Client: Donegal County Council
Location: Donegal Town to Ballybofey, Co. Donegal
Project Length: 30 km Corridor
Services Provided: Conventional Topographical Survey (Land Survey), Mobile Mapping & UAV Orthophotography
The Barnesmore Gap Greenway project required a comprehensive topographical survey (land survey) along a 30 km corridor from Donegal Town to Ballybofey. The route traversed a diverse landscape, including agricultural land, urban areas, forestry, and complex road infrastructure. The land survey outputs were required to support feasibility, design development, and planning of the proposed greenway.
The Challenge
Delivering a continuous, high-quality topographical dataset over such a long and varied corridor presented several challenges:
Our Approach
A hybrid survey methodology was deployed to ensure efficiency, accuracy, and full corridor coverage:
Mobile Mapping:
All public roads within the corridor were surveyed using mobile mapping technology, enabling rapid capture of road geometry, assets, and surrounding features with minimal disruption to traffic.
Conventional Topographical Survey (Land Survey):
Off-road areas, including agricultural lands and watercourses, were surveyed using conventional GNSS and total station methods to capture terrain, boundaries, and hydrological features.
UAV Survey:
A full-length UAV survey was undertaken to produce a high-resolution orthophoto mosaic of the entire route, providing visual context and supporting mapping and design activities.
Key Deliverables
Accuracy & Quality Control
All survey data was captured, processed, and quality-controlled in accordance with project specifications to ensure reliable design-ready outputs.
Results & Impact
The land survey provided a continuous and consistent spatial dataset across the entire 30 km corridor, forming the baseline for greenway design and planning.
The hybrid methodology ensured efficient data capture while maintaining high accuracy across varied terrain and land-use types, enabling the client to progress to the next design stage with confidence
