3DEP for Transportation

The road and bridge system is an important part of surface topography, occupying about 1.5% of the landscape, and providing connectivity for road travel throughout the nation. Description of this Transportation Theme is a part of a 3D topographic map in which the elevation component is derived from LIDAR point cloud data and raster Digital Elevation Models. The USGS 3DEP program is the repository for the national LIDAR data. The 3DEP Subcommittee of the National Geospatial Advisory Committee is an oversight committee for the 3DEP program. ngac-assessment-of-the-3d-elevation-program-june.pdf

FHWA Webinar

On 26 March 2025, the Federal Highway Administration held a webinar with presentations arising from the work of the 3DEP Subcommittee:

USGS 3DEP by Jason Stoker

Building Road and Bridge Elevation Models using 3DEP Data by David Maidment

Use of lidar data at NC Department of Transportation by Matt Lauffer

Updates to The Louisiana Statewide Topographic Mapping Program by Jeremy Penton

The recording of the webinar can be found at: https://usdot.zoomgov.com/rec/share/OmlqDdTmj0yA2sWKQzNZkc_j1B0sbIx4Z4KbrjZ565PlMhbevBQNJZTocGh4BF59.iAWY8h58HRXwf5vg?startTime=1743008403000

To obtain the passcode to access this webinar, please contact maidment@utexas.edu