## 4 Geospatial Analysis Tools for Project Planning (_Geospatial Analysis_)  
In the realm of transportation engineering, GIS has been widely adopted for a variety of purposes, showcasing its versatility and critical importance in modern infrastructure planning and management. GIS can be a powerful tool to organize spatial and attribute data and perform powerful geographical analyses. GIS has been effectively utilized across diverse studies to optimize road network sustainability and emergency routing, enhance safety and cost-efficiency in transportation, conduct roadway closure analyses, and perform seismic risk assessments on civil infrastructure, demonstrating its pivotal role in improving public safety and infrastructure resilience [122; 123; 124; 125]. GIS visualization capabilities enable the identification of complications and design conflicts early, reducing the planning time and preventing unnecessary expenses [126; 127; 128]. To further utilize the visualization capability, spatial data can be collected and imported into GIS platforms, helping the project team better identify critical locations [129; 130]. Project planning and scoping phases can also benefit from GIS-based decision-making tools for different purposes, such as construction site evaluation, alternative work schedule analyses, and simulating transportation network flow for disaster response [39; 56; 131; 132; 133]. Studies in the field of transportation infrastructure have shown that implementing GIS in a project could reduce project costs while increasing workflow accuracy and efficiency [37; 134; 135]. GIS capabilities were employed to find highway sections that received multiple reconstructions over their planning prospect [136], apply geotechnical considerations in a highway layout [102], detect utility conflicts in railway projects prior to construction [38], prioritize maintenance plans [137], create a geo-enabled geometric design for highways, conduct environmental assessment of concrete mixes [138], and optimize construction site material distribution layout [139]. Studies also employed GIS for pavement performance analysis to investigate the impact of different factors such as precipitation, [140; 141; 142], mass movement susceptibility prediction [143], sustainability-based management [144], construction quality evaluation [27], functional road classification [145], and climate change risk assessment of critical infrastructure [146]. More innovative approaches engineered an integrated system of Augmented Reality (AR) and GIS to map subterranean utilities using mobile devices [147]. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Tools** & **Benefits** & **Limitation** & **Resolution** & **Data Format** & **Application** & **References** \\ \hline Ground Penetrating & Subsurface structure and utility data capture, non-destructive data collection, 3D subsurface visualization & Limited depth range, soil condition-dependent, time-consuming data processing & & Utility detection, underground structure graph, CAD & \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: _Cont._Table 3 presents an organized analysis of key geospatial analysis tasks in the context of transportation engineering and planning. For instance, in pavement engineering, the focus is on monitoring pavement conditions and identifying deterioration patterns. While modern tools such as LiDAR and image processing significantly improve the efficiency of road maintenance, and potentially extend the road service life, the high costs and expertise required associated with them pose challenges. Similarly, infrastructure planning leverages GIS, CAD, and 3D modeling for tasks such as site selection and route alignment. However, the intricacies of 3D modeling necessitate specialized software and skills, making time consumption a noticeable factor when dealing with complex models. Road safety analysis employs GIS statistical analysis to enhance road safety by pinpointing the location of accident-prone areas.