ODOT's GCAT GIS Tool Helps Local Roadway Agencies Justify Funding Requests for Road Safety Improvement

Summary from Assessment of Local Road Safety Funding, Training, and Technical Assistance: Benefit/Cost Tool and Local Road Safety Manual

Background

Local roadway agencies need a method for obtaining the data necessary to justify funding requests for road safety improvement projects. The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) developed a crash-mapping tool called GCAT (GIS Crash Analysis Tool), which is used to map the crashes occurring on the State's roadways. GCAT uses Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to produce spatially located (latitude/longitude) data. Crash data for all local roadways is available.

The tool is a web application and can be accessed from any computer on-line through the ODOT web site. Access to GCAT is free and easy to obtain for employees of the city, county, village, township, metropolitan planning organizations, law enforcement, and prequalified safety study consultants. Local agencies can submit a basic account request on-line and begin using the GCAT program once they are notified via email.

Benfit

Ohio DOT has seen an increase in project applications from local agencies as tools and training opportunities provide the means to justify safety problems and identify potential countermeasures.

Contact

FHWA Office of Safety staff contacts by safety function

Interoffice Safety Groups at Washington State DOT Use Quantitative Data Evaluation to Determine Strategies Across the 4Es

Original publication: Safety Data Decisionmaking at WSDOT

Background

Unique among State Departments of Transportation, the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) does not have a centralized safety office. Rather, safety is central to decisionmaking across the agency; the offices of planning, traffic operations, design, risk management, and maintenance all work together to build and maintain safe roadways in the State. The agency's State-level highway safety program is coordinated by three cross-cutting groups: the Highway Safety Executive Committee, the Highway Safety Working Group, and the Highway Safety Issues Group.

The Practice

WSDOT relies upon these three cross-cutting groups to ensure that expert judgment guides the transportation planning and project selection process in Washington State. These three groups play an important role in identifying the State€™s safety needs and providing guidance to WSDOT regional offices in support of safety project selection.

Benefits

One key benefit of WSDOT's interoffice safety groups is their focused ability to address the factors contributing to crashes using a “4E” approach, which uses quantitative data evaluation of contributing factors to crashes to determine appropriate engineering, education, enforcement, and emergency medical services strategies. This interoffice approach enables the agency to target statewide safety priorities by coordinating activities between various parts of the agency, including: programming, design, traffic operations, risk management, and maintenance. Due in part to the State's safety-related innovations, Washington has observed a continued reduction in the number of fatal crashes. In fact, Washington State has averaged 22 fewer traffic fatalities and 80 fewer serious injuries each year between 2002 and 2011 (see Figure 1). WSDOT anticipates that, with continued highway safety improvements, this figure will continue to decline.

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Provides Reduced Data-collection Costs to Local Agencies While Ensuring Data Consistency

Original publication: The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development's Local Agency Data Collection Effort

Background

The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD) recognizes the importance of data-driven operations, design, and safety decisionmaking on both State and local roadways. The State's Strategic Highway Safety Plan (SHSPs) encourages the use of safety data analysis tools that make use of quality crash, roadway, and traffic data to improve safety outcomes. In an attempt to streamline the data collection process and reduce costs, LADOTD has encouraged local agencies and metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) to join a larger statewide data collection effort.

In 2010, LADOTD initiated a multi-year effort to collect roadway inventory data on all public roads in Louisiana. LADOTD began this effort in response to the strong need for roadway data and in anticipation of future requirements for data collection, such as those included in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21^st Century Act (MAP-21). The agency decided to collect all of the Fundamental Data Elements (FDE) - a subset of the Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) identified by FHWA as necessary to enhance safety analyses on all public roads in preparation of a State's SHSP.

The Practice - Integrated Data Collection Efforts

• As part of this local data collection effort, the Department has taken steps to allow local agencies to add on additional data elements at reduced costs. While LADOTD is collecting the MIRE FDE, including the number of lanes, sidewalks, turn lanes, and type of intersections, there is a large set of additional data elements that LADOTD allows local agencies, MPOs, and parishes to collect at an additional cost.
• LADOTD contracted with Fugro Roadware in 2013 to collect data, including right-of-way videolog and asset inventory on all public roads, in three two-year cycles (see Figure 1). In addition to making the data available to local agencies at no cost, the contract allows for local agencies to collect additional data elements at a reduced fee (typically 10 percent off published rates).

