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  • Hero_MRB-Live-Cube-BI-370_002

    Alabama Department of Transportation

    The Mobile River Bridge Project

    Mobile, Alabama, United States
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Project Summary

Project

The I-10 Mobile River Bridge spans the Mobile River near downtown Mobile, Alabama, with a minimum vertical clearance height of 215 feet, making it the second highest clearance bridge in the United States. The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) used Bentley’s visualization and reality modeling software, LumenRT, to deliver real-time, immersive visualizations for the crucial public involvement meetings.

Solution

ALDOT had already completed still renderings, photo-matches, and animations to be used at the public involvement meetings, but the project team wanted a more visually compelling way to communicate with stakeholders. LumenRT gave ALDOT the ability to ask the public where they wanted to go in the project, then take them there virtually in an immersive LiveCube. This enabled ALDOT to share the model within the context of a realistic digital environment.

Outcome

The LiveCubes were especially useful in selling the project and generating buy-in, because the public could interact with the 3D model in an experiential way. Once completed, the project will increase the capacity of I-10 to meet existing and predicted future traffic volumes in the Mobile area and provide a more direct route for vehicles transporting hazardous materials while minimizing impacts to Mobile’s maritime industry.

Software

LumenRT enlivened the project model with attention-grabbing visuals. The project team used the software to render cinematic quality in real time, animate models, incorporate digital nature, and share the visualizations using LiveCubes. The interactive 3D visualizations of the bridge and surrounding area were generated using a variety of input sources and models, including MicroStation, Esri CityEngine, and Trimble’s SketchUp along with Altair’s VisSim and MicroStation traffic vehicle animations.
Outcome/Facts
  • ALDOT will continue to use LumenRT to communicate high-priority projects and gain buy-in from stakeholders in the state’s economic development initiatives.
  • With an air draft clearance of 215 feet, the Mobile River Bridge is second after San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge in vertical clearance.
  • The project increases the capacity of I-10 by constructing a new six-lane bridge over the Mobile River and widening the existing I-10 bridge from four to eight lanes across Mobile Bay.
Quote:

  • “LumenRT is a great visual assessment and communication tool that is very easy to use and creates realistic LiveCubes that can be used to sell, or generate 'buy-in' for, ALDOT’s projects. With LumenRT, we were able to quickly generate composite interactive 3D visualizations of the bridge and surrounding area using a variety of input sources and models.”

    J.D. D’Arville GIS administrator Alabama Department of Transportation