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Category: Civil Engineering

LandTechNews/BlogCivil Engineering

Roadway Design

Of all the different types of projects, most people are familiar with roadway construction. You can’t drive a significant distance on Interstate 40 through East Tennessee or Knoxville without passing through some sort of roadway construction project. Civil engineers have a significant role in the roadway design process.

State highway projects involve the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT). The TDOT roadway design guidelines can be found on their website here: http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/Chief_Engineer/assistant_engineer_design/design/designstandardsmenu.htm

Local roadway projects are designed under local design guidelines. For example, in the City of Knoxville, civil engineers would use design criteria outlined in the City of Knoxville Land Development Manual, found on their website here: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/ldmanual/KnoxvilleLDM.pdf

Many land development projects require new roadways to access their site. LandTech’s design staff will work with state and local government roadway officials to provide the necessary roadway design elements for your project, including intersection location on existing roads, sight distance measurements, horizontal and vertical alignment layout, pavement sections, and stormwater runoff controls.

For more information about LandTech, visit our website: http://landtechco.com/home

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering 0 Comments

Site Layout Planning and Design for Land Development

The LandTech land surveying and civil engineering design team works with our clients to define project needs and objectives as an initial step in the land development design process. Project objectives could include a required building area, parking space needs, and street advertising signs, just to name a few.

A review of the local zoning ordinances is an important element of the site layout planning and design process. The Knoxville-Knox County Metropolitan Planning Commission website is a good resource for zoning regulation information; see their website here: http://www.knoxmpc.org/zoning/zonhome.htm.

For a project in Knox County, Tennessee we would refer to their specific zoning ordinance here: http://archive.knoxmpc.org/zoning/KnoxCounty.pdf.

The zoning ordinance describes different zones, or the “part or parts of Knox County for which the regulations relating to the use of land and buildings are uniform.” Examples of Zones include General Residential Zone (RB), Office Park Zone (OA), and Industrial (I).

Requirements for development in the RB zone include building setback distances for front yards (35-feet), side yards (8-feet for single story dwellings) and rear yards (25-feet for buildings less than three stories).

There is a wealth of information in the zoning ordinance documents, such as off street parking requirements, sign and advertising structures, and descriptions of administrative review processes.

If you have any questions about local zoning ordinance requirements in the locality for your project, please call or contact us using our website http://landtechco.com/contact_us.

For more information bout LandTech Engineering & Surveying, please visit www.landtechco.com.

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Knoxville, Land Surveying 0 Comments

What is Erosion Control?

Land development design plans prepared by LandTech’s civil engineer primarily indicates the final site features to be installed, such as parking lots, sidewalks, and roads. However, there’s an important part of the design plan drawing set that’s not a final site feature, but is only implemented during the construction phase of the project……erosion and sediment control.

According to the Tennessee Department of Environment & Conservation (TDEC) :

“Construction activities near streams, rivers, and lakes have the potential to cause water pollution and stream degradation if erosion and sediment controls are not properly installed and maintained. In order to effectively reduce erosion and sedimentation impacts, Best Management Practices (BMP’s) must be designed, installed, and maintained during land disturbing activities.”

TDEC publishes an “Erosion & Sediment Control Handbook” used by developers, engineers, and contractors for the proper design, installation and maintenance of erosion control practices. The handbook can be downloaded in pdf format here:

http://www.tnepsc.org/TDEC_EandS_Handbook_2012_Edition4/TDEC%20EandS%20Handbook%204th%20Edition.pdf

Some localities may have additional erosion control requirements. For example, the City of Knoxville Stormwater Engineering Department publishes the “Knoxville BMP Manual” with guidance on preparing erosion control plans in their jurisdiction. The BMP manual can be downloaded in pdf format here:

http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/bmp_manual/knoxvilleBMP.pdf

We’d love to discuss any questions you have about erosion control. Feel free to call us, or contact us on our website at: http://landtechco.com/contact_us

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development 0 Comments

Land Surveying: the critical first step in civil engineering design

There’s a famous equation you may have heard of…..”garbage in = garbage out”.

This certainly holds true for civil engineering and land development designs. The critical first step in the design process is a quality land survey.

Land surveying involves making measurements of features on land, both horizontal and vertical measurements, for the production of maps (called topographic maps) or plats (boundary maps) used by civil engineers for land development design projects. Features typically measured include property corners, pavement outlines, curbs, sidewalks, buildings, utilities, and ground surface elevations.

LandTech uses the latest, most advanced equipment and technology, in our land surveying services, including:

  • Infrared and laser measuring devices;
  • Digital and robotic surveying equipment;
  • Wireless communications and data transmission;
  • Global positioning satellite systems (GPS);
  • Computer-assisted drafting and design (CADD); and
  • Advanced electromagnetic pipe and cable locators

Samples of surveying mapping prepared by LandTech in the Knoxville and East Tennessee region can be found on our website: http://landtechco.com/services/samples_of_our_work

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Surveying 0 Comments

So what’s the difference between civil engineering and land development design?

I guess the best way to differentiate these two topics:

  • Civil engineering is a subset of the entire engineering profession, such as electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering, aerospace engineering, etc.
  • Where land development design is a subset of civil engineering, such as geotechnical, environmental, water resources, etc.

A good overview of the tasks involved in civil engineering land development design is described in the City of Knoxville Engineering Department’s Land Development Manual here: http://www.cityofknoxville.org/engineering/ldmanual/KnoxvilleLDM.pdf

LandTech offers land development design services for residential, commercial, and industrial projects. Land development designs will typically include topographic / property boundary land surveys and mapping, erosion and sediment control, site layout planning and design, roadway plan and profiles, grading plans, stormwater management, domestic water and sanitary sewer utilities, Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) and associated permits, and layout for construction.

For more information about our land development design services, call or contact us using our company website: http://landtechco.com/contact_us

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Land Development 0 Comments

LandTech Announces Civil Engineering Services in Knoxville and East Tennessee Region

We’re happy to announce as of July 2013 LandTech is offering civil engineering design as part of our professional services, and we’re excited about serving the land development community in the Knoxville and East Tennessee region.

Our civil engineering design services will include Land Development Design, Land Surveys and Mapping, Erosion and Sediment Control, Site Layout Planning and Design, Roadway Plan and Profiles, Grading Plans, Stormwater Management, Domestic Water and Sanitary Sewer Utilities, and Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plans (SWPPP) and Associated Permits.

In future blog posts, we’ll describe our civil engineering design services in more detail.

If you’re planning a land development project in the Knoxville or East Tennessee region and need civil engineering design services, or if you have questions about our professional service offerings, we are happy to discuss your project and ways we can help you. Here is the contact link from our company website: http://www.landtechco.com/contact_us.

Jay Lewis Civil Engineering, Knox County, Knoxville, LandTech News, Uncategorized 0 Comments