Benefits

• Barriers to the use of roadway safety data by Local agencies are lifted. LADOTD provides reduced data-collection costs to local agencies, while also ensuring the consistency of local roadway data collected in the State.
• By reducing barriers to local data collection, LADOTD is supporting an enhanced understanding of local roads and their safety issues. Given that 73 percent of roadways in Louisiana are owned and maintained by local agencies, this expansion in data collection has the potential to make a large impact on roadway safety in the State.

Illinois DOT Provides Local Public Agencies with Assistance on the Use of Safety Data

Original publication: Safety Data Support to Local Public Agencies

Background

The Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) is committed to reducing the number of fatalities on Illinois roadways. To this end, the IDOT Bureau of Safety Engineering, which was initially created in 2004, develops, implements, and manages a multi-faceted program to reduce traffic-related deaths and injuries in the State of Illinois. As part of this mission, IDOT addresses traffic safety needs on both State-owned roads and roads owned by local public agencies (LPAs). Because local public roads constitute approximately 125,000 of the 145,000 centerline roadway miles in Illinois, improving local road safety is a major priority for IDOT.

One key component of improving safety on local roads is enhancing the safety data capabilities of LPAs and IDOT District Offices. IDOT's Bureaus of Safety Engineering and Local Roads and Streets offer safety analysis tools, provide safety data training and technical assistance, and promote local access to crash and roadway data.

Practices

• Safety Analysis and Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) Funding - IDOT uses a HSIP Benefit-Cost Tool that helps IDOT and LPAs determine whether a project is an appropriate and cost effective use of HSIP funding.
• Training - IDOT Bureau of Safety Engineering provides training on the Highway Safety Manual (HSM) directly to the nine District Offices in the State.
• Technical Assistance - IDOT Bureau of Safety Engineering also offers direct technical assistance to support safety programs and safety data analysis at the local level.
• Data Sharing - IDOT communicates safety data to counties and other LPAs through the Bureau of Local Roads and Streets and is working on a new Safety Portal that will provide LPAs with improved access to crash data.

Benefits

IDOT is working to reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries due to crashes on Illinois' local roads. By promoting the use of the HSIP Benefit-Cost Tool, IDOT ensures that the HSIP project selection process makes the most economical use of limited safety funding. Through the use of improved safety data sharing abilities, Illinois has improved its project submittal process; safety projects are submitted more quickly than ever before. IDOT's technical assistance and data-sharing efforts allow the agency to support Illinois' counties as they program projects to improve the safety of local roads in the State. Overall, IDOT has seen a transition from reactive safety projects to a more proactive approach that considers common contributing factors to roadway safety.

Michigan Undertakes Initiatives to Encourage a Data-Driven Approach to Local Roadway Safety

Original publication: Initiatives to Encourage a Data-Driven Approach to Local Roadway Safety

Background

To maximize returns on investment in preparing, utilizing, and maintaining a strong safety data system, the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) has undertaken a number of programs that make use of roadway, traffic, and crash data to improve safety on local- and State-owned roads in the State of Michigan.

Like many states, Michigan faces the challenge of addressing a large number of fatal crashes on non-State-owned highways, which comprise roughly 90 percent of the roadway miles and the majority of roadway fatalities in Michigan. To improve safety on local roads, Michigan has participated in several initiatives that help bolster the State's multifaceted roadway safety program by providing local agencies with meaningful, timely access to crash data, as well as tools for data analysis and training to manage their safety processes.

