Aurora, CO USA – Merrick & Company, a world leader in LIDAR, digital ortho imaging, photogrammetry and GIS mapping was awarded a $231,000 contract by the Brownsville Public Utilities Board (BPUB) (Brownsville, Texas) to provide color aerial photography at a scale of 1”=600’ for 198 square miles and LIDAR collection for 58 square miles in their utility service area that is experiencing growth. Using both the new and previously collected LIDAR, Merrick will also deliver updated planimetric data and digital orthophotography at a .5-foot pixel resolution for the entire area. The aerial photography was flown in February 2006 by Merrick’s Texas subcontractor Aerial Viewpoint, Inc. (Spring, TX). Survey ground control was established by Aranda & Associates, Inc. (McAllen, TX), another Texas subcontractor. Data will be delivered incrementally over several months. Final delivery of all data and associated products is scheduled for August 2006 for use in BPUB’s Geographic Information System.

According to Michael Elam, BPUB’s GIS Manager, “Merrick offered us the best combination of a quality product and competitive price.”

Gary Outlaw, Merrick’s Vice President of Business Development, GeoSpatial Solutions states, “Merrick provided the first aerial photography and LIDAR collection for BPUB in 2002. We are pleased to continue our support as they use this data to provide and manage services for their customer base and community.”

Major issues in the region include planning and design for growth that requires new or updated infrastructure such as highway, street, pavement maintenance, buildings, electric, water, wastewater services, etc. On average, the local growth experienced by the utility is three to seven new subdivisions each month. In addition, other local agencies and businesses use the data for their own operations. Elam concludes, “The new and updated data in combination with our technology implementation and optimization allows BPUB to continue to provide quality utility services to our customers at a competitive price.”

Visit BPUB’s website online at www.brownsville-pub.com.

About Merrick & Company

Founded in Denver in 1955, Merrick & Company is a world-leading multidisciplinary engineering, architectural, geospatial solutions, and construction management firm. The employee-owned company provides these services to municipal, state, federal, and private-sector clients. With approximately 400 employees, Merrick has offices in Aurora and Colorado Springs, CO; Los Alamos and Albuquerque, NM; and Atlanta, GA.