Geographical Information System Application in the Alignment of Freeway - Term Paper Example

GIS Application in the Alignment of Freeway Name Id Tutor’s name Course Institution Affiliation Location Date GIS Application in the Alignment of Freeway 1.0 Introduction Geographical Information System (GIS) is a technological system that is designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of spatial or geographical data obtained through photographs and remote sensing (Langford and Unwin, 2013). Its application has been evident in various fields with the discussion being on the alignment of the Freeways. Freeways are the designed roads or paths that accommodate high speed traffics that connect two places and can accommodate a large number of traffics at the same time (Fengwei, 2011). In the design of the Freeways, the vision is always to reduce the traffic disturbances when making travels to various States or countries. The result is achieved through identification of the shortest route, eco-friendly highways which optimize the traveling routes and speed through reduction of the traffic disturbances. In the design and development of the freeways, GIS is used in the identification of the areas, mapping, and production of the shortest routes without interferences with the ecosystem as well as determining quantities in the whole freeway construction project (Tu and Su, 2010). 1.1 Reasons for using GIS in the alignment of the Freeways The increase in populations and the need to conserve the environment has made it hard for the other means of a survey to accurately determine the routes for a freeway. The distribution of the population and settlements, as well as the natural features on the earth, calls for a large volume of data that is necessary for the route location. The freeways are always connected to different countries or states, and only a large data can be used as well as be compared among the states to reach a decision (Tu and Su, 2010). The large data with the nature of the terrains is only possible to achieve through the use of GIS in a short period. GIS provides a wide variety of data sets which contains the shape, the nature, and the general outlook of the area in a map-like setup. Previously, there had been time wastage in the data collection towards mapping the freeway which had slowed the operations towards construction. The use of GIS has enabled the designers to collect a large volume of data, speed up the data analysis using different software that the system provides to come up with the concrete conclusion for the entire design. The applications and mapping have ensured that little effects are subjected to the population distribution as well as little or no interferences are done to the natural resources and alignment are done on a table that provides clear, accurate and a precise alignment of the freeway. The application of GIS has reduced the chances mass building destructions to provide the freeways in different areas. The design and data collection through the system is cost effective and fast as it only involves the aerial photographs taking, or use of remote sensing which relieve the surveyors from the burden of working and taking too much time before creating a volume data for analysis. 2.0 Data models In the alignment of freeways, accurate and precise data is needed to come up with a precise design which when projected on the ground, produces the best alignment. The interference and the levels of cuts and fills are necessary for the design and therefore this application requires the use of three data models of the GIS. The three data models that are required or are used by the practice are the vector model, raster model, and the Triangulated irregular network (TIN) model. 2.0.1 Vector model The model ensures that the data is represented in the distinctions of X and Y coordinates which gives the precise location of the object. It provides the data of a body or a feature through the use of polygons, points, and lines. The data model is more appropriate for storing of the data which are more discrete as it only covers the features for its storage. In the alignment of a freeway, vector data is used to store the location of some buildings, natural resources as well as the settlement pattern that would be necessary to avoid in aligning the freeway (Crooks, 2010). 2.0.2 Raster model The model stores data in different cells known as the pixels which takes place after the data has been split into a different bitmap. The separation in the data is shown through the variations that come as a result of the color intensity and the variation in the strength. The model is more suitable for the representation of the continuous data like the intensity of force as well as the lines of weakness. In the alignment of the freeway, raster model data will be used to store details like the earthquake weak lines, the pressure variation at different points along the freeway (Roberts et al. 201) 2.0.3 Triangulated irregular network (TIN) This model is a digital data structure which is used to represent a surface through the use of irregular distributed nodes with the alignment of three-dimensional coordinates that is (x,y,z). The model is important for representing different features within the surface as well as below the surface on a map. In the alignment of the freeway using GIS, the data model is used to identify the heights of the hills and depth of different valleys along the freeway to help in the determination of the fill and the cuts in the alignment (Singh and Fiorentino, 2013). 3.0 Data sets In collecting the data, it is necessary to compare and evaluate your data against other data sets which have been established before. Some of the data sets that are important in the alignment of the freeway by use of GIS include; natural earth data, global maps and the Geodata of the area of interest. The data act as the guide towards ensuring that the data collected is of the standards and have the bearable deviation from the existing data sets on the system. It is from the data that evaluation and analysis of the other data being analyzed are pegged to determine the closeness to the ground reality (Margono et al. 2012). 3.1 Data sources 3.1.1 Aerial Photography The technique provides the general overview of the area where the data is to be collected as well as give an opportunity for comparing the data from the radiation emitted data is it provides the pictorial view of the information. It provides the reality of the arrangement of features on the earth surface though with negligence of the minor details of the general terrain. It provides the maps that are used by the surveyors when evaluating the routes and the navigations which will provide the detail data for analysis through the use of other sources in freeway alignment (Bendell and Wan, 2011). 