The Practices

• Local Safety Initiative - A technical assistance offering, MDOT provides participating local agencies, as part of the Local Safety Initiative, with site-specific analysis, including ranking reports for intersections and segments. At no cost to local agencies, MDOT staff visit the agencies to conduct one- to two-day field reviews with staff to discuss locations of interest.
• Roadsoft - As part of its local safety efforts, MDOT supported the expansion of a GIS-based roadway management system known as Roadsoft. Among many other features and functions, Roadsoft provides local agencies timely crash data, as well as tools to analyze crash trends and diagnose crash patterns.
• Region-Specific Spreadsheets - As an early adopter of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM), MDOT participated in AASHTO's HSM Lead State Initiative, which encouraged highway agencies to use the HSM. As part of this initiative, MDOT developed an implementation plan for the HSM that included the regional calibration of predictive spreadsheets and Safety Performance Functions (SPFs) - equations that estimate expected average crash frequency as a function of traffic volume and roadway characteristics.
• Crash Reporting - In addition to the Local Safety Initiative, MDOT has also taken steps to address the quality of the crash collected on local and State-owned roadways. MDOT provides input into the Michigan State Police's training programs and materials to ensure quality reporting. Through the program, MDOT is able to emphasize what elements of crash reporting are of particular importance and how exactly they should be documented in the system.

Figure 1: Roadsoft's safety analysis tools allow users to visualize trends in roadway safety. (Courtesy of MDOT)

Benefits

Local agencies have a greater understanding of the impact of quality roadway safety data on local road safety. These initiatives help bolster the State's multifaceted roadway safety program by providing local agencies with meaningful, timely access to crash data, as well as tools for data analysis and training to manage their safety processes.

Integrating Safety Analysis in Project Development in Louisiana

Original publication: Roadway Safety Data and Analysis Case Study: Safety Analysis in Project Development in Louisiana

Background

The scope of this case study includes all public roads in Louisiana, and multiple operations within the LADOTD. Safety practices are implemented in the following areas:

• Maintenance: The project designers implement low cost safety countermeasures into the project such as pavement wedge, rumble strips, advance warning signs,and others from a list of baseline safety improvements provided by LADOTD. If a Road Safety Assessment/Audit (RSA) was performed for the project, then further countermeasures can be implemented as detailed in the RSA final report. Annually, the LADOTD processes approximately six-to-eight RSAs for preservation projects over the course of the year.¹
• Design: The crash data for the project site is reviewed to check for an abnormal section or of a prevailing collision type. In some cases, a predictive analysis is performed to compare the built condition to the existing condition. Engineers consider low cost safety improvements, and use the Crash Modification Factor (CMF) Clearinghouse to help select countermeasures. Overall, less than 10 percent of projects have design exceptions, which include projects in both rural and urban settings.²
• Environmental: Engineers gather data from the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HMPS). Gathering the full data element list required for the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model (IHSDM) is labor intensive and consumed a majority of the time spent on the safety analysis. Engineers convert crashes to various dollar amounts based on severity of the crash by using a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) report titled “The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes”³ and including the consumer price index.⁴ Finally, the designers consider the results of the cost-benefit analysis to select the preferred alternative.
• Work Zone Construction and Operations: Engineers perform a safety analysis for the Transportation Management Plan (TMP) and select the appropriate countermeasures to address identified issues as part of the construction phase. Analysts also use the CMF Clearinghouse to help identify countermeasures based on the observed crash types.
• Local roadways:The LADOTD funds a local road safety program. Engineers on staff at LADOTD work with the local agencies to perform the same type of advanced safety analysis that is performed for the State roads. Currently, the program is working on a systemic curve program.⁵

Key Accomplishments

• LADOTD established safety review guidelines in maintenance, design, environmental review, work zone construction and operations, and local roadway coordination.
• Safety data analysis is available to support decision makers' compliance with the safety review guidelines in each area.
• An example Transportation Management Plan increased work zone safety on an interstate (I-12) project by identifying an abnormally high crash rate and over-representation of speed related crashes which were addressed with additional enforcement.
• An example design exception showed the benefit of a low cost countermeasure in lieu of curve straightening on Interstate 10 based on an alternatives analysis using the Interactive Highway Safety Design Model.

