The focus of highway development in this decade and into the next century will be on renovation and improvement within existing corridors. In major urban centers, the need to upgrade the transportation infrastructure to increase capacity is meeting substantial resistance from residential and business interests adjacent to these corridors. In many cases, this resistance is a function of differences of opinion about the effect of these improvements on adjacent properites. These differences of opinion arise because of an inability to clearly communicate the character and nature of these proposed developements to the public. In the past decade, a new set of tools has been developed which provide a means of depicting provide a means of depicting these proposed changes with accuracy and realism. Collectively known as visualization, these technologies provide new ways of designing and communicating highway modifications. These technologies are based on the traditional media of still photography and video. Combined with realistic imaging and three-dimensional animation from the discipline of computer graphics, new highway elements can be accurately placed within an existing context. In this manner, complex alinements can be verified, differences in visibility and access can be evaluated, and aesthetic issues resolved - all viewed from the driver's perspective. The Texas Transportation Institute (TTI), Environmental Management Program, has been working with the Texas Department of Transportation's (TxDOT) major urban districts to develop visualization technologies that facilitate the design and communication of highway projects. Preliminary results indicate major advantages of visualization over traditional means of design and communication. (A)
Abstract