Some of the biggest civil engineering companies in the world find themselves with more work than ever before as the businesses continue to find ways to make use of lidar surveying techniques, as well as photogrammetry and other kinds of light detection and ranging systems. From the roads that we drive on to the bridges that help us navigate across across bodies of water of all sizes, the purpose of transportation planning has never been more evident.
When the news headlines talk about a bridge collapse that leads to multiple injuries or a roadway design that has caused more accidents than normal, it is no wonder that there is a high demand for the most sophisticated lidar surveying and other methods that can help avoid some, hopefully all, of these failures.
We live in a time when people are traveling more than ever before, so it only makes sense that there is more strain on the this nation’s, and the world’s, transportation systems. Unfortunately, with the aging of highways, bridges, and other infrastructures, there may also be a higher risk of accidents, some of which lead to fatalities. In fact, nearly 33% of all highway fatalities are related to obsolete road designs, substandard road conditions, or roadside hazards.
Consider some of these facts and figures about the many times when advanced engineering processes, like lidar surveying, can be a real benefit:
- Drinking water utilities will have to invest $334.8 billion over the next 20 years to address their deteriorating infrastructure needs, according to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates.
- Every major U.S. container port is projected to be handling at least double the volume it was designed for by the year 2020.
- More than 33% of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition.
- As many as 50% of America’s interstate miles are at 70% of traffic capacity, and nearly 25% of the miles are strained at more than 95% capacity.
- The country’s aging sewer systems spill approximately 1.26 trillion gallons of untreated sewage every single year.
- 33% of all dam failures or near-failures since 1874 have happened in the last decade.
As Americans, and others around the world, continue to travel it should come as no surprise that their is a growing strain on the road and waterways across the world. Hopefully, with the use of advanced civil engineering methods, new roadways can be improved and problems with old transportation methods will be discovered before a disaster occurs.