LADOTD has promoted a statewide safety focus by integrating safety data analysis into a wide range of LADOTD and local agency decision processes.

Results

Through this effort, LADOTD has increased safety awareness throughout the Department and with local agencies. Cost savings, though difficult to precisely quantify, have improved the State's ability to use available funding for safety improvement in multiple contexts, and resulted in successful implementation of low-cost alternatives, and reduced crash risk during construction.

References

1. Road Safety Assessment (RSA) Process for Systems Preservation - April Renard, Dan Magri, Jim Chapman, Simone Ardoin, Mark Chenevert. Telephone Interview. April 8, 2014.
2. Safety Analysis in Design Exceptions - April Renard, Dan Magri, Chad Winchester, Joachim Umeozulu. Telephone Interview. April 9, 2014.
3. Blincoe, L, et al., et al. The Economic Impact of Motor Vehicle Crashes, 2010. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Transportation National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 2014. DOT HS 812 013.
4. Applying the Highway Safety Manual in NEPA using IHSDM. Renard, April. Washington, DC: Transportation Research Board, 2012.
5. Safety Analysis and Data Collection for Local Roads - April Renard, Jason Chapman. Telephone Interview. April 3, 2014.

Contact

April Renard, P.E.
Engineer 5-LADOTD
april.renard@la.gov
(225) 379-1919

Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD)
Highway Safety Section 1201 Capitol Access Road
Baton Rouge, LA 70802

UDOT's Advanced Data Collection Methods Result in Better Quality of Roadway/Asset Data and Improved Internal Management of Data

Summary from: Collection and Use of Roadway Asset Data In Utah Roadway Safety Data and Analysis Case Study FHWA-SA-14-078

Background

The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) maintains 5,869 centerline miles¹ of roadway and 310 miles of freeway ramps, which together comprise 15 percent of the total roadway centerline miles (41,508) open to the public in Utah. 19,056 of these miles consist of unpaved roads. The UDOT-maintained roads carry 67 percent of the vehicle miles traveled in the State.¹

The scope of the case study includes data collected on the State system only. Each road was driven in both directions during data collection, resulting in approximately 12,000 total miles driven.

The data collection effort performed by UDOT was a first-of-its-kind, surveying the entire state roadway network and obtaining a wide set of data elements. LiDAR (a term that combines “light” and “radar”) was used by the selected vendor to collect a variety of asset data. The LiDAR technology creates a three dimensional model of the assets scanned along the roadway, and is performed in a single pass at highway speeds.

Key Accomplishments

• The Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) used state-of-the-art data collection methods to collect roadway condition, location and roadway asset data.
• Within UDOT, Asset Management, Safety, Planning and other divisions are now able to share data and jointly manage the roadway asset data. Other areas within UDOT also benefit from this shared data resource.
• The roadway asset data are accessible to the public through an online program called UPlan.
• UDOT used a combination of Federal and state funding to cover the cost of the project for first-round data collection which totaled $2.25 Million: $725,000 of HSIP funds and $825,000 of SPR funds, and $700,000 in State funds.

UDOT surveyed the entire State roadway network and obtained a wide set of data elements.

LiDAR (a term that combines “light” and “radar”) was used to collect the asset data, and was also used to create a three dimensional model of the assets scanned along the roadway.

UPlan was created as an online program to share all of the data needed to plan and program a project. UPlan is a spatial database of locations, location attributes and assets, supported in GIS and used by UDOT, their contractors, and the public.

Results

Through this data collection effort, UDOT has improve their budgeting due to the enhanced knowledge of quantity and quality of roadway assets.

The ability to share access to the roadway information enables divisions to work more closely together.

UDOT's Traffic and Safety Division has enhanced safety analysis through improved roadway attributes and crash data.

Reference

1. Collection and Use of Roadway Asset Data - The Utah Experiment. Jones, W. Scott. 2013. Roadway Safety Data Partnership Peer Exchange.

