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Staff member says drones speed interim inspections and tunnel mapping; in-house team now active
Summary
A staff member said drones let crews quickly check concerns without closing roads, can be used for tunnel mapping and LiDAR surveys, and that the agency now has five trained drone pilots, replacing some consultant work.
The staff member explained that drones provide an efficient option for interim inspections and can prevent the need to shut roads for a closer look. "But for the interim inspections, just to look if we had a concern, it's much more efficient to send a drone there than to shut the road down and get people up there and actually go and look," the speaker said.
The speaker added that drones are also useful for mapping tunnels and conducting LiDAR surveys. They noted the organization used outside consultants in the past for such work but now has "5 trained qualified drone pilots and we have drones," which the speaker said gives staff flexibility to deploy equipment quickly when concerns arise.
