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Remote Sensing and GIS Applications in Highway Designing
Case Studies
1 Flood Damage of the Panagarh - Moregram ADB road during the September 2000 devastating flood in West Bengal, India: The ADB road is an important connectivity between NH-2 and NH-34 covering a distance of 150 Km. and passes across two major rivers of South Bengal namely Ajay and Mayurakshi. These rivers are characterized by a number of abandoned spill channels. It may be mentioned that flash flooding is a common phenomenon in the Ajoy River, which is also having a number of flood time spill channels and generally used as cropland now a days. The ADB Highway is passing over such a spill channel in and around Satkahania - Basudha area, Barddhaman district, West Bengal, India (Chakrabarti, Choudhury et.al. 2002). In this site only humes pipe are given as water pass way based on sparse information (cf Akinyedi, 1990) without giving insight to the factual data regarding the monsoonal activity of the spill channel. However multi-seasonal Remote Sensing data (IRS 1D, LISS III) reveals the presence of this loop channel (Photo 1a) locally known as Bidya River with its branch off point at Satkahania presently blocked by the embankment. During the September 2000 flood with breaches in the embankment at Satkahania point and rejuvenation of the aforesaid spill channel the road was damaged severely (Photo 1b) as the constructed water pass way was insufficient to accommodate the flood time flow - here lies the importance of terrain analysis with usage of Remote sensing data; some box culvert / small bridge may be constructed for avoiding such predicament. 2 Protection of Super Strada from Landslides in Southern Italy: In Armento, Policoro province, Southern Italy the "Super Strada" (Super Expressway) passes through the Mediterranean schist phyllite and marl clay hills or 'Calinchi' prone to landslides. Detailed mapping using aerial photo and Remote Sensing data with field survey lead to the positioning of a number of "via ducts / check dams" (Photo 2 a,b,) as well as guard walls (Photo 2c) in the area to protect the "Super Strada" from damage due to frequent landslides. (Verstappen, 1988) Conclusion Comparative analysis of the case studies indicates the significance of Remote Sensing data for landform and drainage pattern analysis for safety of infrastructural designs in the planning stage itself. Usage of Remote Sensing and GIS technologies may be considered as the essential prerequisite for careful physical spatial planning to make optimum use of the roads as communication links for all seasons as a great amount of money are invested in planning and construction activities of the roads. Appropriate integration of different spatio-thematic information with aspatial data in GIS environment demand human resources development for handling and processing of the database of multidisciplinary nature to conclude on user orientation. References
The authors express their sincere thanks to Mr. Shankar Bose, Executive Director, CES (I) Pvt. Ltd., for according permission to present the paper. However, the views expressed in this paper are primarily of authors own and not necessarily of the organization to which they belong. Our sincere thanks to Dr. P. Chakrabarti, Principal Scientist, DST & NES, Govt. of West Bengal for his continuous guidance and appropriate suggestions for preparation of this paper. 
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