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Visualization for Right-of-Way Acquisition

Table of Contents

• Executive Summary
• 1. INTRODUCTION
  • 1.1 Background
  • 1.2 Purpose and Methodology
• 2. WHAT IS ROW ACQUISITION AND VISUALIZATION?
  • 2.1 ROW Acquisition
  • 2.2 Visualization
  • 2.3 Potential Uses of Visualization in Transportation Project Delivery
• 3. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS
  • 3.1 State DOTs Using Visualization for ROW Acquisition
    • 3.1.1 State DOT ROW practitioners have been introduced to visualization in several ways
    • 3.1.2 A broad range of visualization techniques have been used for ROW acquisition
    • 3.1.3 Benefits of using visualization for ROW acquisition generally outweighed the costs.
      • 3.1.3.1 Better communication of project impacts to property owners and other stakeholders
      • 3.1.3.2 Potential reduction in the amount of land to be acquired
      • 3.1.3.3 Potential lawsuit prevention, reduced court costs, and reduced damages
      • 3.1.3.4 Fewer errors and better project coordination
      • 3.1.3.5 Potential to amortize cost across several disciplines
  • 3.2 Why Using Visualization for ROW Acquisition is Not More Widespread
    • 3.2.1 Visualization uses are unconventional in ROW acquisition
    • 3.2.2. Perception that visualizations are costly to produce or only useful for complex projects
    • 3.3.3 Lack of internal resources to develop and display visualizations
    • 3.3.4 A concern that visualizations might not look exactly like the actual project
• 4. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Sources Consulted and Literature Review
• APPENDICES
  • A. Stakeholder Contacts
  • B. Phone Discussion Guide
  • C. Additional Resources
  • D. Example Property Owner Feedback Survey
  • E. AASHTO Survey on Visualization for ROW Acqusition
  • F. Example Specifications and Deliverables for a Visualization Scope of Work
  • G. Caltrans GIS Marketing Documents

List of Figures

• Figure 1. Potential uses for visualization throughout the transportation project delivery process
• Figure 2. Traditional Visualization: 2-D Graphic and 2-D Overlay
• Figure 3. Advanced Visualization: 2-D Graphic with a 3-D Overlay
• Figure 4. Advanced Visualization: 3-D Image or Video
• Figure 5. Advanced Visualization: 4-D Video
• Figure 6. Map of planned ROW acquisition overlaid on aerial imagery of Chicago O'Hare International Airport
• Figure 7. Caltrans Google Earth images that show aerial images, parcel boundaries, and properties
• Figure 8. Halff Associates Inc. images show roadway configurations, driveways, buildings, and access
• Figure 9. Two-dimensional aerial visualization of existing and proposed overpass conditions

List of Tables

• Table 1. Examples of traditional and advanced visualization techniques
• Table 2. Example visualization software programs
• Table 3. Approximate relative costs and development time frames for traditional and advanced visualizations.

List of Acronyms

2-D

Two-dimensional

3-D

Three-dimensional

4-D

Four-dimensional

AASHTO

American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

ADOT

Arizona Department of Transportation

CAD

Computer-aided design

Caltrans

California Department of Transportation

DOTs

Departments of Transportation

FDOT

Florida Department of Transportation

FHWA

Federal Highway Administration

GIS

Geographic Information Systems

GT

Genesee Transportation Council

IT

Information Technology

MPOs

Metropolitan planning organizations

Mn/DOT

Minnesota Department of Transportation

MoDOT

Missouri Department of Transportation

NCDOT

North Carolina Department of Transportation

NCHRP

Construction Sciences Research Foundation

NEPA

National Environmental Policy Act

NIST

The National Institute of Standards and Technology

NYSDOT

New York State Department of Transportation

ODOT

Ohio Department of Transportation

PDG

Project Development Guide

ROW

Right-of-way

SAFETEA-LU

Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users

SHPO

State Historic Preservation Office

TRS

Transportation Research Services, Inc.

The Uniform Act

The Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970

VTrans

Vermont Agency of Transportation

WYDOT

Wyoming Department of Transportation

Executive Summary

The use of visualization technologies and techniques by State Departments of Transportation (DOTs), especially for public involvement purposes, is well-documented. A 2006 Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) scan of transportation agencies, however, showed that visualization use during the right-of-way (ROW) acquisition process of transportation project delivery is not as common, despite the potential benefits. This report identifies some of the reasons, while exploring how select state DOTs have applied, or are applying, visualization to facilitate ROW acquisition. The study synthesizes and presents the findings from a literature review, as well as a series of phone discussions with stakeholders who expressed interest in using visualization technologies to enhance the ROW acquisition process. It is expected that transportation officials will use this information to improve and facilitate their own transportation ROW acquisition processes and outcomes.

Key findings include:

• The ways that ROW practitioners at state DOTs are introduced to visualization varies, leading to (1) a broad range of visualization techniques used, (2) differences in terminology, and (3) varying  levels of awareness about visualization opportunities among disciplines.
• ROW practitioners who have incorporated visualization into the ROW acquisition process have experienced a number of benefits that have generally outweighed the costs associated with developing the visualization presentations. Some of the frequently expressed benefits are:
  • Better communication with property owners and other stakeholders about project impacts, thus potentially lowering condemnation rates;
  • Reduced acreage of land to be acquired; and,
  • Potential cost savings through reduced litigation and associated condemnation fees or damages.
• Use of visualization for ROW acquisition has likely not been as widespread as in other stages of transportation project delivery because:
  • Historically, ROW practitioners have had limited awareness of visualization's potential uses in the ROW acquisition process;
  • Visualizations have been perceived as costly to produce or only useful for complex projects;
  • Some state DOTs lack the internal resources (staffing, funding, or hardware/software) to develop and display visualizations; and,
  • There are concerns that visualization presentations might not exactly replicate the look of the actual project, thus potentially damaging public perception.

In addition to these findings, the project team learned about cost saving methods for ROW staff to expand use of visualization during ROW acquisition. The following recommendations, which are among several others reported in Section 4, are intended to help ROW staff overcome barriers to visualization use, and ultimately better identify and capitalize on opportunities.

• Develop an understanding of what "visualization" can mean in the ROW acquisition context and then market the various techniques within ROW offices.
• Spread the cost of visualization development among the various disciplines of transportation project development.
• Make laptop computers and media software available for mobile use in the field, when possible.
• Create a standard method for gathering feedback on, and evaluating the benefits of, using visualization for ROW acquisition to help strengthen the case for its use.