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A major road upgrade and alignment project in Western Australia

High-Accuracy Road Alignment Surveys WA

Road alignment and civil construction surveys for the Bunbury region and south-west Western Australia.

Road Alignment Surveys Across South-West WA

From our WA office at 1/435 Vincent Street West, West Leederville, HR Surveyors delivers high-accuracy road alignment surveys for the Bunbury region, Busselton, Dunsborough and the wider south-west. Whether it is a Main Roads WA corridor, a council road upgrade or a subdivision access road, we capture the corridor accurately the first time so design, set-out and handover all run on the same datum.

Our survey crews are based in Perth and regularly mobilise south, backed by the same national teams and equipment that support our broader engineering surveying services.

What a Road Alignment Survey Covers

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Existing Corridor Capture

The full existing corridor is captured before design: centreline, road edges, kerb lines, footpaths, drainage, driveways, services and adjacent ground. Field capture is combined with drone photogrammetry and LiDAR on longer corridors, then verified on the ground so nothing the design team relies on is missing.

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Cross-Sections & Long-Sections

Cross-sections are measured at the chainage spacing the design or authority requires, extending far enough each side to capture cut and fill limits. The long-section is produced from the same dataset, so grades, drainage falls and design tie-in all come from one consistent survey.

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Centreline & Design Tie-In

The road centreline is established from the design coordinates and tied to the survey control network, so every element — kerbs, drainage, levels, intersections — is positioned relative to a single, adjusted datum that carries from design through construction to handover.

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Main Roads WA Compliance

For works on the state road network, survey deliverables are produced to Main Roads WA standards: control network accuracy, cross-section spacing, survey specification and as-constructed data in the formats Main Roads expects. For local roads we match the responsible council's requirements.

Accuracy Specification

Control Network

Adjusted GNSS and total station network on MGA2020/AHD71, verified by independent observations.

±2-5 mm

Corridor Capture

Surface, centreline and cross-sections relative to control, with independent check points on every job.

±10-20 mm

Set-Out & Machine Control

Centreline, kerb and drainage set-out and machine control models for construction phase.

±5-10 mm

Bunbury & South-West Projects

The south-west carries a mix of corridor work: Main Roads WA highways and bypasses, council road upgrades in Bunbury, Busselton and Capel, subdivision access roads across the growing Peel and South West growth areas, and access roads for the region's industrial and port facilities. All of it starts the same way — with an accurate survey of the existing corridor — and all of it finishes with set-out and as-constructed data the contractor and authority can rely on.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does a road alignment survey cover?
A road alignment survey captures everything the design team needs about an existing corridor: the centreline, road edges, kerb lines, drainage, services, adjacent property and natural ground. We produce cross-sections at the nominated chainages, long-sections, and a digital terrain model of the corridor, all tied to a control network on MGA2020/AHD71.
What is the difference between a road survey and a cadastral survey?
A road alignment survey is an engineering survey: it measures the physical corridor — surfaces, grades, drainage, services — for design and construction. A cadastral survey defines the legal boundary of the road reserve. The two complement each other: we reference the road reserve boundary from the cadastral record, then survey the ground within it.
What accuracy do you achieve on road alignment surveys?
Control networks are established to ±2-5 mm. Surface, centreline and cross-section capture typically lands at ±10-20 mm horizontally and vertically relative to control, which is what design and construction tolerance for rural and suburban roads. Machine control and set-out grades go tighter, at ±5-10 mm, and every deliverable is verified with independent check points.
Do you work to Main Roads WA requirements?
Yes. For projects on the Main Roads WA network, survey work follows Main Roads WA's standards for control networks, cross-section spacing, survey accuracy and as-constructed deliverables, including its CAD and data handover formats. For local government roads we work to each council's requirements.
Which areas of WA do you cover for road surveys?
Our WA office in Perth services the whole south-west: Bunbury, Busselton, Dunsborough, Margaret River, Capel, Collie and Harvey, plus regional work across the state for infrastructure and mining projects. See our WA office page for full coverage.
When is the survey done — before or after design?
Both. The pre-design survey captures the existing corridor as the base for design. During construction, set-out places the design on the ground and machine control models drive earthworks. After construction, as-constructed surveys document what was built for handover. The same control network carries through all phases.
How long does a road alignment survey take?
A 2 km corridor survey with cross-sections and a control network is typically completed in a few days of field work, with deliverables following shortly after. Larger corridors with heavy vegetation may need drone capture plus ground verification. We confirm a schedule after a site visit.
Can you combine drone and ground survey on road projects?
Yes, and on longer corridors it is the standard approach. A drone captures the corridor surface, terrain and imagery quickly, while ground survey teams establish control, verify accuracy and pick up detail the drone cannot see — under trees, in drains and at service covers. The two datasets are merged on the same datum.

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