3.1.2 Remote sensing Remote sensing is the data collection method which involves the use of the electromagnetic forces within the range of different visible rays to detriment the features on the earth surface through reflection by objects and radiations. It is the most accurate and currently used technology for obtaining data for GIS applications. It works on the principle of different wavelengths of reflection and radiations that the objects emits when subjected to radiations (Alexakis, Sarris, Astaras and Albanakis, 2011). Through interpretation of the data, different objects, and structures in various areas are identified, and a safer route is recommended for the freeway on evaluation of the objects and structures’ radiation results. 3.1.3 GPS The device is used by the surveyors to identify different parts of the areas that had been marked and designed for the freeway. GPS ensures that only marked areas, as well as the stored aligned data, are used in the alignments as it shows the conditions where the operations are out of the freeway recommended. It ensures accuracy in location marking with little time spending on the position determination for critical routes of the freeway (Chen and Liu, 2010). 4.0 Products The main objective for the data collection for alignment of the freeway is to design and develop the maps to be used in the construction. The design process is cumbersome and different decisions have to be made to ensure that the product developed is cost effective and serves the needs of the people. In the design for alignment of the freeway, some of the other applications that it will aid are as follows 4.0.1The quantity of soil to be cut and areas of cut In the alignment of the freeway, some part of the soil must be engaged in the earthwork cutting to reduce the height to manageable flat levels. The use of GIS will help to establish the amount of cut, areas of cut within the single construction line that will be identified by design (Tu and Su, 2010). 4.0.2 Identification of fill areas and volume Through the use of a GIS mapping, the areas of fill are determined which ensures that the design height is achieved. The application ensures that the filling only takes place up to the level of required height to facilitate uniform channel of construction (Fengwei, 2011). 4.0.3 Cost determination of construction Through the route identifications as well as the amount of cut and fills, the constructors are capable of determining the total cost of the project. The cost of destroying the objects and structures on the way are determined as well those for relocating and the possible challenges that may be realized in implementing the product. With all the information that it provides, it makes it easy to determine the total construction cost (Chen and Zhang, 2012). 5.0 Analysis Process The realization of the objectives of the GIS application in an alignment of Freeway follows different steps to achieve different applications identified above. The different approaches that will be used to reach the final products discussed above include; From the data, develop the map of the area to be covered through the use of the AutoCAD software. From the map, identify the list affected area for the construction of the alignment of the freeway under consultation with the other state and countries to benefits and to be members of the freeway. Establish the level height for the alignment along the identified path and draw a profile path for the entire freeway. The areas within the path and above the profile drawn are cut, and those below the profile line are filled to reach the require levels. The volume of the cut and the fill are determined through the use of spot heights and application of the trapezoidal rule to get the volume of cut and fill after multiplication with a safety factor of 1.2 depending on the soil type. The total cost of the project is then determined through the use of the volume fill and cut in consideration of the machine charges and operation environment. 6.0 Issues GIS applications in the alignment of the freeway are accurate but also face several challenges that cannot be controlled easily. In elevation determination, sometimes the radiation reads the information from the leaf of a small tree giving a wrong impression on the final data for the design (GAO, 2012). It becomes expensive, as different people will be required to carry out a random sampling of some data on the ground to determine the reality which becomes expensive. Also, the data input and downloaded from the GIS application determines the final result of the design as an incorrect entry of data as well as wrong data download will result to wrong design and poor alignment of the freeways. Finally, the information provided by design will determine whether the whole data is to be done which calls for the return to the field, as the mistakes cannot be identified before downloading and drawing on different software (Langford and Unwin, 2013). 7.0 Conclusion From the discussion, the paper has highlighted the different aspects of GIS in its usage towards establishing a freeway. It has been explained through the highlight of the issues that the application exposes to the users. Despite the challenges that the tool provides to users the advantages that it offers to the individuals using it outweighs the disadvantages that it offers. It is not possible to identify an application or a system that will only provide the positive effects to the users, but it will also provide the negative effects to the users. From the understanding of not being 100% effective, the use of GIS provides the best way or application that should be used to ensure that the freeways are aligned with minimal interferences with people and to follow the shortest route possible. Reference list Alexakis, D., Sarris, A., Astaras, T. and Albanakis, K., 2011. Integrated GIS, remote sensing and geomorphologic approaches for the reconstruction of the landscape habitation of Thessaly during the Neolithic period. Journal of Archaeological Science, 38(1), pp.89-100. Bendell, L.I. and Wan, P.C., 2011. Application of aerial photography in combination with GIS for coastal management at small spatial scales: a case study of shellfish aquaculture. Journal of Coastal Conservation, 15(4), pp.417-431. Chen, P., and Liu, S., 2010, August. Intelligent vehicle monitoring system based on GPS, GSM, and GIS. In Information Engineering (ICIE), 2010 WASE International Conference on (Vol. 1, pp. 38-40). IEEE. Chen, X. and Zhang, W., 2012. 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