By Karen Weiss, Autodesk California’s Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is one of the largest and most complex transportation agencies in the United States. With responsibility for over 50,000 miles of highways and freeways, as well as intercity rail systems, more than 400 public airports, and special-use hospital heliports, Caltrans plays a critical role in shaping the state's infrastructure. When it makes a technology decision, it doesn’t just impact California—it sends ripples across the entire U.S. transportation sector. In June 2011, Caltrans made a bold move by replacing its long-standing Autodesk CAiCE software with AutoCAD Civil 3D for all road and highway design projects. This shift was part of a broader industry trend toward Building Information Modeling (BIM), which is revolutionizing how civil engineers plan, design, and manage infrastructure projects. Now in its second year of full implementation, Caltrans has trained nearly 2,000 engineers and surveyors on AutoCAD Civil 3D. The success of this transition has led to a formal directive from the Chief of the Division of Design, stating that all new projects starting July 1, 2014, must be designed using Civil 3D. This marks the official end of CAiCE usage within the agency. Having overseen a similar statewide software implementation during my time at the Wisconsin Department of Transportation, I can truly appreciate the scale and complexity of what Caltrans has achieved. It’s not an easy task to roll out new TOOLS across thousands of users, but the results are clear—Caltrans is leading the way in modernizing infrastructure design. To support this transition, Caltrans has developed detailed software standards and workflows tailored to its specific needs. These resources help ensure that both internal teams and external partners can meet Caltrans’ unique requirements efficiently and consistently. If you're interested in learning more about Caltrans' transition, you can read their official announcement here. For more information on how Autodesk supports road and highway design, visit this page. This article was originally published on Autodesk’s BIM on the Rocks blog. Alloy Thumb Shift,Alloy Material Thumb Shifter,Alloy Thumb Shift Lever,Thumb Shift Lever SHAOXING KUNLUN IMP AND EXP CO.,LTD , https://www.shaoxingkunlun.com3D visualization of Presidio Parkway, San Francisco. Image courtesy of Parsons Brinckerhoff.
AutoCAD Civil 3D design for El Dorado County DOT roadway project. Image courtesy of EDCDOT.