Several factors this year impacted the progress towards completing the Wisconsin Height Modernization Program (WI-HMP), most notably, the departure of the WI-HMP Program Manager and the necessity for a statewide vertical adjustment. However, at the time of this writing, WisDOT is interviewing candidates and expects to have a new Program Manager onboard in the coming weeks.
WisDOT is currently working with the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) and a consulting firm to perform a statewide adjustment of Wisconsin’s vertical control network. Under NGS’s recommendation, it was determined that a statewide adjustment of all WI-HMP orthometric heights was necessary to ensure continuity with the surrounding states and the Great Lakes Region. This statewide adjustment was required prior to Wisconsin’s orthometric heights being included in the new Geoid model (GEOID12), which is being released in conjunction with the NA2011 Horizontal Adjustment.
WisDOT expects to get the data for phases 6B, 7A, 7B, 8A to NGS by the end of February. These phases along with existing published stations in the passive network will be adjusted and published in the new NA2011 adjustment anticipated for release by the end of March. Users can access the published WI-HMP stations through our online application, ControlFinder or from the NGS Web site .
Work continues in the remaining three phases (7C, 8, and 8B) but at a slow pace. Phase 7C will be surveyed this spring, Phase 8 is in development, and Phase 8B is monumented but not surveyed.
Additional information about the WI-HMP can be found on our Web site or for specific questions about the passive network contact Diane Arendt at WisDOT.
WISCORS
Currently, the Wisconsin Continuously Operating Reference Stations (WISCORS) Network consists of 44 CORS stations. In addition, 22 new CORS stations have been built, but are not yet in production. To enable expansion of the network, WisDOT is migrating to a new IT infrastructure. WisDOT hopes to complete the migration, performance testing, and implementation of an improved web interface by spring 2012.
Fourteen new CORS stations are required to complete statewide development of the active network. Half of these remaining CORS stations will be built during the 2012 construction season and brought into production by the following spring. The construction effort is planned to start in western part of the state and then proceed to the north. After the completion of the WisDOT constructed sites, some CORS stations along the state border constructed by neighboring agencies will be incorporated into the WISCORS network.
WisDOT has decided not to charge users for access to the WISCORS network until after development statewide is complete. To access the CORS stations in the active network, users can use ControlFinder or go to WisDOT’s Web site.
Additional information about WISCORS can be found on our Web site or for specific questions about the active network contact Elliot Smith at WisDOT.