Error Assessment of Procedures for National Spatial Reference System Alignment of Highway Construction Surveying Projects

Highway construction surveying is facing an important transition as the industry prepares for modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). The modernized NSRS, announced by the National Geodetic Survey, is scheduled for implementation in 2026. The new system will introduce geocentric and time-dependent terrestrial reference frames, replacing reliance on static datums such as NAD 83. For highway construction, this change is significant because many projects will need to reconcile existing designs based on NAD 83 (2011) and NAVD 88 with the modernized NSRS. Traditional site calibration tools may introduce additional discrepancies during this transition, particularly where control points are insufficient, poorly distributed, or affected by positional uncertainty. Errors in construction surveying can propagate through multiple phases of a project and may lead to rework, delays, disputes, and safety concerns. To mitigate these risks and ensure the integrity of highway construction projects, research is needed to identify and minimize potential errors so the highway construction industry can better prepare for the transition to the modernized NSRS and ensure the continued accuracy and efficiency of infrastructure development. This research will ultimately safeguard the significant public investment in national transportation networks and support the establishment of accurate project control in an evolving geodetic landscape. The objective of this research is to quantify and compare the errors induced by common best-fit coordinate transformation procedures, such as site calibration or localization, against least-squares transforms and other more rigorous workflows. The research will establish guidelines for selecting the optimal coordinate transformation procedures for highway construction surveying within the modernized NSRS framework.

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=6051
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $700,000.00
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 15-92

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590
• Project Managers:

  Li, Zhiye

• Start Date: 20260608
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Calibration; Errors; Information processing; Road construction; Surveying
• Identifier Terms: National Spatial Reference System
• Subject Areas: Construction; Data and Information Technology; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01992139
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 15-92
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: Jun 9 2026 12:53PM