Road Alignment

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Overview

Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning Solution simultaneously considers all environmental, cultural and community issues involved in planning a new road project, thus substantially reducing the planning time and alignment construction cost.

A project planner or engineer can investigate literally millions of alternative alignments for any given set of constraints. The system enables a holistic approach that integrates all elements and delivers a range of alignment alternatives that best meet the relevant environmental, cultural, social, engineering and cost constraints. The resulting options can be analyzed quickly to address stakeholder concerns and maintain the momentum of the road project.

The Quantm Alignment Planning system is available as a Desktop PC version for projects up to 20km or as a service for longer projects.

Configurations

Quantm Desktop Premium: Quantm Desktop Premium is a PC-based application for project owners, planners, engineers, GIS professionals and contractors. Quantm Desktop Premium can be applied at every step of the planning process from initial scoping through feasibility and value engineering. The software performs corridor identification, and full horizontal and vertical alignment optimization, considering environmental, social, geological, engineering, and construction constraints to provide and optimal alignment for detailed design. Quantm Desktop Premium is available for project study areas 10kmx10km or 20kmx20km.

Quantm Desktop: Quantm Desktop is a PC-based application that performs vertical optimization only. It is intended for engineers and contractors to refine the vertical geometry of alignments that lie within a defined corridor with final or fixed horizontal geometry. Quantm Desktop optimizes the vertical geometry to minimize costs based on barriers to construction, dump locations and borrow locations. Quantm Desktop is available for projects of up to 10km in length or projects of up to 20km in length.

Quantm Service: Quantm Service is offered on a project by project basis for clients with projects longer than 20km. The Quantm Service provides for a collaborative environment with 5 project licenses of the powerful Quantm Integrator software for data input and review. Quantm Service uses a thin client/server architecture with the optimization processing performed at one of Trimble Planning Solutions worldwide data centers. The Quantm Service is supported by a team of Transportation Engineers, Planners and Surveyors who specialize in alignment optimization. The Quantm Service team collaborates with each project's planning and engineering teams to ensure maximum benefit from the system. The Quantm Service is offered for scoping studies, corridor investigations, environmental impact studies, and alignment alternative selection.

All the Quantm product and service configurations generate outputs for to support public presentation through the NEPA or other planning processes. The final approved alignment can be easily exported using industry standard formats, such as LandXML for detailed design.

Benefits

The Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning System allows planners and engineers to collaborate with various road project stakeholders and deliver improved outcomes. The process maintains positive community relations, considers environmental impact, and reduces project construction costs — all while maintaining the momentum of the road project.

Improved Community Relations
Communities globally are increasing the influence they have over where new roads are created. The combination of community input and the need to avoid certain urban areas, cultural heritage zones and areas of environmental sensitivity have made the planning process extremely complex.

The Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning System allows community input to be integrated into the planning study. Community "no-go" constraints can be added in just minutes. Cost implications and alignment alternatives can be reviewed almost immediately for projects under 20km and within 48 working hours for larger projects.

Better environmental outcomes
The National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Research Results Digest 304, describes eight technologies that can be used by transportation agencies to improve the consideration of environmental concerns in transportation decisions.

The Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning System was identified as one of these emerging technologies that support the integration of environmental considerations into transportation planning. For more information, download the "Technologies to improve consideration of environmental concerns in transportation decisions" full report.

Reduced Project Planning Time and Delays
The current industry approach to road planning addresses each constraint issue in series, which often leads to conflict between the stakeholders and requires numerous subsequent impact studies. This can lead to a planning spiral that delays, or even terminates, a project.

The Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning Solutions encourage cooperation between the road project planners and stakeholders from the onset. Planners can quickly investigate alignment and cost implications of numerous 'what if' scenarios simultaneously. As a result, planners can demonstrate they have considered all feasible alignments and substantially improve the quality of the alignment without project delay or cost increase.

Road Construction Cost Savings
The Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning Solution delivers substantial alignment construction cost savings while meeting the defined environmental, community, heritage and design constraints.

Typical alignment construction cost savings, in undulating or rougher terrain, are in excess of 15% for highways, when compared to results determined using the previous industry best practice planning method.

Reports and Audits

As more governments require extensive impact studies and supporting documentation, the Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning Solutions have become essential tools for road planners. From stakeholders and governments, through to environmental groups, community organizations, and project financiers, numerous groups want to know that their concerns are being addressed when creating new roads.

Planners and engineers can use the Trimble Quantm Alignment Planning Solution to prepare in-depth impact studies and public presentations. The software allows presentations to display the complete route or zoom-in demonstrating how an alignment impacts or avoids a particular zone or landowner, including the earthworks footprint.

The planner can also provide a process audit that tracks individual scenario investigation, consideration of alternatives and costs, and document the methods used in reaching a 'preferred' corridor or alignment.