Alignment Analysis Meeting

I'm on my way down to the Arizona Dept. of Transportation State Headquarters to have an Alignment Analysis meeting on the US-95 Yuma survey. After calculating the geometrical center-line of the highway, we do a presentation to ADOT explaining what we found in the survey and where we decided to put the center-line. The center-line is the single most important element of highway location. Almost all real estate acquisition done by the State of Arizona for highway purposes is based on the geographical location of the center-line. Subsequently, the rest of the survey is based on this one element being correct. This is the second project where I put together the center-line and will have presented it.

Project Log: US-95 Yuma - Quartzsite

In November of last year we began the largest project I've ever been involved with. We surveyed a 40 mile portion of US-95 between Yuma and Quartzsite, running through the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground. Working in the proving grounds was an experience in itself. The Yuma proving Ground is where the U.S. Army tests their missiles, mortars, tanks, humvees, remote control aircraft, and Airborne sky divers. The constant sound of explosions echoing through the valley was plenty entertaining each day.





We began the survey by taking day-long GPS readings on major control points throughout the valley and establishing positional control along the highway. While monitoring one of these sessions sitting atop a small mountain, two F-16 fighters flew overhead and dropped missiles on a target in the valley below me. I've never witnessed such a sight. The plumes of dust rose thousands of feet in the air.




Over the course of the next couple of months, we measured all of the highway survey monuments along the route as well as the section corners for each section the highway ran through. When surveying, you find something unique on each site and for each season. For example, we came across Pincushion Cacti that happened to be fruiting. This is the first time I have found them with fruit, and we ate every one we could find!




Now that we have gathered all of our measurements, I am analyzing the data to determine exactly where the property lines of the road are. This process takes meticulous attention to slight variations in the geometry as well as considering the ownership of the adjacent land. Over the course of the next few weeks I will meet with the Arizona Department of Transportation Right of Way Group to discuss our findings and make the final decisions as to how we will represent those findings on our Results Of Survey maps.


Google Earth Lat/Long: 33° 6'28.01"N, 114°17'10.55"W

SMT Launch

Having gotten the opportunity to spend the last 8 years traveling, hiking, and surveying remote areas all over Arizona, I've decided to blog my adventures as I continue to pursue a career in Land Surveying. Here's the back story; On 9/11/2001, after spending the day glued to the t.v. watching the Twin Towers, I received a call notifying me that the Chinese food restaurant I worked for in Flagstaff, AZ, had burned down. As a result, I took a temporary position with Northland Exploration Surveys. Spending the day out in the woods was definitely my idea of a great job. So I stayed on for four years, learning every aspect I could about Land Surveying. My wife and I decided to move to Phoenix to be close to family and start one of our own. My bosses at N.E.S. hooked me up with their friend in Phoenix, who is my current employer and has been for over 5 years. Here at GMTS Corp., we specialize in State Highway Right of Way Surveys. In simple terms, we draw maps of the land Arizona owns for its highways. As you can imagine, the geographic spread of our work is enormous and the terrain extremely diverse. In this blog, I will recap memories/stories of past projects, post updates of current projects, and share my thoughts of the Surveying profession.




























Photos: Me taking a GPS measurement on a stone section corner (c.1917) 2 miles North of the Mexican border in the Altar Valley. This was during a survey of Arizona State Route 286 in August 2006, Near the town of Sasabe, AZ.


Google Earth Lat/Long: 31°29'17.39"N, 111°32'32.61"W

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