Could mathematics be the key to saving millions of dollars on new road designs?
According to a team of computer scientists, engineers, mathematicians and statisticians at UBC’s Okanagan campus, a new tool that replaces the manual process with math could be a significant cost saver when it comes to road construction.
The new tool is a user- friendly computer program that reduces construction costs in the initial stages of road planning by using science and mathematics to determine where the road will be built.
“Currently, when a road is planned, engineers first look at a satellite view of the potential road site, then consider the horizontal and vertical alignment, examine corridor alternatives, and at the same time keep in mind safety and regulation constraints,” said UBC Okanagan School of Engineering Assoc. Prof Solomon Tesfamariam.
“This design is often not optimal and increases the cost of the client.”
The UBC Okanagan team of consisting of faculty members and students teamed up with private corporation, Softree Technical System Inc., and were awarded a five-year $480,000 grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council to develop the program. The goal is to design a tool that will save road engineers time and money during the early stages of road planning.
“Road construction is an expensive endeavor and can cost as much as $20 million per kilometer for highways and $1 million per kilometer for forestry roads,” said director of UBC’s Centre for Optimization Convex Analysis and Nonsmooth Analysis, Prof. Eves Lucet.
“Reducing road construction costs may play a major role in controlling future budgets and maintaining quality of life, both in Canada and in other developed countries.”
Softree has previously designed an automatic alignment tool named Softree Optimal. The latest grant aims to continue the development of that tool using expertise from UBC Okanagan. Not only does the latest project use brain power from science and math faculties at the university, it also allows for training opportunities for students.
“The research is a great example of technology transfer that is a win for everyone,” said Lucet.
“Researchers generate new results on challenging practical problems, students receive funding to build in-demand skills and tackle real-world problems and the company gets an advantage by implementing cutting-edge techniques to deliver a product that is in demand and is ahead of the competition.”
The team from UBC Okanagan hopes the grant will help develop the technology so that the cost of road development remains low all while minimizing environmental impact.
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