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LiDAR for
Transportation
Roads, bridges, railways, and ports are the arteries of the Philippine economy and every infrastructure decision depends on accurate spatial data. AB Surveying and Development provides aerial, mobile, and terrestrial LiDAR surveying for transportation project proponents, government agencies, and EPC contractors delivering the corridor surveys, as-built documentation, and road inventory data that keep infrastructure projects on time, on budget, and built to design.
Challenges we solve
Common Challenges for Transportation and How LiDAR Addresses Them
Challenges
Road and highway corridor surveys take too long using conventional ground methods
Bridge as-built records are incomplete, outdated, or were never properly documented
How LiDAR Helps
Conventional road surveys using total stations and level instruments require lane closures, slow-moving survey crews, and weeks of field time for even moderate-length corridors — creating safety risks, public disruption, and schedule pressure. Mobile LiDAR systems mounted on standard vehicles drive the corridor at traffic speed, capturing a complete 3D dataset of road geometry, pavement surface, kerbs, drainage inlets, signage, utility poles, and roadside features in a single pass. The result is a comprehensive, georeferenced road corridor dataset delivered in days rather than weeks — with no lane closures and minimal traffic impact.
Many bridges in the Philippine road network lack accurate as-built documentation drawings were never prepared, have been lost, or no longer reflect modifications made during construction or subsequent rehabilitation. When widening, load rating, or seismic assessment work is required, engineers are forced to conduct time-consuming manual measurements under difficult and often hazardous conditions. Terrestrial LiDAR scanners positioned on the bridge deck and at ground level capture the complete structural geometry from safe standoff distances — producing a dense 3D point cloud from which accurate as-built drawings, clearance measurements, and deformation analyses can be extracted without exposing personnel to traffic or working over water.
New road alignments are designed on terrain data too coarse for accurate earthworks estimation
Road projects designed on SRTM or other coarse topographic data routinely encounter significant discrepancies between estimated and actual earthworks volumes during construction — leading to contract variations, budget overruns, and schedule delays. Aerial LiDAR surveys of proposed road corridors deliver sub-meter Digital Terrain Models that support accurate alignment optimization, cross-section extraction, cut-and-fill volume calculation, and drainage design — all before a single earthworks contractor is mobilized. Accurate pre-construction terrain data is one of the highest-return survey investments available to road project developers.
Railway corridor surveys require precision that conventional methods cannot deliver efficiently
Railway infrastructure demands extremely precise spatial data — track geometry, structure gauge clearances, overhead line positions, and drainage conditions must all be captured with high accuracy across corridors that may extend hundreds of kilometers. Conventional survey approaches are too slow, too costly, and too disruptive to train operations to be practical at this scale. Mobile LiDAR systems mounted on road vehicles or rail-compatible platforms capture the complete corridor environment at operational speed — producing georeferenced datasets of track geometry, lineside structures, drainage, and clearance profiles that support both new railway design and existing network maintenance planning.
Post-construction as-built verification is inconsistent and time-consuming
Verifying that completed road and bridge works conform to approved designs is a contractual and regulatory requirement — but conventional as-built surveys using total stations and levels are slow, selective, and often capture only a fraction of the constructed geometry. LiDAR as-built surveys capture the full surface of completed works in a single data collection exercise — producing a dense 3D model that can be compared directly against design files to identify every deviation, quantify variation volumes, and generate a complete, defensible as-built record for project closeout, warranty, and future maintenance reference.
LiDAR Surveying Applications in Transportation
From feasibility through construction and into long-term asset management, LiDAR supports every phase of transportation infrastructure development in the Philippines.
Road & Highway Corridor Survey
Mobile and aerial LiDAR capture of complete road corridor geometry — alignment, cross-sections, pavement surface, drainage structures, and roadside assets — for road widening, rehabilitation, and new highway design.
Railway Corridor Mapping
Mobile and aerial LiDAR survey of railway corridors — track alignment, clearance profiles, lineside structures, drainage conditions, and adjacent land use — for new line design and existing network maintenance.
Tunnel Survey & Deformation Monitoring
Terrestrial LiDAR 3D documentation of tunnel geometry — lining profiles, clearance measurements, and deformation monitoring — for structural assessment and maintenance planning.
Port & Airport Infrastructure Survey
Aerial and terrestrial LiDAR for port and airport facility mapping — runway profiles, apron geometry, quay wall surveys, and dredging volume calculation for maritime and aviation infrastructure.
Bridge As-Built & Structural Survey
Terrestrial LiDAR 3D documentation of bridge structures — deck geometry, pier dimensions, bearing positions, and clearances — for structural assessment, load rating, widening design, and rehabilitation planning.
Road Inventory & Asset Management
Mobile LiDAR inventory of road assets — pavement surface, drainage inlets, culverts, signage, guardrails, utility poles, and road markings — for asset registry development and maintenance prioritization.
New Road Alignment & Earthworks Design
Aerial LiDAR terrain models of proposed road corridors for alignment optimization, cut-and-fill volume calculation, drainage design, and construction cost estimation.
Post-Construction As-Built Verification
LiDAR comparison of completed works against design drawings — quantifying deviations, documenting variations, and producing a complete as-built record for project closeout and future maintenance.
What Our Clients Get:
3D Colorised Point Cloud Data
A point cloud data containing millions of precisely located points overlaid with orthophoto RGB creating a realistic 3D city model.
PROJECT SPOTLIGHT
As part of the government's ongoing push to expand rail infrastructure and ease Metro Manila's traffic congestion, AB Surveying and Development was engaged to survey proposed train route alignments using Aerial LiDAR Scanning with the RIEGL VUX-1LR. The aerial approach allowed ABSD to cover the proposed alignments significantly faster than conventional ground survey methods — without compromising survey accuracy.
The LiDAR data was processed into as-built maps and subsequently used for parcellary surveying to identify encroachments along the proposed alignment — a critical step in right-of-way acquisition and project development that directly supports the government's goal of making rail the primary mode of mass public transportation in the Philippines.
Our Services
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We were amazed at how fast AB Surveying and Development's LiDAR mapping was as compared to conventional surveying methods.
With approximately 1,000 hectares of land area, the Kiangan, Ifugao project site was accurately generated as a topographic map and was very useful for the planning and design of the proposed Hucab Mini Hydro Electric Plant. The team was very accommodating and helpful in every step of the way, and they almost eliminated the need for physical site inspection because of their attention to detail!
Highly recommended to all our industry peers!
Patrick Talibon, Business Line Manager, Pacific Tech Solutions, Inc.