The engineering consulting companies may be getting especially busy this time of the year. As the winter frost thaws and building projects are beginning, civil engineering services like lidar surveying photgrammetry readings are being used to finalize the plans on all kinds of new projects. From road planning to the construction of buildings of all sizes, it is important that plans have been carefully created and investigated.

As urban development continues to expand, it should come as no surprise that lidar surveying and other processes are needed to make sure that every plan goes works as it should. From water infrastructure for dams to watershed management for environmental purposes, it is very important that all needed surveys are completed ahead of time. Finding the locations of natural features like lakes, rivers, and other mountains, it is important to make sure that all physical and natural markings are taken into consideration.

Understanding the use of lidar surveying and other engineering applications can help both businesses and consumers understand the impact that this science has on both roads, buildings, and other types of infrastructure, as well as the nation’s economy:

• At least 33% of all dam failures or near-failures since 1874 have happened in just the last decade.
• In addition, 33% of all highway fatalities are related to substandard road conditions, obsolete road designs, or roadside hazards.
• 4,095 dams in America were deemed “unsafe” by the American Society of Civil Engineers.
• 25% of bridges in America need significant repairs or are currently handling more traffic than they were designed to carry.
• Every major U.S. container port is projected to be handling at least double the volume it was designed for by the year 2020.
• 33% of America’s major roads are in poor or mediocre condition and more than 50% of America’s interstate miles are at 70% of traffic capacity. In fact, nearly 25% of the miles are strained at more than 95% capacity.
• America’s aging sewer systems spill as much as 1.26 trillion gallons of untreated sewage every single year.

The season of building and planning has begun. To make sure that all of these buildings and plans go off as expected, it is important to rely on the professional services of engineers and their surveying crews.