Recently, I have been rooting around in the LaDOTD website. One feature I enjoy is a page that lists projects scheduled to be let during the next six month period, organized by parish:
http://www.dotd.la.gov/lettings/lets8220.asp
It has all the appropriate disclaimers about LaDOTD not committing to the timetable, but it does give a good idea of what projects are on the near horizon. I would like to see this feature on all DOT websites as I seek information about given projects.
What are features you have seen on given websites that you believe provide good models for other DOTs to follow?
(Links will be greatly appreciated)
Online video/photologs. WSDOTs SRWeb in particular is an invaluable resource- Oregon DOTs isn't bad either. Caltrans's sucks (unless they've redone it recently), and most other states don't have them at all.
I like California's live video camera footage. The quality is extremely good and most run at 25/30fps. It's far better than most organisations who just provide a tiny static 320x200 image which is updated every minute or so.
For me the big thing is construction plans. About 25 state DOTs have them online already but the number that maintain permanent, publicly accessible online archives is still much smaller.
QuoteI like California's live video camera footage. The quality is extremely good and most run at 25/30fps. It's far better than most organisations who just provide a tiny static 320x200 image which is updated every minute or so.
They must have updated it then- it's been a couple years since I've checked
Quote from: J N Winkler on August 27, 2010, 11:46:32 AM
construction plans. About 25 state DOTs have them online already but the number that maintain permanent, publicly accessible online archives is still much smaller.
What are some of the states that maintain permanent, publicly accessible online archives? I'd like to check some out.
I wish they had the old state MUTCDs scanned and archived. Would be great to find out what the shield specs were in, say, 1956 in New York.
Highway logs, going all the way back. Street-level maps, same. Feasibility studies, EIS, public hearing transcripts, submissions to AASH[T]O and FHWA. Scan all the old ones and put them online. Historical photo logs.
MnDOT has as-builts going back to 1916.
http://dotapp3.dot.state.mn.us/cyberdocs_guest
Choose "Road and Bridge Plans." If you want a cute little sign rehabilitation, try SP 0980-126. If you want a really big project (and your computer has the leisure for a fairly lengthy unattended download, at least for the roadway plans), the Crosstown Commons is SP 2782-281. Keep in mind that MnDOT files road and bridge plans separately, and if you really want to mine, you will need to develop techniques for retrieving metadata. The search results are sortable by any column that is displayed but not all the columns that can possibly be displayed will be shown by default. Use the "Modify Columns" button (toward the upper right corner of the results pane) to choose "Notes" to see the project types, or "Doc #" to display internal document number (this is useful for zeroing in on recent additions because they typically have higher document numbers than projects that are already in the database).
A more common model is for some state DOTs simply to keep letting plans available well past contract award. State DOTs which do this include IL, MI, PA, and CA.
Illinois (availability back to 2004):
http://eplans.dot.il.gov/desenv/
Pennsylvania (you will need to use the guest "Anonymous" login; availability back to late 2002--see the thread on I-376 redesignation for ECMS numbers of the contracts involved):
http://www.dot14.state.pa.us/ECMS/
Michigan (partial availability back to late 2005, complete availability for state projects back to late 2006; registration compulsory but straightforward if you are a new user):
https://mdotwas1.mdot.state.mi.us/public/eprop/login/index.cfm
California (good availability back to at least 2003):
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/oe/project_ads_addenda/
Major sign rehabilitation from District 8:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/esc/oe/project_ads_addenda/08/08-0C3314/
The common thread here is that in order to find specific projects, you need to find metadata which relates project type and scope to a specific identifying code (MnDOT SP number, Caltrans contract number, Illinois DOT contract number, PennDOT ECMS number, . . .) which allows the project to be located in the database or on the website. MnDOT and PennDOT provide search facilities which work well up to a point, but for other state DOTs you may have to familiarize yourself with notices to contractors (which tend to be archived online even when the plans are not), award lists, bid tabulations, etc. Occasionally related projects will have project numbers which are close together (for example, VDOT's PPMS number for the I-95/US 1 interchange project built as part of the Wilson Bridge megaproject was 11838, while that for the nearby Telegraph Road interchange was 11836), and sometimes you can make a lot of headway simply by Googling (try {eplan.dot.il.gov Dan Ryan reconstruction} without braces).
P.S. Amen to Jake's suggestion regarding old state MUTCDs. I would add old state sign drawings books. And, FGS, where are the Appendix D sign drawings from 1928?
Quote from: J N Winkler on August 27, 2010, 01:21:10 PM
... The common thread here is that in order to find specific projects, you need to find metadata which relates project type and scope to a specific identifying code ...
