The following excerpt was taken from pages 1-2 of the 1996 Oregon Department of Transportation Highway Design Manual.

Before a control traverse is run in the field, careful planning and research must be done. The county surveyor's office contains a wealth of knowledge about existing monumentation along the course of the project i.e., public land survey corners, property corners, GPS monuments, etc. Roadway Engineering in Salem, Oregon has on file all of the right of way maps, transit notes and as-constructed plans. For help with general orientation of a project, a 7.5 minute or 15 minute quad sheet is helpful. The quad sheet will also show section corners that have been found or reset, to assist with your field search.

With the above information in hand, some careful planning about the project is the next step. Identify what will be used for the control of this project i.e., NGS or NOAA control monuments, new GPS control points, existing right of way monuments or random traverse points with solar observation for basis of bearing.

Identify which public land survey corners will be tied on the project. No less than 2 corners per township will be tied unless it is determined that there is insufficient monumentation along the project to meet this requirement. Public land survey corners will be tied on each end of the project.

Cadastral Survey

Acquisition of land for highway right of way requires a cadastral survey to establish existing property lines and to establish and monument new boundaries. This work must be done in compliance with the laws of the State of Oregon....

Topographical Survey