US 14A winds through the Black Hills of South Dakota, carving its path within steep cliffs and dense forests. HEI completed survey services along this corridor using traditional survey methods along with mobile- and drone-based LiDAR.
Mobile- and Drone-Based LiDAR Services for US Highway 14A
Background
US 14A winds through the Black Hills of South Dakota, carving its path within steep cliffs and dense forests. Vertical bluffs and loose rocks make traditional survey methods impossible and caused the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) to be concerned about geotechnical movement that could result in safety hazards. Houston Engineering, Inc. (HEI) was contracted to complete this survey using traditional survey along with mobile- and drone-based LiDAR.
The Project
Traditional surveying methods were used for portions of this project. However, mobile- and drone-based LiDAR were the primary methods of data collection.
Survey-related tasks for this project included:
- A pre-survey phone meeting with SDDOT staff,
- utilization of the existing project control network,
- set and surveyed LiDAR control targets,
- a digital level loop through all project control and LiDAR targets,
- ground truthing, and
- topographic survey, as needed.
Once the project area was flown, HEI took the raw LiDAR data and completed a full feature extraction of the corridors, meaning all of the signs, pavement, trees, and more were identified within the 585 million points that were extracted. The reality of this survey is that it’s not possible to get the same results via traditional means. In addition to meeting the SDDOT’s needs, this project serves as a great example of how HEI’s LiDAR tools open up survey possibilities that weren’t possible before. As a result of our efforts, the SDDOT received an extremely accurate data set for their corridors with reduced survey man hours and minimized safety risks.
Learn more about this project in our StoryMap.
- Survey data was collected in a fraction of the time it would have been with traditional survey and included elements that could not have easily been gathered without LiDAR.
- Significantly safer work environment due to our drone-based LiDAR as there’s lack of visibility both vertically and horizontally within the corridors.
- The SDDOT now has an extremely accurate, robust dataset for the corridors that wouldn’t be possible to achieve via traditional means.
Project Details
Client: South Dakota Department of Transportation
Location: Near Deadwood, South Dakota
Project Highlights
- Survey data was collected in a fraction of the time it would have been with traditional survey and included elements that could not have easily been gathered without LiDAR.
- Significantly safer work environment due to our drone-based LiDAR as there’s lack of visibility both vertically and horizontally within the corridors.
- The SDDOT now has an extremely accurate, robust dataset for the corridors that wouldn’t be possible to achieve via traditional means.
Services
Ready to start a project?
Get in touch with our Surveying & Reality Capture experts today.
explore our
