Savings with Aerial Surveying for Transmission Lines

Aerial surveying, combining LiDAR and photogrammetry with traditional ground methods, significantly reduced cost (39% or $120,000) and time (50% or 6 weeks) for the 17-mile water pipeline project (part of a larger 90-mile program). This paper highlights the benefits of aerial surveying for large infrastructure projects, including access to difficult areas, minimal disruption, and comprehensive data collection. While weather and obscured areas pose challenges, LiDAR helps mitigate these. A combined approach, using aerial data for broad coverage and ground surveys for detail and verification, proved most efficient.