HIGHWAY PROJECT PLANNING BETWEEN CHUTMALPUR AND HARDWAR USING REMOTELY SENSED DATA

Abstract

Highway project some times present complex problems at each stage of the woriv. The success of. a highway. project ultimately lies in providing facilities for the movement of all types of traffic with safety comfort and ease in the most efficient manner. It is evident that 'for each stage a large amount of information and data about traffic, topography and land use/ cover soil conditions, ground levels and obligatory points are required. In the past these data were being obtained by the ground survey methods, which were not only time consuming but expensive tooA Since early 601's these conventional methods have gra — gually been replaced by use of aerial photographs and later on in late 70's by analysis of satellite imagery and other remotly sensed data. These new methods have been found to be quite effective especially for the preliminary survey stage of the highway projects. The purpose of the present study was to align a-highway route between Chutmalpur and Hardwar in U.P. state, as at present there is no direct road link between the two towns for large traffic from Haryana, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to Hardwar via Saharanpur and Chutmalpur. This would also connect all the townships and major villages enroute. The study area comprised of about 2615 sq.kms in areal extent, situated between the latitudes 29°45'' to 300151N and longitude 77°301 to 78°30 to A part of the study area was also studied from aerial phOtographs grid toposheets The various remote sensing and other data products including (i) Band 5, imagery of LANOCAT —1,2 and 4 of April 1972, 1977 and 1984 respectively at scale of 1:250,0004 (ii) aerial photographs of 1977 at scale 1:50,000 and (iii) topographic sheets'542 53 .16, 53 i3 and 53 -t , were used to study slope, landuse/cover of the area and locate various alternate alignments. These routes were selecte4 taking into consideration all the requirement of a route lccation, which are essential for a route viz, short, easy, she and economical.* After examining the aerial photographs and LANDSAT imagery interpretation a limited field visit of the area was Also made along thq best proposed alignment to collect relevant ground truth. Tha cost analysis for highway alignment in the study area was also carried out and 'estimated to be about Rs. 355/— per Dn, which is only 2.26 percent of the conventional expenditure for such work by ground survey methods'