The Missouri Department of Transportation’s George Kopp, PE, CADD services engineer, recently announced the completion of the 78-station network of GNSS Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS). This real-time network (RTN) operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to provide real-time or post-processed corrections to professionals requiring accurate GNSS positional data. The Missouri RTN CORS covers the entire state of Missouri including the metropolitan areas of Saint Louis and Kansas City by reaching into Illinois and Kansas.

Partnering with MoDOT in Kansas are Shafer Kline & Warren in Olathe and Kansas University in Lawrence. Other partners include Saint Clair County in Belleville, Ill.; and Seiler Instrument Co. with bases in Saint Louis County and Belton, Mo.

The network is built on Trimble Navigation CORS and VRS infrastructure technology. All 78 CORS are NetR5 Receivers with Zephyr Geodetic II Antennas with full GPS and Glonass tracking. The CORS were built by Seiler Instrument & Mfg. Co. Inc. in several phases starting in April 2008. 72 of the 78 CORS stations are constructed with concrete pedestals going 10 feet into the ground. The software running the network is the new Trimble VRS3Net Software and is capable of supporting hundreds of users. The CORS are positioned using existing National Geodetic Survey (NGS) CORS stations, and several MoDOT stations are already part of the NGS National CORS. Additional stations are being submitted to NGS each month with the goal of having all stations accepted in 2010.

The Missouri RTN CORS will support the infrastructure needs of professionals including engineers, surveyors, mapping/GIS, utilities, construction and heavy highway, environmental and agriculture businesses. The data are available at no charge to registered users with a user name and password. To obtain access to the system, visit the MoDOT GNSS Web server. For more information, e-mail Kevin Decker, PLS.