1. 20 NEW CIVIL ENGINEER 18.11.10 | www.nce.co.ukPLANT: ROUTE PLANNING EQUIPMENTSavings of up toXxxxxxxx xxxx: xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx25% in the cost ofxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxbuilding a new roadcan be achieved bygetting the routeoptimisation right.Margo Cole reportson positioningtechnology firmTrimbles latestoffering.Fixed link: The Quantm system helps designers work out the optimum alignments for roads or railway linesRoute plannerTrimble has launched a portation during planning of its than enough for most bypass fixed you can just do verticaldesktop version of itsI-69 corridor project. But, whileand road improvement schemes optimisation.successful Quantm align-the pricing scheme is viable for in the UK, according to Trimble The software can also be usedment planning systemmassive projects like these, itQuantm channel manager for during value engineering on aafter two years of development. puts the system out of reach ofEurope Bill Lazaris. road project, as the operator canThe new tool on sale in the UKmany consultants, who tend to The software just like itsadd construction criteria such asand Ireland through surveying invest only if mandated by their more powerful sibling allows the location of material sourcesequipment specialist Korec is clients. the designer to enter the startalong the alignment, or adjustaimed at consulting engineers. ItIt is this market that Trimbleand end points of a new road the vertical geometry to ensure acan be used to identify the bestnow hopes to tap into with the and all the factors that might cut and fill balance is achieved.horizontal and vertical align-desktop version, which is sold asaffect the horizontal and verticalWhile the system can tell youment for small road schemes.standalone software that runsalignment, including groundthe cheapest option for any new The original version enables on the users own PC. Unlike the conditions, existing buildings,road, Lazaris is keen to empha-users to find the optimum service version, the new softwareno-go areas (eg SSSIs), powersise that Quantm should be seenvertical and horizontal align-is only designed for road align- lines, rivers and topography.as a decision-making tool notment for major road and railments, and the firm is aiming at You can also choose the type ofa replacement for engineeringschemes, or to compare optionsconsultants who design small materials to be used in the road judgement. The cheapest routeand identify which would be the schemes such as bypasses.construction and the design of is not necessarily the best, hecheapest to build. The processing power of the the pavement, as well as yoursays. Design is an iterative It has been used on projects average PC is not sufficient topreferred construction methodprocess its not just aboutover 1,000km long.do the massive computationsfor road, rail and river crossings.putting a line on a map. Access to the complex algo-that enable 1,000km of route to Costs can be entered for However, Quantms speedrithms that compare thousands be analysed in just 10 minutes.all of these parameters, and allows designers to reach a deci-of potential alignments is sold Instead, the desktop version isQuantm then works out thesion on which routes to focus onas a service, with users buying able to look at a 20km x 20kmmost cost effective options forfar earlier than they do at thea licence that enables them toarea in any single study more the alignment and displays moment.send their information to thethem all visually, with all the Lazaris also envisages theQuantm server for computation. costs broken down. Its purposesystem will have great potentialThe licence price is calculated as is to catch everything in oneduring public consultation,a function of the length of the Lazaris is keen to system, says Lazaris. At the because designers and high-proposed scheme.emphasise that moment designers can come up ways authorities will be able to This has been immenselyQuantm should be with a route, but the costs aredemonstrate the relative cost ofpopular with owners andon a separate spreadsheet, so its each proposed route, and alsopromoters of major infra- seen as a decision quite a task to compare the cost show that they have consideredstructure projects around the making tool, not of different routes.the various stakeholder interestsworld, including the Portuguese It can be used either to startin reaching their decision. Theygovernment, which has beena replacementfrom scratch on a greenfield sitewould also be able to respondusing it for route optimisa-for engineeringor to compare different align- very quickly to any stakeholderstion on the Lisbon-Madrid judgementments within a pre-existingwho suggest an alternative routehigh speed rail project, and the route corridor. Or, says Lazaris,during the consultation or plan-Louisiana department of trans- if the horizontal alignment isning stages.