Thank you. I'm sure I'll get lost, but it will be fun to explore ...
While maps from the state down to individual townships are available at the PennDOT site, the route logs are available through the Pennsylvania Spatial Data Access (http://www.pasda.psu.edu/) service.
Historic maps.
I would like to seethe followng
Old MUTCDs.....old maps (not necessarily year-to year, but maybe a sampling of every 4-6 years would be good....and historical photos of old signs, roads under construction/repair, publicity stills, etc Ohio DOT has a ton of old photos, but they are not too well organized...well, they are organized, but they can be a hassle to sort through unless you got a whole weekend on your hands....
Good projects pages are a must. New York used to be good, but they've since changed their site and now the most information you can get for most projects is "This project involves repaving the road" or "This project involves reconstructing a highway interchange". Well, DUH! How about telling me something I didn't get from the title? The new system is probably great for Joe Schmoe who doesn't care, but it sucks for roadgeeks because now there is virtually no information about what these projects actually change about the road.
I do agree that State DOT Websites do need to have some type of archival maps and supporting information, or at least be able to steer you towards those resources. They would not get a certain person(s) bugging them for copies of old maps.
[For old maps, do any of your respective states' universities have a huge (online) library? For example, down here, the University of Florida has this site http://ufdcweb1.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc/?a=mapfl where they've scanned county maps from FDOT from the 1930s to present day.]
CTDOT has their projects that will be advertised for the next 6 months as well as the state TIP on their website. Also, a list of current high-interest projects on their homepage.
www.ct.gov/dot
They also have a list of studies and plans too.
Pretty much the only thing I use DOT websites for is highway history research to , so these features are critical to me:
Quote from: kurumi on August 27, 2010, 01:01:36 PM
Highway logs, going all the way back.
This is tremendously helpful. ODOT (OK) has the highway designation files, which give an exact date for every realignment and extension (the date it was approved by the highway commission). Unfortunately, they only post them for highways which have a memorial designation for some reason.
Quote from: bugo on August 27, 2010, 08:06:21 PM
Historic maps.
Quote from: ctsignguy on August 27, 2010, 08:30:13 PM
I would like to seethe followng
Old MUTCDs.....old maps (not necessarily year-to year, but maybe a sampling of every 4-6 years would be good....
Old maps are a must, especially when there's nothing like the highway designation file around to help (and even in cases where there is, it is useful when the comments on the designation file don't make sense). With a full and complete map archive, you can narrow down changes to about a one year gap by doing binary search to see when exactly the change was made on the map. If you don't have every year's map, you're going to run into a situation where it's not changed in 1960 and changed in 1964 and then wonder exactly what the hell happened and when.
Quote from: ctsignguy on August 27, 2010, 08:30:13 PM
I would like to seethe followng
Old MUTCDs.....old maps (not necessarily year-to year, but maybe a sampling of every 4-6 years would be good....and historical photos of old signs, roads under construction/repair, publicity stills, etc Ohio DOT has a ton of old photos, but they are not too well organized...well, they are organized, but they can be a hassle to sort through unless you got a whole weekend on your hands....
That photo collection OhDOT has is something....something bad. Organizing isn't half the problem. Misidentifying photos is half the problem before working on the organizing part. Some intern must of drew the short straw and was sent to the Ohio Historical Society to get a bunch of photos and scan them.
The funny thing, that's really the only part of OhDOT's website that is screwed up. Everything else at the main site seems to work fine (the regional offices can be hit or miss however).
I'd just be happy with an easy "maps" route, not having to search, or email them, It's just not much fun emailing people when they could make a button...
BigMatt
That would be awesome if the sites had a little history page, with historic photos and historical information on the state's highways and what not.
Quote from: PennDOTFan on August 29, 2010, 12:16:36 AM
That would be awesome if the sites had a little history page, with historic photos and historical information on the state's highways and what not.
YES, that would be awesome! I like highway history! And pics.
BigMatt
I NEVER liked the way ODOT in Ohio handles listing construction projects on its website...Each District is responsible for it's own project listings, and the districts each have their own way of displaying them (It's like looking at 12 different DOT websites from 12 different states). Earlier this spring, I went to one of the Northeast Ohio districts only to still see the list of projects for the 2009 season! I don't know why they had to keep projects secret until almost Memorial Day. :banghead:
There's no reason why they can't say "TBA/TBD" if they haven't awarded the contracts to the specific companies with the winning bids yet, or when exactly the project will officially start -- ODOT knows it's gonna happen that year, so why not let affected businesses and/or residents know as far in advance as possible -- even if it is the dead of winter and there is 2 feet of snow covering the crumbling pavement of Main Street/SR-x in Anytown, Ohio?
