Definition of Route Surveying

Route Surveying is a branch of Civil Engineering dealing with the design and
construction of linear works, such as roads, highways and pipelines. 1A Location Control Route
Survey refers to surveys executed for the purpose of acquiring an interest along a linear
corridor. 2A completed route survey will provide sufficient qualitative information and
dimensional data for indicating the feasible alignment, grades, and cross sections, and proposed
right-of-way lines. A route does not provide construction data as can be developed from a
preliminary survey. Rather, a route survey provides information and data pertaining to general
location possibilities, feasibility, and probable cost of right-of-way, construction, use, and
maintenance. 3Highway surveys involve measuring and computing horizontal and vertical
angles, elevations, and horizontal distances. The results of these surveys are used to prepare
detailed plan and profile base maps of proposed roadways. In addition, the elevations determined
in the survey serve as the basis for calculation of construction cut and fill quantities, and in
determining roadway banking. This section presents a review of basic terminology, concepts, and
standard procedures used in highway surveys. Surveyors are tasked with finding the most
effective route to follow. An engineer will use the data gathered by the Surveying party or teams
to plan out the route project in detailed work with certain specifications for workers to follow.
Teams may spend days or weeks in the work field, varying on the nature of the project and where
it is built. It is necessary to have a surveying degree or similar qualification to participate in a
1 http://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1235&context=roadschool
2 http://www.hulberteng-ls.com/survey-mapping/route-survey-147.html
3 http://www.globalspec.com/reference/55881/203279/highway-route-surveying

route survey, and sometimes internship positions are available for surveying students who want
to acquire practical skills.

Purpose of Route Surveying

Route surveying is to plan, design, and laying out of route such as highways, railways,
canals, pipelines, and other linear projects. It commonly updates topographical, geological, soil
and other maps. Route Surveying is a 4survey of the earths surface along a specific or particular
route and it correlates selected contours and objects with geodetic reference points and
landmarks during linear surveys and also in the study of the dynamics of natural and
socioeconomic phenomena in a narrow strip of terrain. In a route survey, representations of the
actual course of the survey and of the plane horizontal features on both sides of a specific road is
within the limits of direct possibility are plotted on a map board using methods of instrument
surveying. This type of Surveying has been extensively and widely used for centuries in mapping
inaccessible areas. 5Route Surveying is done for such principally as sets of survey jobs to
supplement a comprehensive survey. Route surveying works may include surveys of existing
roadways for upgrade or locating proposed new transportation systems. Route surveys require,
by their nature, the use of curves to ease the transition for vehicular movement along these roads
and to increase the safety for the driving public

4
5Purpose of Route Surveying: http://www.tech.mtu.edu/courses/su3150/Reference
%20Material/dsm08.pdf

Introduction of Route Surveying

A faculty of Applied Engineering and Urban Planning Civil Engineering Department
known as the University of Palestine introduced Route Surveying as a 6survey that deals with the
route or course that a highway, road, or utility line will follow. Centre line layout is one of the
first steps in constructing a road. The certain road is broken into stations, in which in each
station, the location of the center-line shoulder and slope stakes are identified. Route surveying
pertains to the laying out of proposed corridors for transportation systems. Road surveying is an extensive
study of a specific entire area that might be used for a road or airfield. Its purpose is to eliminate or add

routes or sites which are impractical or unfeasible and to identify the more promising routes or
sites. Route Surveying along a comparatively narrow strip of territory for the location, design
and construction of any route of transportation, such as highways and railroads, canals and
flumes, pipeline for water, sewage, oil and gas, cableways

6 Introduction to Civil Engineering: http://www.up.edu.ps/ocw/repositories/pdfarchive/ECGS4201.101_t133_01112008.pdf

Important Structures for Route Surveying

The surveying party can make recommendations and suggestions about the route to help
engineers prepare plans. Engineers are people who always mark in their minds that the most
important concept they should never forget is the safety of the people. They may think about
issues like whether it would be better to go through or around various aspects of the landscape; a
deep valley may be cheaply traversed with a bridge, while a large mountain might be too big to
tunnel through, necessitating a diversion of the route around it.7
Surveyors must accomplish the most direct and efficient route. Expenses can rack up very
quickly and highly pricy when laying out roads, railways, and utility lines, especially in the face
of obstacles like hills, large rivers, and the like. They also need to consider geologic hazards like
faults caused by the movement of the earths crust in much unexpected times which could
present a threat to the integrity of the finished project.

7 Important Structures of Route Surveying: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-aroute-survey.htm

Most of the time, 8various companies or governments will hire a surveying party to route
survey as they prepare to extend services across a new areal perimeter. The surveyors will meet
with representatives to discuss plans, such as the number of lanes in a roadway or the type of
utilities being laid across a region. This information can be important for planning, as surveyors
need to think about the parameters of the project. The surveyors use a variety of equipment on
the route survey to profile the landscape, taking special note of geologic formations, property
lines, and other features that may become an issue.

8 http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-a-route-survey.htm