Eagle Point releases LandSketch for Highways route design software

Eagle Point Software Corporation has announced the release of its second product in the LandSketch series. LandSketch for Highways provides those responsible for highway transportation planning with route layout and selection tools. Intelligent alignment and profile tools are combined with the ability to visualize and report on GIS data, giving immediate feedback as to the effects and feasibility of multiple design alternatives.

With support for Google Earth, LandXML, and Shape files, the software allows designers to begin their preliminary designs by using numerous forms of electronic data. Once these existing features are established, highway segments including basic horizontal, vertical and cross-sectional elements are simply sketched on the basemap complete with catchlines and proposed right-of-way. From here, multiple what if scenarios can quickly be scrutinized by utilizing built-in reports that immediately quantify environmental impacts, area takes, and rough earthwork volumes.

By eliminating the data conversion bottleneck that occurs between CAD and GIS for each alternative, engineers and planners can focus more of their time collaborating on the most cost effective and least impacting design. Once satisfied with the preliminary design, users can transfer the data digitally to their engineering design software, such as AutoCAD Civil 3D, to begin developing detailed engineering plans.

“While meeting with engineering firms and government agencies during the application’s development, it was quickly confirmed that LandSketch could dramatically reduce the time they spend laying out highway alignments and analyzing the impacts of their designs,” explains Steve Biver, civil product line manager at Eagle Point. “To be able to construct the preliminary design elements and consider the environmental impacts for multiple alternatives in one system, organizations will save days if not weeks in the route creation and selection process.”
 

7 August 2009