During the construction process, a highway construction survey can ensure that progress is occurring as it should, and that the highway is located precisely where it should be.

After the highway is built, a highway survey can be used to provide an accurate layout of roadways, utilities, storm drainage systems, overhead wires, nearby buildings, and other features of the landscape.

A construction surveyor is often involved in the placement process for the highway. This requires a survey of the existing terrain to find the best route. Highway construction surveys are particularly concerned with areas where dirt must be moved, noting to what level and grade.

Often the goal of this survey is to determine the appropriate route where the least amount of land will need to be moved. An engineer can use the survey data to determine where the dirt should be moved to reduce the total amount of dirt relocation.

Not only do surveyors determine how the land must be prepared before the highway can be constructed, but they also assist engineers in the mapping of optimal routes.

This includes grading (slopes), curves and the creation of tunnels or other features along the highway route. It is necessary to understand the geographic restrictions and the layout of an area before attempting to determine the best route for placement of the highway.

Because of the natural landscape, the presence existing buildings and other features, few highways are able to run perfectly straight along their entire length. One of a surveyor’s many jobs during highway construction is to aid in the mapping of this route.

The most challenging part of highway planning is often the necessity of bridges or tunnels. Surveyors provide input on their location, and also monitor the highway construction process to ensure that they are located correctly.

Once the dirt has been graded and leveled, a surveyor will again survey the area to ensure that the land has been correctly prepared according to the plans. Before the advent of GPS technology, this involved the use of surveying stakes to mark the road edges.

Today, GPS has eliminated this process, making it much easier to ensure that the road is aligned with the plans. Once the grading and leveling have been verified by the surveyor, construction begins.

After the road is built, additional surveys may be required for a wide variety of reasons, including road repair or maintenance. Highway surveys are also used during the process of accident reconstruction and investigations.

The process of taking road measurements to construct a survey once required closing of the entire road so that the surveying team could set up equipment on the road’s surface.

Today, specialized laser equipment allows this to be done from the roadside, virtually eliminating the need for road or lane closures. The highly accurate data delivered by these systems allows for the creation of detailed 3D maps showing not only the roadway, but also barriers, overhead wires and other features.

MYTH 1: Land Surveys Aren’t Necessary If You Can Find The Survey Stakes.

If you located the survey stakes from a previous survey, all you know is that there was a previous surveyor who might have determined that this location was on the edge of the property; that doesn’t mean the survey is accurate, or that you’ve actually found your property line. A professional land surveyor can tell you if what you’ve found is really your property line; you may be surprised to learn that in many cases, what you think is a surveying monument may not be one at all. Plus, your findings wouldn’t hold up in court, while a licensed land surveyor’s would.
 

MYTH 2: It’s Very Rare For A Neighbor To Encroach Over A Property Line.

It’s more common than you think; land surveyors see these types of issues. Don’t be so sure that you aren’t encroaching onto property that legally belongs to your neighbor, or that they aren’t technically doing the same with your property. When in doubt, hire a land surveyor to mark the exact property line.
 

MYTH 3: I Can Build My Fence On The Property Line Without A Survey.

Even when you’re sure you’re building only on your land, it’s always wise to protect your investment by making sure that you know exactly where the property lines are. If it turns out that you have built onto a neighboring property, you may be forced to tear down your work. Think twice before building a fence right on the property line, even if you think know right where it is.
 

MYTH 4: The Fence Has To Be My Property Line; It’s Been There A Hundred Years.

The reality is, the older the fence, the more likely it is to be encroaching, simply because survey records weren’t as accurate a hundred years ago as they are today. Fences, especially those built decades ago, are only an approximation of where the property line is or was thought to be. Again, don’t assume: hire a land surveyor to be sure.
 

MYTH 5: All The Land Has Already Been Surveyed; It’s Just A Matter Of Finding The Survey.

Although you may be able to find old maps created for tax purposes, in many cases the land you own might have never been surveyed. Additionally, if you do find a previous survey from decades ago, there’s no guarantee it was accurate at the time, nor will it necessarily help solve your issue or assist you in identifying the actual property lines on the ground.
 

MYTH 6: I Don’t Need A Second Survey If The Land Was Surveyed In The Past.

Land surveying is an art, not an exact science. It is possible for two surveyors to obtain different results. Also, because the measurements are made based on the evidence found, two surveyors working at different points in time may not have the same evidence available. The new surveyor will have the benefit of the monuments set by the previous surveyor, if they are still in existence, as well as any records documented after the previous survey. If the previous survey’s results are being questioned, it may be worth it to have another survey done.
 

MYTH 7: Having A Survey Done Is Too Expensive.

Actually, not having a survey done when you really need one can cost you thousands of dollars, down the road, especially if you build a structure that encroaches on a neighbor’s land. Is it worth the risk? This professional service is well worth the cost.
 
Call Liggie Surveys, Inc. and have your property surveyed before installing a fence or other structure that could impact the property line.

The reason for this is that most professionals in the past worked concurrently at several different professions, such as military careers, exploration, surveying and politics (at least three U.S. presidents were at one time land surveyors). Let’s look at a few of the more notable surveyors through history.

George Washington

Did you know that George Washington was at one time a land surveyor? In 1749, at the age of 17, young Washington was appointed as the Surveyor General in Virginia.

