Rail Industry Project Experience
South Orient Railroad - TxDOT
Aerial Mapping and Control for 392 miles of Existing Rail
US 79 - Union Pacific Parcel Acquisition
Boundary Survey for Parcel Acquisition
MoKan Railroad
Right-of-Way Acquisition Survey
A. W. Grimes Boulevard - Union Pacific Railroad Brushy Creek Bridge
As-Built Survey
South Orient Railroad - TxDOT
Aerial Mapping and Control for 392 miles of Existing Rail
Location: San Angelo Junction to Presidio, Texas
Client: TxDOT ROW Division
Surveying And Mapping, Inc. (SAM, Inc.) was contracted by the Texas Department of Transportation ROW Division to establish control and provide aerial mapping services on approximately 392 miles of existing railroad. The project begins in San Angelo Junction in Coleman County , Texas and extends southwesterly to the U.S. and Mexico border in Presidio, Texas .
SAM, Inc. staff attended the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railway Maintenance of Way training. This training certified our staff to conduct work on the tracks and to operate hy-rail vehicles. They also completed an on-the-ground certification training program with the General Manager of Texas Pacifico Railroad prior to accessing the railroad.
SAM, Inc. is providing aerial photography at a scale of 1” = 500', flown at 3,000' AMT using Airborne GPS to augment the ground control. A 3,000 foot wide color digital orthophoto at a pixel resolution of ½-foot centered along the project corridor will be generated. Planimetric features will be collected and a 2-foot DTM will be created centered along the project corridor of 500' in width. There will be approximately 232 aerial control panels set and fast-static GPS observations will be performed to establish the horizontal and vertical values of each.
The railroad record right-of-way lines and centerline will be overlayed on the digital orthophotography utilizing the location of the rails as shown in the photography as a basis for the overlay.
Final deliverables for the project include:
- 2004 NAIP DOQ Image Mosiac
- Data Sheets for Primary & Secondary Control Points
- Project Control Survey Report
- Contact Prints
- Aerial Triangulation Report
- MicroStation V8 design files in US feet of planimetric (2D data) and DTM (3D data). Mapping will include all visible planimetrics for 1” = 100' scale mapping. Digital terrain model (DTM) breakline and mass point data.
- Color Digital Orthophoto Images in TIFF and SID image format with an associated geo-reference file, with a pixel size of ½-foot
- Railroad Centerline & Right-of-Way Lines Geo-referenced to Low Level Flights in MicroStation Format
US 79 - Union Pacific Parcel Acquisition
Boundary Survey for Parcel Acquisition
Location: Hutto & Williamson County, Texas
Client: TxDOT ROW Division District 14
The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) employed SAM, Inc. to complete a boundary survey of a portion of the non-essential right-of-way parcel needed to provide sufficient highway right-of-way for US 79. The project involved recovering project control established previously by the State and verifying the sufficiency of that control. A boundary survey was performed to determine the necessary boundary lines of the railroad parcel. This survey required surveying a part of a platted block in the original Town of Hutto . A line was established parallel to and fifty feet from the centerline of the main track of the railroad to be used as a boundary between future State right-of-way and the remaining railroad. The parcel was monumented and a parcel description, parcel plat and a right-of-way map were prepared to TxDOT Right-of-Way Manual standards and specifications and delivered to the State. Project completed 2006.
MoKan Railroad
Right-of-Way Acquisition Survey
Location: Travis County , Texas
Client: TxDOT ROW Division
SAM, Inc. staff performed an existing right-of-way survey for TxDOT for this fifty (50) mile project. This project consisted of current adjacent ownership and deed research, establishing project control utilizing a GPS and locating right-of-way and private ownership monumentation. Existing right-of-way plans were provided to the client. Project completed 1990.
A. W. Grimes Boulevard - Union Pacific Railroad Brushy Creek Bridge
As-Built Survey
Location: Williamson County , Texas
Client: HDR Engineering, Inc.
HDR Engineering, Inc. employed SAM, Inc. to complete an As-Built design survey of the UP Railroad Bridge over Brushy Creek for the purpose of replacing/upgrading portions of the existing bridge structure and support system. The project included the location of the abutments, deck, girders, rails, bents, bent caps and footings. In addition a design survey of the Railroad Right-of-way was performed for 1500 feet east and west of the bridge. This included locating the rail tracks, ballast, bed, drainage ditches and the right-of-way lines. Project completed 2002.
