The first edition of 2015 for the official newsletter of Continental Mapping

4. ROADS AND BRIDGESThe Trouble with Transportation Infrastructure in America: A Recipe for Innovation
We drive 40% more than any other industrialized nation,
so we need roads and bridges that hold up. There is even
bipartisan agreement in Washington about the need for
strong infrastructure. But the United States does not have
strong infrastructure and there is contentious debate
about how large the problem is and approaches for
funding and solving the issues. Periodically, the American
Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) releases a report card
on the state of infrastructure in America. The most recent
release clearly stated that the state of roads and bridges
in America is not good and that deferred maintenance is
festering into an ever larger problem. The study rated
overall infrastructure at a D+. In particular, roads are a
disappointing D grade and bridges have a mediocre C+.
Those are not grades that get put up on the fridge.
According to ASCE, roads in America are plagued with
congestion, with 42% having major traffic flow issues.
ASCE estimates this equates to $101 billion every year in
wasted time and fuel. They also indicate that the cost for
making the minimal necessary improvements in efficiency
would require over $170 billion every year— indefinitely.
ASCE also states there are 607,380 bridges in the US,
with an average age of 42 years. Of these bridges, over
10% are structurally deficient. In total, almost 25% of
bridges in the US fall into one of two categories: structur-
ally deficient or functionally obsolete. As a nation, we
currently spend $12.8 billion on bridge repair, but
estimates indicate a need in excess of $20 billion each
year to reach acceptability by 2028.
The road forward
Band-aid fixes are common place as transportation
agencies don’t have the funds to do the necessary
overhaul, meaning the deep wounds of crumbling infra-
structure are not fully healed–just deferred. Temporary
maintenance and a patchwork approach is a way of life
for the transportation sector. It’s not what any agency
prefers, but without extensive financial support, options
are limited. A driving factor behind all alternatives is
innovation.
A TIGER and a Foxx make for good friends
On April 2, 2015, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx
announced another year of TIGER. This isn’t Chinese
astrology but the seventh installment of the Transporta-
tion Investment Generating Economic Recovery program
(TIGER), which will hand out $500 million in grants for
projects in all states that help solve transportation issues
through innovative means. Secretary Foxx singled out
Oklahoma City, saying on the USDOT website “$13.6
million in TIGER funds will support renovation of the
Santa Fe Depot facility to provide access for Amtrak
passenger rail service, a future streetcar line, light rail,
and commuter rail services. Other proposed improve-
ments include the rehabilitated Depot building with a
large common area, facilities for ticketing and baggage,
enhanced bicycle and pedestrian features, and upgrades
to E.K. Gaylord Boulevard.” It’s clear that a focus on
innovation is essential now and in the years to come.
Continental Mapping is focused on providing cutting edge
solutions to our clients. We incorporate new technologies,
new workflows, and refined procedures into our products
and services to help compress project timeframes,
reduce costs, and increase accuracies.
CASE STUDIES – Examples of Innovation:
Stringless paving for Minnesota DOT
To the casual observer, route 23 in the heart of the
Minnesota grasslands may seem like a boring stretch of
highway. However, this site demonstrated the value of
high accuracy mobile lidar to support stringless paving. A
very high accuracy surface derived from a mobile lidar
acquisition and mapping effort, can be fed into slipform
pavers to control the concrete quantity, depth, and
surface elevations with high precision, eliminating the use
of a string line. This saves time and money as the string
line does not need to be constantly verified due to it
getting bumped or moved, and dump trucks accessing the
paver do not have to back down long stretches of grade
between these string lines to get to the paver, which is a
safety hazard.

7. High accuracy aerial lidar and imagery to produce
orthophotography and surface model for habitat
management
High latitude elevation data from
satellite imagery
Creation of 3D mapping in preparation
for the 2008 Summer Olympic Games
in Beijing, China
High resolution topography
and planimetric features
derived from satellite imagery
High resolution topography
and planimetric features
derived from satellite imagery
High resolution topography
and planimetric features
derived from satellite imagery
Compilation of orthophotography
along the US/Mexico border
Creation of orthophotography for
~100 airports though the region
using satellite imagery
High resolution topography
and planimetric features
derived from satellite imagery
CONTINENTAL MAPPING: Mapping all Continents from Earth, Sky, and Space