Optimization of Road Alignment Design

In the road construction process, a civil engineer commonly uses software to outline the horizontal and vertical road alignment on a topographical map. The software then calculates the amount of earth that needs to be excavated, or filled, at certain points of the alignment as well as pavement costs, land costs and other expenses. Softree, the partner company, provides such software. There is currently no commercial software that offers the user an automated optimization of the alignment based on the total cost. Current research has focused on optimizing either the horizontal or the vertical alignment. The few studies that investigate the optimization of both alignments simultaneously, do not guarantee optimal solutions. We will study a new model to optimize both alignments with algorithms that will provide better results than existing solutions. The result will be an optimization prototype that can be implemented directly into Softree's software.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Yves Lucet

Student:

Valentin Koch

Partner:

Softree Technical Systems Inc.

Discipline:

Mathematics

Sector:

Automotive and transportation

University:

University of British Columbia