I also just posted this link to "Georgia" thread on "Southeastern" page. This page provides construction reports regarding Interstates, etc. for next 24 hrs., next 72 hrs, week, and weekend:
http://www.georgia-navigator.com/construction
I think this something that all state DOT websites should provide.
1. Historic Maps
-state
-county (state produced)
2. Historic photos
3. Detailed historic information for every highway on system.
What I like to see:
1. Highway history and old pics.
2. Historic maps but does not have to include every year, every few years is fine with me.
3. Streaming video on traffic cams, like how Caltrans does it
4. Publicly accessible detailed plans and drawings. I like how MTO includes the drawings of stuff like light poles and sign sturctures on the site but they should put the plans on too.
5. Old and current MUTCDs available to the public
Quote from: joseph1723 on August 31, 2010, 01:04:28 AM4. Publicly accessible detailed plans and drawings. I like how MTO includes the drawings of stuff like light poles and sign structures on the site but they should put the plans on too.
MTO does put the construction plans online, but only for purchase. You have to register for an account and you must supply payment details before you are shown a download link: billing is per project. Additionally, MTO's advertised project listing is very hard to use (slow to load, information is arranged so as to maximize number of clicks required to access relevant details, does not work well in browsers other than Internet Exploder).
Most other Canadian provincial transport ministries follow a similar model of charging fees for construction plans, although the details differ. Alberta Infrastructure & Transportation uses CoolNET, which is a third-party planroom site for which you can buy a time-limited subscription that gives you access to whatever happens to be on the CoolNET site during the validity period. MTQ uses a separate third-party site which will make construction plans available for download for free,
but in order to view them in
Acrobat you need to have a special plugin which will download a dynamically generated key from the site and use it to decrypt the plans in
Acrobat. You must pay to obtain PDF versions of the plans which do not have this limitation. BC MOTH advertises through the BC provincial government's BC Bid E-procurement platform, for which a C$100 annual subscription is required to download construction drawings. I am not aware that there is electronic availability for YT, NT, SK, or any of the Atlantic provinces with the exception of NB. NB, by the way, is the only province whose transportation ministry makes construction drawings available for download free of charge (but registration is required).
Aside from the cost and hassle of getting construction drawings in electronic format from Canadian provinces, which is worse than for most US states with the exception of those who publish drawings through Bid Express, and also worse than for most E-plans-publishing European countries with the exception of Germany, there is relatively little of roadgeek interest. The main purpose of publishing construction drawings is to find a contractor to do the work, and Canadian provinces seem to do most of their signing either in-house or through term-limited supply contracts which do not require drawings for the signs to be made available at the time of advertising. The main exception is Alberta, where turnkey contracts for road construction do include signing. However, to my knowledge Alberta has never done a pure sign rehabilitation contract.
I am hoping that the Canadian provinces will loosen up on electronic plans. MTO did have to give up on having the
Ontario Traffic Manual available in hardcopy format only. But it will probably take at least a decade.
Quote from: J N Winkler on August 31, 2010, 04:12:10 AM
MTO does put the construction plans online, but only for purchase. You have to register for an account and you must supply payment details before you are shown a download link: billing is per project.
Thanks I didn't know that MTO had plans on their site but it's kind of pointless paying for plans for roadgeeky purposes though.
Quote from: florida on August 28, 2010, 12:38:22 PM
[For old maps, do any of your respective states' universities have a huge (online) library? For example, down here, the University of Florida has this site http://ufdcweb1.uflib.ufl.edu/ufdc/?a=mapfl where they've scanned county maps from FDOT from the 1930s to present day.]
I don't know about the universities here, but the Library of Michigan in Lansing has an archive of most, if not all of the official state maps the the Michigan State Highway Department/MDOT have released. On request, they'll scan most documents for a reasonable fee on a large drum scanner. I was charged $1/piece for 71 different maps, plus $1/CD for the two discs to hold them all. They had to do each map in two passes because the pre-2004 maps are wider than the scanner area, so I have a strip for the Western UP. One of these days I'll merge the TIFFs together in Photoshop to produce combined files.
NCDOT has everything: Construction updates, current and future project info including funding, TIP plans over the next five years, corridor studies, etc.
I'm always impressed with the depth of information provided, such as this which includes a great slideshow of the Yadkin River Bridge replacement project, now underway. If you've ever crossed this narrow bridge, you know how scary it is....
http://www.ncdot.gov/projects/i85corridor/