The city of Los Angeles embarked on a $15 billion capital improvement program modernizing airport terminals, increasing capacity, and improving operational safety. A significant project, the $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), included intermodal transportation facilities, a consolidated car rental facility and an elevated Automated People Mover on rail. A Design/Build contracting method was selected. Project managers wanted to reduce utility risks on the project during preliminary design and prior to Best and Final Offers. A decision was made to perform Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) studies and develop BIM.
The SUE firm used GEO.works to store collected 3D SUE data in a database. GEO.works has a unique and powerful Merge tool for comparing and merging features and attributes of utility records and field data from multiple sources. Users view attributes for a point feature or line segment and drag and drop those which best represent the current state. Merged data represent the best information available about a utility line.
Utility data were exported directly from GEO.works into Autodesk Civil 3D and Navisworks and converted to CAD format and a 3D model. The 3D model was used for design reviews, utility coordination, clash detection, and BIM. The 3D model was key to avoiding utilities during design of structure foundations along the two-mile elevated rail alignment, and the Intermodal Transportation Facility, West Phase I. 3D utility modeling helped contractors understand the detailed efforts LAWA undertook to reduce construction risks. BIM benefits were realized during construction and for operations.
