CHARLOTTE, N.C. (November 15, 2010)…Woolpert Inc. announced today that it is currently wrapping up a mobile mapping project for the City of Charlotte, N.C., that will support the redesign of city streets to increase sidewalk and bicycle lane space.
The 1.3-mile topographic survey of the downtown city streets will be used by HNTB Corporation, an architectural and engineering firm, to design the roadway improvements for the Tryon Street/I-277 overpass, between West Carson Boulevard and East Stonewall Street. The improvements also include work on Church Street, between West Palmer Street and West Morehead Street.
Woolpert proposed using the new mobile mapping services (MMS) because surveyors could collect the data more rapidly while ensuring their safety by not entering traffic flow to collect planimetric and topographic data. The data is also comprehensive enough to be used by the City for several applications without the need to supplement a conventional dataset over time. The real-world, 3-D point cloud captures all the information within sight and is more densely packed with modeled data useful to designers.
“Woolpert acquired the mobile mapping system about a year ago and has already seen a benefit to clients who’ve opted for the technology on their projects,” said Jeff Lovin, Senior Vice President and Director of Geospatial Services at Woolpert. “The system is key in areas where obstructions make capturing the data cumbersome and more complex. We’re recommending the use of the technology to clients more often because it saves them time and provides more uses for the end product.”
The mobile mapping portion of the project included scanning the roadway and the S. Tryon Street/I-277 overpass to capture the structure and utilities. Along with MMS, the team also provided a control survey, targeting, right-of-way and subsurface utility surveys, as well as as-built information and photographs of the interior conditions and connectivity of the storm and sanitary sewer structures. A sub-consultant also performed SUE services to identify traceable underground utilities. Woolpert also geo-referenced and embedded color digital imagery captured during mobile mapping in a KMZ file, so HNTB and the City can view the imagery overlaid on a map in Google Earth.
The pedestrian/bike improvement project is the first project the City of Charlotte has utilized MMS. Woolpert recently delivered the files, and they are currently under review by HNTB.
About Woolpert
Woolpert, ranked by Engineering News-Record as a top national design firm, provides professional engineering, architecture, planning, enterprise information management, water management, surveying, and photogrammetry and remote sensing services to clients in the public and private sectors. Founded in 1911, Woolpert’s innovative design approach and commitment to the creative application of technology have grown the firm into a leader in the consulting industry. With nearly 700 professionals in 22 offices located throughout the U.S., Woolpert’s collaborative and multidisciplinary approach is driven by great people, great clients and great projects. For more information, visit www.woolpert.com.
About HNTB
HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure firm serving federal, state, municipal, military and private clients. With nearly a century of service, HNTB has the insight to understand the life cycle of infrastructure and the perspective to solve the most complex technical, financial and operational challenges. Professionals nationwide provide award-winning planning, design, program management and construction management services. For more information, visit www.hntb.com.