Contact

Stan Burns
Director of Asset Management
801-965-4150
sburns@utah.gov

Utah Department of Transportation
Asset Management Division, Traffic & Safety Division
4501 South 2700 West
PO Box 143200
Salt Lake City, UT 84114-3200

Genesee County (Flint, Michigan) Uses usRAP to Develop Safety Improvement Plan for County Roads

Original publication: 2013 National Roadway Safety Awards Noteworthy Practices Guide Publication FHWA-SA-14-002; 2013

Description of Practice

In 2012, the Genesee County Road Commission (GCRC) in Flint, Michigan, signed an agreement for a U.S. Road Assessment Program (usRAP) Safety Improvement evaluation of the county road system. Initiated in 2004 as a pilot by the AAA Foundation, the usRAP program was designed to assess and benchmark the relative safety of roads using historical crash data and roadway inventory data. The program includes a Road Protection Score (RPS), which can identify road segments with higher crash potential through analyses of road inventory data relative to design features that are strongly correlated with the risk of serious crashes.

GCRC developed the safety improvement plan based on a comprehensive review of the existing physical infrastructure of the county road system. Project staff obtained and assembled data on over 40 existing safety-related infrastructure elements for more than 8,600 300-ft roadway segments. The project database was uploaded to the usRAP Tools software and processed to develop a safety improvement plan.

Key Accomplishments and Results

Assessing and benchmarking the relative safety of roads using historical crash data and roadway inventory data. The development of the plan was completed in early 2013 and is now proceeding to the programming and implementation stage.

Contact

John H. Daly III, Ph.D.
Genesee County Road Commission
810-767-4920
jdaly@gcrc.org

Wisconsin's Information System for Local Roads Expands Local Access to Data while Integrating State and Local Safety Data Systems

Summary from: Wisconsin Information System Local Roads State and Local Data Integration Case Study FHWA-SA-14-037

Background

This case study, available as part of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Integration of State and Local Safety Data project, describes Wisconsin's efforts to integrate local roadway data into their State data system.

This case study is part of a series of four. Each case study identifies a State's experience collecting local data, the challenges and obstacles faced and how they were overcome, benefits of the practices, reasons for success, lessons learned, and applicability of the practices to other agencies.

The Wisconsin Information System for Local Roads (WISLR) is an example of successful development of a safety and asset management system designed specifically to meet local stakeholder's needs. For Wisconsin, that included developing the new system in a spatial framework that differed from what was already in place for State-maintained roads, and then integrating the State roadway data with the new local roads system to create an all-public-roads database.

Before migrating to the WISLR system, Wisconsin managed the centerline mileage certification process for over 90,000 miles of local roads with more than 1,900 separate paper maps. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) entered roadway attribute information into a mainframe database accessible only to select State staff, and local agencies received paper copies of local road mileage certification data. There was enormous duplication of effort—local agencies often had their own systems for managing data on roadway miles, assets, and attributes that were not compatible with the existing WisDOT system.

WisDOT launched WISLR in the mid-1990s. It integrates spatial location, asset, inventory, and crash information for local roads using an “on/at/towards” LRS (Linear Referencing System). Users identify the road name (“on”), plus the distance and direction to the nearest intersecting street (“at” or “towards”). This location coding method gains precision by incorporating measured distances along each roadway. WISLR records Intersections at measured distances along that roadway and termini (the ends of the roadways) as the starting (zero) or final distance measurement within a jurisdiction. When a location is specified, WISLR represents that location as the unique combination of the street name and the distance and direction from the nearest intersecting road or terminus. This allows the data for each event or feature to be associated spatially with all other data from the same location. WISLR also includes a translation of State-maintained roadway location, crash, and inventory data into the “on-at-towards” LRS so that WISLR serves as an all-public-roads safety data resource. In Wisconsin, local agencies collect and own the data for roadways under their jurisdiction; the centralized system is available to all authorized users.

Key Accomplishments:

The following are key accomplishments of the Wisconsin Information System for Local Roads:

• Consistent statewide local roadway data.
• Cost savings through reduced redundancy.
• Expanded use by local agencies as new modules and capabilities are added.
• Efficient tool for safety analysis.
• All-public-roads LRS and basemap.

