MARCH 20248 IN MY OPINIONIn the rapidly evolving transportation sector, geospatial technology has emerged as a transformative force, revolutionizing how transportation systems are designed, managed, and optimized. Geospatial technology, which includes Geographic Information Systems (GIS), light detection and ranging(lidar), and building information modeling (BIM), plays a pivotal role in enhancing efficiency, safety, accuracy, and sustainability across various modes of transportation. This article explores the profound impact of geospatial technology on transportation design and how it is shaping the future of mobility.LIBERATING DATA FROM SILOED SYSTEMS USING BIMBIM technology has revolutionized the transportation sector by serving as a collaborative tool that expedites design processes. Integrated with geospatial technology, BIM facilitates enhanced collaboration and coordination among stakeholders, including engineers, architects, and planners. The three-dimensional visualization capabilities of BIM enable stakeholders to make informed decisions, explore design alternatives, and identify and resolve conflicts in real time, significantly reducing the time spent on design iterations.BIM's efficiency extends beyond the design phase, offering benefits throughout the entire lifecycle of transportation infrastructure. From optimizing maintenance schedules and monitoring asset conditions to ensuring regulatory compliance and streamlined documentation, BIM's holistic approach enhances transportation systems' resilience, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness. As transportation projects become increasingly complex, the collaboration and efficiency facilitated by the integration of BIM and geospatial technology play a crucial role in the successful and timely execution of innovative infrastructure projects.GETTING GEOSPATIAL DATA INTO A COMMON DATA ENVIRONMENT (CDE)A common data environment (CDE) is crucial for optimizing collaborative workflows and ensuring data consistency. The CDE is a centralized platform that promotes unified data management and provides stakeholders with real-time access to the most accurate spatial information. This streamlined approach enhances collaboration, minimizes errors, and boosts overall efficiency throughout various phases of transportation projects. Most transportation infrastructure project data has a geographic component, meaning it has an implicit or explicit association with a location relative to the Earth. This allows combining a project's geospatial data with attribute characteristics and temporal information. Location data can be static or dynamic, with several geospatial sensors and computing software that can calculate and monitor positions. A CDE integrates large sets of spatial data from diverse sources in varying formats, including imagery, lidar/point clouds, weather data, cellular data, traffic data, census data, and social media data. Designers can then create adaptable and responsive infrastructure by incorporating live traffic data, weather information, and other dynamic factors. This real-time integration allows for the development of `smart' transportation systems that can adjust to changing conditions and optimize performance continually.Source data can create significant headaches if the data quality and positional accuracies are not managed and governed. Proper BY MATT LALUZERNE, NATIONAL DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT AND GEOSPATIAL SERVICES, MCKIM & CREEDNAVIGATING THE FUTURE: GEOSPATIAL TECHNOLOGY'S IMPACT ON TRANSPORTATION DESIGNMatt LaLuzerne
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