In that year, the English colony of Virginia planned to promote expansion by offering land speculators a thousand acres for every family they could convince to move west. Washington wasn’t just our first President; he became the first Registered County Surveyor in America.

Benjamin Banneker

Benjamin Banneker, a self-taught African-American mathematician and surveyor, was appointed in 1789 by President George Washington to survey the area which would become Washington D.C.

The project to survey the national capital was completed between 1791 and 1793. Like many land surveyors of this time, Banneker also enjoyed several other vocational pursuits, including clock making, astronomy and publishing an almanac.

Thomas Jefferson

Another of our Founding Fathers, Thomas Jefferson, was appointed County Surveyor for Albermarle County in Virginia in 1773. As Secretary of State under George Washington, and later as our 3rd President, his appointment of surveyors gave the young nation the direction to promote the settlement of the frontier.

One of his Jefferson’s most famous acts as President was to organize the Lewis & Clark Expedition to explore and survey the vast expanse of land acquired from France in 1803, known as the Louisiana Purchase.

From 1804 to 1806, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark explored and mapped the area with considerable accuracy for the time period, allowing for the western expansion of the United States.

Other famous land surveyors

There are, of course, other examples. Daniel Boone, another historical figure famed for his pioneering and exploration, was a land surveyor whose primary efforts occurred in Kentucky to resolve settlers’ claims to land titles.

British explorer Captain James Cook not only sailed into every ocean, but he also surveyed the lands he found along the way. The surveying efforts of Charles Mason and Jeremiah Dixon survive in the “Mason-Dixon Line”, the boundary which once delineated the “slave states” from the “free states” prior to the Civil War, and which is still identified today as the unofficial boundary between the South from the North.

And at the beginning of his political career, a young Abraham Lincoln was working as a land surveyor when he was first elected to the Illinois legislature—the third famous land surveyor on our list to go on to become a U.S. President.

Having to process data from a survey conducted with older technology can take up valuable time and resources that don’t need to be utilized anymore.

Using Real Time Kinematic (RTK) for construction staking is effective, and allows for real-time information and positioning so that the surveys and stake placement can be as accurate as conventional land surveying and done in less time.

RTK basically focuses on utilizing actual information at the time of survey based on GPS information, rather than analyzing and processing the data after a survey.

Why Use RTK?

RTK for construction staking is becoming increasingly popular among surveyors because it allows for improved accuracy, faster survey times and quicker return to the builder for continuation of the building project in question.

Construction staking is a critical part of the building process because it helps to identify everything from land grades and utilities to positioning for corners, structure walls, and other parts of the building as per the site survey.

Having a building constructed in the exact right place on a parcel of land is critical, which is where construction staking comes in handy.

There are many professional surveyors already using RTK for construction staking, and it is likely only a matter of time before all survey professionals rely on this method for their surveying needs.

As technology evolves in our industry, the tools and methods we use evolve with it, making the survey process more efficient, more accurate and less time-consuming.

RTK surveying tools and processes allow for fewer professionals to do more work with better results.

How RTK Works

In practice, RTK systems can currently be integrated with conventional or robotic total stations to allow the surveyor even more options during construction staking.

RTK systems use a single base station receiver and a number of mobile units. The base station re-broadcasts the phase of the carrier that it measured, and the mobile units compare their own phase measurements with the ones received from the base station.

There are several ways to transmit a correction signal from base station to mobile station. The most popular way to achieve real-time, low-cost signal transmission is to use a radio modem, typically in the UHF band.

In most countries, certain frequencies are allocated specifically for RTK purposes. Most land survey equipment has a built-in UHF band radio modem as a standard option.

This process allows the units to calculate their relative position within millimeters, although their absolute position is accurate only to the same accuracy as the position of the base station.

The typical nominal accuracy for these dual-frequency systems is 1 centimeter ± 2 parts-per-million (ppm) horizontally and 2 centimeters ± 2 ppm vertically.

Using RTK for construction staking does rely on the availability and accuracy of GPS satellites and receivers.

Overhead coverage such as trees and buildings can interfere with these signals, which is something that professional surveyors have to check for before they can get started on the surveying process.

However, there are usually software programs included with surveying equipment that make it easy to predict satellite locations and availability to ensure that RTK staking can be used at a particular site during a particular time or day.

Real-time staking saves time, energy, and manpower resources in the professional surveying world, allowing more work to get done with accurate results and fewer man hours used. During a time when surveyors are in short supply, this is an asset that many cannot afford to live without.

Many times a homeowner or fencing contractor will say they “found the pins” and don’t need a professional to help out. In some cases this is fine, but as you can see in this picture it can lead to major problem and possible lawsuits.

This fence was installed without the benefit of a land survey. The wood stakes with pink flagging mark the actual property line.

The fence encroached 6 feet in the front and 22′ in the back unto the neighboring property. Not only is the fence over the property line the wooden play set is encroaching too.

The owner said, “I thought I knew where the pins were and the fence installation crew agreed with me.” Unfortunately neither party was correct and a land survey would have saved this homeowner a lot of time, money, trouble and head-aches.

Don’t put yourself in this situation. Call Liggie Surveys, Inc. and have your property surveyed before installing a fence or other structure that could impact the property line.