GBA Finishes 1500 Sign Surveying Project Weeks Ahead of Schedule Using LiDAR

The use of innovative technology took a dangerous, labor-intensive, manual process and turned it into a safer, more efficient use of time and money. Those reasons were the methodology behind a new process that GBA developed.

The GBA Transportation Engineering team had been tasked with inventorying road signs in Kansas as part of the High-Performance Signing Project for the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) since 2012.

The process is simple. KDOT would provide GBA with a specific county in Kansas. The team would travel to the given location to take inventory of the existing signage, marking the location through handheld GPS devices.

Using this process, staff was able to gather a collection of approximately 1500 signs. The team would then travel back to the office and develop a plan showing the removals of the existing signs and installations of new signs based on current sign spacing criteria.

With a priority of time management and increased safety, GBA recommended using Mobile Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). KDOT quickly agreed and GBA went to work utilizing Mobile LiDAR capabilities.

LiDAR helps collect data for large heavily traveled road projects quickly, accurately and much safer than traditional surveying. By using this method, the team collects data from the safety of a vehicle at driving speed. It also helps the team collect data faster, saving weeks of time out in the field.