2012 Excellence in Infrastructure Awards - Autodesk Excellence in ...

2012 Excellence in Infrastructure
41
ISL Engineering & Land Services
City of Edmonton, North Light Rail Transit
Edmonton, Alberta
As part of its sustainable urban planning, the City of Edmonton is expanding its
Light Rail Transit (LRT) service and ISL Engineering & Land Services is part of a
multi-disciplinary team completing the detailed design for the first segment of
the project: a 3.3-kilometer extension of the city’s existing northern line. The
extension passes through a dense part of the city that includes an intricate network
of buildings, roadways, and utilities.
ISL used AutoCAD ® , AutoCAD ® Civil 3D ® ,
and Autodesk ® 3ds Max ® Design software
to create 3D renderings and animations
used throughout project development for
improved design communication. Initial
project visualizations helped various
stakeholders and the general public better
understand the project, encouraging early
input and support. The team also used
animations and renderings to help present
the preliminary engineering design
concepts to city officials and other groups
for approval. The complex 3D model
used to create the visualizations
included every aspect of the surface
work including tracks, roads, pedestrian
facilities, crossings, architecture,
landscaping, and utilities, as well as
surrounding urban infrastructure. The
models also helped the team collaboratively
identify and resolve design
conflicts during technical design and
in integration meetings, helping to
save both time and budget.
China Railway Eryuan
Engineering Group
Chengdu-Guiyang Railway Passenger Line
Sichuan, China
China’s Sichuan province is planning the expansion of its existing railway infrastructure,
including a new passenger line from Chengdu to Guiyang, winding through the
mountainous terrain of southwestern China. The main line will extend 520 kilometers
through 14 bridges and 180 tunnels. The combined length of these bridges and
tunnels represent 78% of the entire line.
China Railway Eryuan Engineering Group
used AutoCAD ® Map 3D, AutoCAD ®
Civil 3D ® , Autodesk ® 3ds Max ® Design,
Autodesk ® Navisworks ® Manage, and
Autodesk ® Revit ® products to complete
their design of this complicated railway in
just six months—half the time a project
of this scale would normally take. The
team used dynamic 3D modeling to
automatically adjust the design of
the railway’s subgrade and surface
features as the line traversed the
difficult topography of the area.
This helped the designers analyze and
balance earthwork volumes, improve
their efficiency, and increase the
quality of the design.
2012 Excellence in Infrastructure
Infrastructure
42