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3D VISUALIZATION OF HIGHWAY CORRIDORS: THE I-77/81 CASE STUDY NEAR WYTHEVILLE, VA.
Pramod Reddy Thota

Thesis submitted to the faculty of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering

Dr. Randel L. Dymond Dr. Ronald D. Kriz Dr. Ray D. Pethel

May 7th, 2002 Blacksburg, VA, U.S.A Keywords: 3D, 4D, Visualization, Animation, Highway Corridor, I-77, I-81

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3D VISUALIZATION OF HIGHWAY CORRIDORS: THE I-77/81 CASE STUDY NEAR WYTHEVILLE, VA.

Pramod Reddy Thota (ABSTRACT)

The application of Visualization and Simulation technologies to intuitively depict, analyze and execute transportation projects is gaining moment um, as advances in 3Dimension (3D) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) technologies are rapidly progressing and there is an increased need for public acceptance of transportation projects.

This thesis presents a visualization process framework that is applicable to highway corridor visualization, and the I-77/81 Relocation Study Visualization project is discussed along the lines of the visualization framework that has been developed. The changes in the roadway alignment and associated traffic volume and pattern changes will affect the town of Wytheville, both in terms of economy and community development. The goal of the project is to present these visualizations at public participation meetings. Visualizations that have been developed in 2D, 3D, 4D, and virtual reality, will be discussed along with their developmental life cycles and issues affecting their quality.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank the organizations and people who were involved with the I-77/81 Relocation project for providing the necessary assistance whenever I needed. The Virginia Department of Transportation and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute deserve special mention for the support they have provided.

I am especially grateful to my major...