Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 25
25
(ABJ95T) and the AASHTO Highway Subcommittee on driver's perspective for signage and line-of-sight issues. The
Design (13). Both of these organizations provide invaluable project was well done, the results from the animation were
resources for visualization. very effective, and the finished construction turned out as
simulated.
Visualization Benefits
CASE STUDY 5: FEDERAL HIGHWAY
The group has been successfully operating for the past ADMINISTRATION
10 years, just not as an official group but rather as part of
the Landscape Architecture division. In 2005/2006, the Contact:
visual group will be merging with the GIS, Photogramme- CADD/Design Visualization Coordinator
try, Survey, and Data Modeling groups to form the Terrain FHWA
Data Services group. This reorganization should make visu- 21400 Ridgetop Circle
Sterling, VA 20166
als a part of the design process. The group will become a
centralized technical resource center for specialized 3-D
design services. The long-term goal is to have visualization
Organization
become officially recognized as a design service. To further
incorporate visualization into the design process, the visu- FHWA is responsible for ensuring the safety, efficiency,
alization group would like to see 3-D design adopted as part and economy of the nation's highway transportation
of the CADD process. With the short-term budgetary con- system. FHWA oversees all phases of highway policy,
ditions, it is anticipated that this adoption will not take planning, research, design, operations, construction, and
place for several years. maintenance. Two principal programs accomplish this task:
(1) the Federal-Aid Highway Program, which works with
The Latham Traffic Circle in Colonie, New York, was state DOTs to administer the nation's comprehensive high-
constructed in 1934. A frequent accident site, this old-style, way system; and (2) the Federal Lands Highway Program
large traffic circle forms an interchange between two busy (FLHP), which works with federal land management agen-
state highways. Total reconstruction of the circle would have cies to oversee highway programs and provide transporta-
been prohibitively expensive; however, NYSDOT found tion engineering services for planning, design, contract
other ways to improve its safety, including adding new administration, and construction of highways and bridges
approach signs and pavement markings on all legs of the cir- that provide access to or within federally owned lands. The
cle to provide clear paths for negotiating the circle and to FLHP also provides training, technology deployment, engi-
minimize driver confusion. neering services, and products to other customers.
The visualization group at NYSDOT did an extensive Visualization technologies were first implemented at
amount of animation for the traffic circle project. Both the FHWA in the mid-1990s in an effort to help the public better
existing and proposed conditions were visually created to understand designs. Visualization was first established in the
depict conflicts within the circle (see Figure 29). NYSDOT Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD) and later
incorporated video and animation to show the view from the expanded to the Central and Western divisions. The design
visualization coordinator oversees activity in the EFLHD
division; the other two divisions do not have a lead coordina-
tor at this time. The design visualization coordinator is the
first design visualization specialist in the FLHP. This person
is in charge of all design visualization at the EFLHD. Design
visualization consists of all graphics, including 3-D and 2-D.
The design visualization group resides under the Engineering
and Software Support division.
Why the Need for Visualization?
FHWA has found that visualization technology helps the
public better understand projects and helps expedite design
decisions, thereby reducing design costs. Visualization tech-
FIGURE 29 Rendering of Latham Traffic Circle, Colonie, nologies are being used from the planning stage to post-
New York, using video and animation to depict existing and construction repairs; however, it is not part of the design
proposed conditions. (Courtesy : NYSDOT.) process.
OCR for page 26
26
Implementation Plan sets a yearly budget for attendance at conferences and sem-
inars. This individual also receives vendor-specific training
Research and Development for the applications that are used at FHWA. FHWA cur-
rently does not have the same severe budgetary constraints
There is no specific research and development program at that state DOTs have.
FHWA. To enhance FHWA's research and development
resources, the design visualization coordinator is affiliated
with the TRB Task Force on Visualization in Transportation Visualization Benefits
(ABJ95T). This individual also consults with CADD ven-
dors, but has noted that these vendors have not made design To date, the most effective visual tool used at FHWA has
visualization a priority. been photo-simulation, such as that used for the Goshen
Creek project (Figure 30). This tool is used primarily because
In an effort to standardize visualization methodologies, of its low cost and quick production time. The technology is
FHWA contracted Parsons Brinckerhoff to draft a sim- also the most easily understood by project managers and the
plified guideline for design visualization. In 2005, this public.
guideline was made available on the FHWA website at
http://www.efl.fhwa.dot.gov/manuals/dv/. The purpose of The visualization group completed design visuals for the
the guide is to introduce visualization tools and innovative National Park Service on the Blue Ridge Parkway traffic
practices to the federal lands highway designer so that these barrier study. The use of design visualization clearly showed
techniques and tools will eventually be integrated into the different aesthetic treatments for the bridge abutments.
most federal lands highway projects whenever there are The National Park Service was enthusiastic about the visu-
design issues or communication needs. The guide helps the als, which improved the decision-making and public ap-
designer learn to use commonly available software tools to proval processes for the project.
produce visuals that help the designer better understand and
communicate designs.
Internal Approval Process for Visualization
The approval process is determined by the project managers
in the Engineering and Software Support division, with con-
sultation from the design visualization coordinator. There is
no official policy or guidelines for the use of visualization at
FHWA. Each of the three divisions' project managers deter-
mines what work should be done and how to approach it.
Design visualization is centralized at FHWA, and the
design visualization coordinator calculates a yearly budget
for this service. Much of this budget is based on the previous
year's activity. There are no standards for budgeting costs for
specific projects. Calculations are based primarily on previ-
ous experience.
Staffing
At the EFLHD, the design visualization coordinator has the
only division staffed for design visualization. The visual-
ization coordinator's official title is Senior Transportation
Specialist/Design Visualization Specialist. This individual
is in charge of coordinating design visualization for all
departments and other agencies and oversees two techni-
cians. Staffing came from departmental transfers from the
Preliminary Design Department. In parallel with the design
visualization guidelines, training guidelines are being
developed. Training is conducted primarily in-house FIGURE 30 Goshen Creek existing conditions (top) and photo-
through mentoring. The design visualization coordinator simulation of proposed conditions (bottom). (Courtesy : FHWA.)
