2006 GIS/Engineering Support HEEP Report
Current and Proposed Organizational Activities

A. Developing Applications for New Technology – The department has undertaken an effort to upgrade several of its applications to use Oracle 9i drivers. This involves several different systems throughout the department and requires a coordination of efforts among different project leaders. We hope to have all systems upgraded to use Oracle 9i drivers on the client machines by the end of 2006.
B. Organization Change – The SiteManager Implementation project was officially moved under the GIS/Engineering Support group within Computer Services and a new project manager was appointed.

New Systems (Just Completed, In Progress, or Preparing to Start)

A. SiteManager Implementation – Implementation efforts continue with implementation of Estimate Approvals, Change Orders, and the Materials and Tests module being the most recent roll-outs. Integration with the accounting system will be the next major implementation and we hope to accomplish this by the end of 2006.

B. ALDOT Transit Reporting System (ATRS) – The Transportation Reporting System program allows agencies who receive federal funds through Section 5309, 5310, and 5311 grants to file forms online. The program will automate the process of filing seven reports that are required by the FHWA:

1. 5310/5309 Quarterly Report
2. 5310/5309 Annual Operating Report
3. 5310/5309 Annual Monitoring Report
4. 5310 Purchased Transportation Quarterly Report
5. 5310 Purchased Transportation Annual Operating Report
6. 5311 Quarterly Report
7. 5311 Semi-Annual DBE Report

If the project is successful it may be expanded to include more public transportation reports.
C. Alabama Transportation Reporting Information System (ALTRIS) – The purpose of this application is to provide a simple tool that can be used by Transportation Planning Analysts and/or high level Engineers to analyze transportation data on-the-fly and generate maps based on specific criteria to be used in decision making and decision support. Version 1 was released in 2005, however continued development of this project is currently on hold as development resources are currently assigned to higher priority projects.
D. DBE Application Tracking – Added additional functionality to the DBE section of CPMS to allow for tracking of applications and training scheduled for DBE companies. This will not only provide a better means by which to ensure applications are processed within the allowed timeframe but will also eliminate a good deal of manual reporting that was being done.
E. TransView – TransView is an ESRI MapObjects application which provides users with a geocoded map displaying ALDOT’s state maintained roads and bridges with aerial photographic backdrops. The application also includes functionality to provide the user the ability to “drive” along routes through use of the Photologs as well as the ability to run financial reports on projects.

F. Web Development –
1. Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) – A public web site was created and streaming video from traffic cameras in Birmingham was added to the web site. (http://www.dot.state.al.us/Bureau/Design/ITS/PublicITS/CameraList.aspx) We anticipate adding video from Mobile, Tuscaloosa, and Montgomery within the next year.
2. Traffic Polling Data System – (http://aldotgis.dot.state.al.us/traffic_counts/) The Traffic Polling Data System allows users to view hourly traffic volumes for traffic counters throughout the state.
3. Approved Materials Site –Web site that allows internal users to select a particular material and retrieve details such as the approved manufacturer, approval effective date, and approval expiration date.
4. Materials FlowThru Site – Currently developing a web site that will allow employees of a producer and batch plant inspectors to log in and enter testing data currently tracked via paper forms.
K. County Roads Project – Import all 67 county DGN files into ArcMap segmenting, attributing, and realigning them all against aerial photography to be included in the geodatabase. This is very labor intensive and requires a high degree of manual effort.
L. Sinkhole Project – Transfer data from hard copy drawings into electronic files that can be geocoded. (This is very labor intensive and requires a high degree of manual effort. This project is currently on hold due to resource constraints.)
M. Imagery – Loading aerial photography into the geodatabase so it is a) accessible in one location, and b) accessible by selecting a location on a map rather than having to know the exact filename and location of the file.
N. Lanes Data – Creating geocoded (segmented, attributed, and realigned) database records indicating the number of lanes on segments of the road state network. This is very labor intensive and requires a high degree of manual effort.
O. Mobility (ArcPad) – Trained HPMS employees on how to use ArcPad and created ArcPad maps for them to use to collect data in the field.
P. Training – Conducted two Introduction to ArcGIS in-house training sessions.
Q. Oracle Database Instrumentation – Built a system for monitoring certain aspects of Oracle databases through the Microsoft Operations Manager system. The current version of instrumentation will track the number of connected users and machines for any Oracle database, and will also monitor tablespace size and connectivity for the Oracle GIS16 database.
R. Centerlines – Aligning, segmenting, attributing, and updating mileposts on centerline maps of the ALDOT road state network with aerial photography and GPS coordinates to improve location accuracy. This is very labor intensive and requires a high degree of manual effort.
S. Disaster Recovery – Worked in conjunction with the Computer Services Operations Disaster Recovery team to determine hardware and software necessary to implement a disaster recovery center capable of housing the data stored within the GIS/ES 16 TB Storage Area Network (SAN).
T. Bridge Document Retrieval System – A system for the Bridge Maintenance Bureau to retrieve documents from the document management system using a map interface. Users will be able to select a bridge from a map and view a list of documents related to the bridge. The user can then select the documents that they are interested in and download the documents to their computer.

U. Dgn2data CAD Data Harvester Program – Enables the extraction, transformation, and loading of data from MicroStation design (dgn) files into an ArcGIS geodatabase. Each input dgn file produces as output an ESRI shapefile containing either a point, line, or polygon feature dataset. Multiple input dgn files produce multiple shapefiles, which can then be incorporated into the geodatabase. A unique feature of Dgn2data is the ability to capture textual attribute data along with the graphical feature set. The attribute search algorithm is based on the GIS technique of a proximity buffer. The attribute capture saves many hours of manual data entry and reduces data entry errors.

V. Nightly Roadway Inventory Data Processing – Automated nightly data processing system developed to update road state network on a daily basis.

W. BatchTools Program – BatchTools provides the ability to perform several MicroStation design (dgn) file administrative functions in batch mode. The input is a folder of dgn files. The functions that can be performed on each dgn file are: 1) set working unit labels; 2) set working unit ratios for master units, sub units, and positional units; 3) set global origin; and 4) transform from 2D to 3D.

Design Bureau / LOCATION SECTION HEEP Report Addendum

New Systems (Just Completed, In Progress, or Preparing to Start)

Implementing LiDAR and photography on Roadway Projects. In the past, much of the preliminary design was performed using unreliable USGS data or more expensive 1"=200' mapping with a five-foot contour DTM. Once preliminary design was completed, this information was not usable in final design. Due to reduced costs, we are now obtaining LiDAR and photography to use in the preliminary design stage of the project, and then passing that information to the survey crew to use in preparing the final digital terrain model to be used for design. This allows ALDOT to establish better construction and right of way limits earlier so right of way acquisition can begin as soon as possible. This also allows us to establish a more final design alignment before the survey crew is sent to the project. Survey cost and time is reduced and is sent to Final Design quicker and with fewer problems.

Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) Network. ALDOT is working with the Alabama Department of Revenue on the Alabama Height Modernization Project. This is a NOAA sponsored program to establish consistent, reliable, NAVD 88 Heights through leveling and GPS. ALDOT currently has four stations in operation and has partnered with the City of Dothan, the City of Auburn, and the Huntsville Space and Rocket Center to incorporate their existing stations into the network. Plans are underway for an additional seven stations in the last quarter of 2006 as well as potential partnerships with other government entities. The goal is to provide statewide coverage sufficient for real time corrections. This network will serve several groups. It will be used by ALDOT survey and engineering personnel on roadway projects, by contractors for machine control construction, by aerial photography firms for Airborne GPS in remote sensing applications, and by the agricultural community for precision agriculture applications.