Results:

The original purpose of WISLR was to serve as an aid to mandatory recertification of centerline mileage by the local agencies. While State law requires the recertification of centerline mileage, agencies can use any method or software to accomplish the recertification. Even so, compliance is above 90 percent and the vast majority of local agencies use WISLR for data mining and decision-making. The online WISLR user numbers continue to increase each year.

The State is considering upgrades to make the WISLR network representation as high resolution as the state trunk network (STN). This could include turn lanes, medians, dual carriageways and other features not currently captured at the same resolution in the WISLR for the STN making the system even more useful.

Contacts

Susie Forde
Data Management Section Chief
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
608-266-7140
Susie.Forde@dot.wi.gov

Kelly Schieldt
Statewide Local Road Coordinator
Wisconsin Department of Transportation
608-267-9748
Kelly.Schieldt@dot.wi.gov

Stuart Thompson
Federal Highway Administration
202-366-8090
Stuart.Thompson@dot.gov

Tennessee Updates Roadway Information Management System (TRIMS) State Roads Database to Include Local Road Data

Summary from: Tennessee Roadway Information System State and Local Data Integration Case Study FHWA-SA-14-038

Background

This case study, available as part of the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Integration of State and Local Safety Data project, describes Tennessee's efforts to integrate local roadway data into their State data system.

This case study is part of a series of four. Each case study will identify a State's experience collecting local data, the challenges and obstacles faced and how they were overcome, benefits of the practices, reasons for success, lessons learned, and applicability of the practices to other agencies.

Historically, the majority of Tennessee's fatal and incapacitating crashes occurred on local/rural roads; however, local agencies within Tennessee collected very little roadway inventory data and the data collected was largely unavailable to the State. In 2007, the Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) hired a contractor to collect location description and inventory data on all local roads and integrate the information into the Tennessee Roadway Information Management System (TRIMS) database that had been in place for State roads since the 1970s. TDOT's contractor collected data over a five-year period and met TDOT's rigorous data quality standards.

TRIMS is a single integrated linear referencing system database for State and local roadway structures, pavement, traffic, photo log, and crash data. In 2007, TDOT began developing eTRIMS, a map-centric, web-based version of TRIMS with the purpose of encouraging wider use of the TRIMS database. Additionally, the online application supports easier maintenance as users no longer need to install the TRIMS software locally in order to use the system. While TDOT expects that eTRIMS will eventually replace TRIMS, TDOT, local agencies and contractors in all 95 counties in Tennessee have access to both systems.

Key Accomplishments:

The following are key accomplishments of the Tennessee Roadway Information Management System:

• Improved data accuracy (for both roadway and crash data).
• One-stop access to all safety information.
• Data analytic support for State and local agencies.
• Support for project selection and funding justification.

Results:

Local agencies, by working with the State, use TRIMS/eTRIMS to identify safety needs, select projects, and obtain funding from the State to address safety issues. The integrated system also helps resolve crash data quality issues related to location coding accuracy, completeness, and timeliness.

TDOT is developing a long-term data maintenance method. They have not yet established procedures, but plan to include local agencies in reporting roadway updates in accordance with TDOT's data quality requirements. For now, the State will update data using an overlay on aerial photography as a way to identify major changes.

Contacts

Brian Hurst
Safety Manager
Project Safety Office
Tennessee Department of Transportation
615-253-2433
Brian.Hurst@tn.gov

Jeff Murphy
Information Systems Manager
GIS Mapping & Facilities Data Office TRIMS/E-TRIMS
Tennessee Department of Transportation
615-741-3429
Jeff.Murphy@tn.gov

Bryan Semore
Information Resource Specialist
GIS Mapping & Facilities Data Office TRIMS/E-TRIMS
Tennessee Department of Transportation
202-366-8090
Bryan.Semore@tn.gov

Tom Eldridge
Software Consultant
Intergraph Corporation
Tennessee Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
202-366-8090
Tom.Eldridge@tn.gov

Stuart Thompson
Federal Highway Administration
202-366-8090
Stuart.Thompson@dot.gov