Civil engineers are important to our countries design and build processes. Much of the world that we rely on, including roads, building structures, and commercial systems, come from the experience and knowledge of civil engineering firms. While civil engineering services span across many industries and serve a wide variety of purposes, these are some of the most common services that you can expect from a civil engineering company.
Plan and build brand new cities
Think about everything important structure that makes your city work. You rely on the roads to get from your house to the local store. You rely on the public water system to have fresh, clean water running into your house. A brand new city requires many structures, designs, and planning. It requires specialized services such as lidar surveying and photogrammetry services. The type of land needs to be surveyed to ensure that buildings can successfully be built.
Improvement to current resources and structures
As technology and research advances, so do preferred build techniques. Buildings are constantly being improved for increased safety and functionality. Geotechnical design firms are an important part of these updates. The water system is one particular resource that often receives updates. It is also expected to be one of the most needed updates in the coming years. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that drinking water utilities will have to invest $334.8 billion over the next 20 years to address their deteriorating infrastructure needs. Many of the countries water systems are failing and many more are expected to fail, over the next few years.
Improved design and safety of bridges
A large percentage of the planet is made up of water. Without bridges, we would not have the ability to go from one location to another, especially by motor vehicle. Bridges also require careful design and safety considerations. Additionally, many of the country?s current bridges were built many years ago and will require improvements over the next couple of years. This will require lidar surveying and photogrammetry services of geotechnical engineering firms. In most applications, lidar surveying and photogrammetry is the process by which two or more dimensional (2D) images are translated into three dimensional (3D) measurements or models. It typically involves analyzing and comparing 2D photographs and is an important tool in improving current bridges.
Development of new roadways
New roadways may be developed in new cities or existing roads may need to be improved or widened. The U.S. is constantly upgrading its roadways for better efficiency. With the use of civil engineering firms and techniques like lidar surveying and photogrammetry services, the U.S. roadways have come a long way since they were initially designed. Inspired by the network of high speed roads he saw in Germany during World War II, Dwight D. Eisenhower championed the passing of the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956. The law funded the first 41,000 miles of paved glory that made up the early U.S. interstate system, which now boasts 46,876 miles and runs through all 50 states. However, this long roadway also means that there are many miles to improve and update regularly.
Civil engineers play an important role in our society. They utilize their design and build knowledge to create functional roadways and bridges. They also solve necessary problems such as how to get clean and fresh water into different cities. Over the next couple of years, the advanced technological services of civil engineers will become even more important as many of the existing structures of society require updates and improvements.