PROJECT EXPERIENCE:
Fairfax County Parkway Comprehensive Photogrammetric Location Survey
Location: FAIRFAX COUNTY, VA

Project Background: The Fairfax County Parkway is a secondary state highway (SR7100) that serves as a north-south commuter route with interchanges, and signalized and unsignalized intersections. The first segment of the roadway opened in 1987; the most recent segment was completed in 2001, and the last piece at the south end is currently underway. From US 50 to Franklin Farm Road, the parkway curves northwest to reach the Outer Beltway right-of-way and then a straight path is followed until Baron Cameron Avenue. After crossing the Dulles Access Road (SR267), SR 7100 follows the east border of the Town of Herndon.

Work Performed: Parsons Transportation Group, Inc. retained Rice Associates to perform a ground supplemented low level helicopter and fixed wing mapping location survey of the Fairfax County Parkway. The corridor runs from the north side of the US Route 50 Bridge to the north side Dulles Toll Road bridge ramps plus connectors totaling approximately seven miles.

The result of this survey project was an accurate depiction of all physical and topographic features, including storm and sanitary as-built information and control monumentation throughout the entire project corridor. The assignment also included a bridge situation survey and extensive mapping of intersecting roads.

Rice Associates utilized low level helicopter mapping to ensure high accuracy vertical elevations on the pavement surface were captured and to ensure the safety of the traveling public. Painted targets were placed on the pedestrian walkways and along the outer edges of the shoulder to keep personnel out of the travel way.

Conventional three wire levels, GPS, and conventional horizontal traverses were run between the low level panel points. Fixed wing aerial and conventional mapping were utilized to capture "outside of pavement" locations of the visible physical features in the aerial photographs. This project required the collection of the rights-of-way and property information, storm and sanitary sewer data, and annotation of the physical above ground features which included:

• Rights-of-Way: 144,598lf
• Property Parcels: 808
• Storm Structures: 774
• Sanitary Structures: 235

This project was divided into six phases with periodic deliverables at the end of each phase that allowed the engineers to work on the design while the remainder of the field survey was ongoing. The project was delivered on time and within budget.