Golden Triangle PDD in Mississippi is Using State-of-the-Art GIS Mapping to Support Transportation

The Golden Triangle Planning and Development District has utilized a state-of-the-art mobile mapping system to map all of Choctaw County, Mississippi, with more county mapping in progress.

Acquired through an Appalachian Regional Commission grant, the GTPDD Mapping and GIS team’s Trimble MX50 mobile mapping system uses light detection and ranging to measure distances for mapping.

Using light in the form of lasers, the Trimble MX50, attached to a truck, can measure 2 million object points per second while traveling at speeds up to 75 mph and collecting 20 gigabytes of 3D mapping data per mile. The system can extract features such as power poles, street signs, address points, curbs and gutters, power lines, slopes of roads and more.

The Trimble MX50 also uses a Ladybug-oriented imagery camera to create 360-degree panoramic images of roads. The system maps at an accuracy of 1 centimeter, while the lasers map at 1 millimeter. From the lidar data, the team created 1-, 2- and 3-foot contour lines in about 15 minutes.

Using this advanced mapping system, the GTPDD is helping its seven counties with highway assets, utility assets, city assets, accurate ground models, engineering profiles and cross-sections, road surface information, addressing and more.

The GTPDD’s adoption of this high-precision, cutting-edge mapping technology is a significant aid to infrastructure planning and asset management across all of its counties, paving the way for smarter regional planning.