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 This
book is suitable for the first undergraduate course in construction
surveying offered by the college or university. This book was
written due to the lack of a suitable textbook in print to guide
student study. Many existing textbooks on the subject of construction
surveying are unsuitable due to their emphasis on elementary surveying
or the lack of mathematical development of important concepts.
The first chapter is perhaps the most important as it covers
coordinate geometry. It will facilitate the ability to perform
survey computations with pencil and calculator. This chapter details
the survey operations of the forward, inverse, line-line intersection,
line-circle intersection, and circle-circle intersection. The
subject of computation error is explored with a discussion of
round-off error, the translation of large coordinates, the arbitrary
nature of the sine law, and strength of figure.
Chapters Two through Nine cover the subjects of route alignment,
horizontal circular curves, spiral curves, vertical curves, vertical
curve fitting, route design elements, cross-sections and volumes,
and slope staking. Chapters Five and Six on vertical curves present
the relationships of the elevation, grade, and rate of change
curves. These relationships can be used to facilitate vertical
curve fitting.
Chapter Ten treats construction control from the perspective
of the requirement for a geodetic tie and the use of the Global
Positioning System (GPS).
Chapter Eleven provides new material on large-scale topographic
survey design. The focus is on the needs of the field crew in
conducting site surveys for the production of precise large-scale
topographic maps.
This book has been used to teach the construction surveying course
at Troy University since 2003, and is now the standard for the
four year degree program for the State of Nevada at Great Basin
College in Elko, Nevada.
Dr. James A. Elithorp earned a Ph.D. in Geomatics Engineering (1999) and a Masters of Science in Surveying Engineering (1996) from Purdue University; the Bachelors of Science in Surveying (1994) from the Oregon Institute of Technology; the Masters Public Administration (1980) from California State University, Sacramento, and the Bachelor of Arts in Government (1970) from Sacramento State College.
Dr. Elithorp became interested in the study of geomatics as the owner's representative on a hydroelectric plant construction project in eastern Oregon. He worked for the Alaska State Office of the Bureau of Land Management participating in the provision of cadastral surveys in the Alaskan bush. He worked for the Western Region of the Federal Highway Administration doing route surveys for highway construction. Dr. Elithorp taught geomatics courses at Purdue University for a year before accepting the challenge of building the four year Geomatics degree program for the State of Alabama at Troy University. In August 2005, Dr. Elithorp began the challenge of building the four year degree program for the State of Nevada based on a distance learning model.
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