MAPPING ROADWAY DRAINAGE DITCHES USING MOBILE LIDAR

Abstract. Roadside ditches serve an important role for draining storm water. Over time vegetation growth, natural sediment deposits, and other debris can change grade of ditches. Effectively monitoring and identifying these changes to prioritize ditch maintenance is important from both a pavement preservation perspective and prevention of localized flooding. This study evaluates the performance of two mobile LiDAR systems for mapping the cross-section of roadside ditches in the presence of vegetation. The geometric quality of data collected by two different wheel-based LiDAR systems were investigated. The mapped ditches were reported and visualized in 2D images as well as 3D point clouds. The cross-sections of man-made drainage ditches were extracted and the quality of mapped ditches was assessed against Real-Time Kinematic Global Navigation Satellite Systems (RTK-GNSS) survey. The overall point cloud accuracy was 4 cm for the medium-grade system, and 1 cm for the high-grade system. The mapping accuracy is 2 cm (medium-grade system) and 1 cm (high-grade system) for solid surface. For rough mowed areas and areas with significant vegetation, the vertical accuracy was found to be 7 cm and 11 cm, respectively, for both wheel-based systems.