From Deterioration to Innovation: Document Civil Infrastructure with LiDAR 
Tang Hongyi  Pierce Reynoldson

CHONGQING ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN INSTITUTE CO., LTD. Chongqing, 400015;

Abstract：New York City’s Infrastructure needs help. It is old, deteriorating, and misunderstood. NYC has some of the oldest modern infrastructure in the world, like the subway system which opened in 1904, and the Catskill Aqueduct, which started delivering water in 1915. Even the newer additions are not that new, the newest wastewater resource recovery facility (WRRF) was constructed over 40 years ago. NYC’s infrastructure is also one of the busiest, currently serving almost 19M people. For over a century, NYC has built, renovated, and maintained this modern marvel, unfortunately the documentation has not kept up and, like the infrastructure itself, needs an upgrade.Fundamental to maintaining infrastructure is understanding the existing condition, but the documentation tends to be correspondingly old and incomplete. The Wards Island WRRF contract drawings were decades-old and inaccurate due to inconsistent tracking of upgrades, but it was not for lack of trying. Keeping documentation up to date is difficult and expensive. First, it traditionally relies on labor intensive manual drawing. Second, it relies on manual onsite methods, typically under adverse conditions. Besides, projects like the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway (itself over 70 years old) require partial road closures to access manholes, all while serving 120,000 passenger cars per day[1]This is where LiDAR (laser imaging, detection and ranging) can be uniquely effective, which can capture the existing condition easily and cost effectively. It enables engineers to comprehend the infrastructure at a high detail level. This article discusses the business use case for LiDAR technology in civil infrastructure rehabilitation and rebuild projects.

Keyword：Reality capture；Infrastructure Management；LiDar

Reference

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