Caltrans will be conducting some high-tech surveying this weekend in southern Santa Barbara County, which will ultimately allow the public to better visualize changes slated for a long-congested stretch of Highway 101.
It’s called mobile terrestrial laser scanning, and involves a white Caltrans-emblazoned SUV moving down the highway gathering data about the environment around it from various cameras and scanners.
The system also allows survey work to be conducted without putting highway workers at risk.
Nick Tatarian, Caltrans senior surveyor, described a vehicle similar to the Google vehicle that takes images at street view.
The Caltrans vehicle takes videos in front, back and both sides as it’s driving, he said, with scanners and cameras taking in information on all sides.
“Think of it as a Google-mobile on steroids,” he said.
That’s because it’s collecting data from 360 degrees at a higher amount of accuracy, so detailed it can even detect pavement elevations.
The vehicle moves at 30 mph, and records data as it moves.
The area of highway Caltrans will be gathering data from spans from Linden and Casitas in Carpinteria to Milpas Street.
The purpose of the scan is to created “a point cloud,” a set of data that will map everything in the area, including signs, trees and highway guard rails.
The data will be used for different applications, including to make a simulation of what the current conditions are like now, and what the highway will look like after the Highway 101 HOV widening project is completed.
Tatarian anticipates that the information will be available by the end of September, and will be delivered to the Santa Barbara County Association of Governments, which will use the data for its purposes.
The organization commissioned the gathering of the information from the state agency.
“It’s cutting edge technology,” he said, adding that there a handful of people in the country who do the type of work that will be taking place this weekend.
The machine alone cost $1 million.
The scan will take place on Saturday, Aug. 22, and Sunday, Aug. 23, from 7 to 9 a.m.
On Saturday, there will be a rolling 30 mph closure of northbound Highway 101 from Bailard Avenue to North Padaro Lane and southbound from the truck parking area north of Evans Avenue to South of Linden Avenue, the agency said.
On Sunday, there will be a rolling 30 mph closure of northbound Highway 101 from North Padaro Lane to Cabrillo Boulevard, and southbound from Milpas Street to North Padaro Lane.
Traffic will be allowed to pass through the area Caltrans is surveying, but “we’re not going to let anyone pass us,” Tatarian said.
They’ll drive about four or five miles in one lane and then exit, letting cars drive through before moving to the next lane, he said.
Each round should only slow traffic in that area to about 30 mmph for about 12 minutes each time.
“We’re not expecting big back-ups behind us,” Tatarian said, adding that the agency is aiming to be done by the time traffic usually picks up, around 9 a.m.
The only thing that may impact the project is the fog, which could delay the project as the vehicle’s cameras must have enough light to process the data.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at lcooper@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
