COURSE: HIGHWAY

ENGINEERING
LESSON N° 02b
Civil Eng. MPM Piero Ytalo Sousa Donayre

August 23 2018
Surveys
Purpose: to obtain initial information on possible design
corridors. Initial information may include:
• aerial photographs
• cadastral maps
• existing road design plans
• topographic maps
• location of soil and geotechnical tests
Aerial Photographs

• Provide aerial view of the

Route
• Highlights natural and built
features
• If you know the flying
height then a scale can be
determined and distances
scaled from the photo
Aerial Photogrammetry
• Uses stereo aerial
photographs to take 3
dimensional measurements
of the terrain
• Good for large survey areas
• Accuracy often not
sufficient for final alignment
• Dependent on vegetation,
flying height, cloud cover
• Digital files generated by
stereo-plotters.
Cadastral Maps
• Provide the location of property
boundaries
• May be overlaid on the aerial
photos
• May identify the properties that
may be impacted by the route
design
Airborne Laser Scanning
• Recent technology – past 10
years
• Gathers x,y,z points quickly and
accurately – within 0.1m
• Uses laser scanner in light
aircraft or helicopter
• Uses GPS guidance and
positioning
Existing Road Design Plans
• Show existing alignments
• May be in digital form
• Enable connection to
existing pavement and
drainage.
 Topographic Maps
• Show roads, vegetation,
drainage and contours
• Used for planning only rather
than accurate design
calculations
• Contour interval usually 5-10
m
• Useful for basic grade and
profile calculations
Control Survey
Purpose: To establish an accurate framework of survey points over
the route to enable all surveys to connect to the same datum and
coordinate system.

• usually spaced approx. 1km apart or more

• accurate to within 1-2cm
• related and connected to state or national survey grid system
• mostly established by GPS surveys
Map Datum
• Coordinates usually related to map grid system and orientated
to true north (as opposed to magnetic north)
• El Sistema de Referencia Geocéntrico para las Américas
(SIRGAS)
• In Peru usually use the system called WGS84
• Coordinates are given in Easting (x) and Northings (y)
• See
http://www.ign.gob.pe/public/images/norma_tecd_4dffa
3247bdd0.pdf .........for more details
Conventional Ground Surveys
• Use surveying Total
Stations and GPS
• Accurate to within a few
centimeters
• Most accurate of surveying
techniques
• Slow and costly
CONCLUSIONS

01 Conclusion

02 Conclusion

03 Conclusion

04 Conclusion