HYDROGRAPHIC
MEASUREMENT

SURVEY
AND

DESCRIPTION OF FEATURES
WHICH

AFFECT

NAVIGATION,

MARITIME
MARINE

CONSTRUCTION,
DREDGING, OFFSHORE OUL
EXPLORATION,

DRILLING

AND RELATED ACTIVITIES.

IS

THE

SCIENCE

OF

ITEM 30: SUMMARY

THE SELECTION OF A SUITABLE LOCATION FOR A NEW
HIGHWAY

REQUIRES

INFORMATION

OBTAINED

FROM

HIGHWAY SURVEYS. THESE SURVEYS CAN BE CARRIED

OUT BY EITHER CONVENTIONAL GROUND METHODS OR
USE OF ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT AND COMPUTERS. A BRIEF
DESCRIPTION OF SOME OF THE MORE COMMONLY USED
METHODS

OF

SURVEYS

HAS

BEEN

PRESENTED

INTRODUCE THE READER TO THESE TECHNIQUES.

TO