Strategies for Managing Transportation Operations Data

This project summary report summarizes the research performed in Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) Project 0-5257. The operation and management of the transportation network generate enormous amounts of data. These data are a valuable asset to TxDOT users and, increasingly, external users as well. Frequently, data formats are incompatible, and the data reside on incompatible storage media with different levels of accuracy and resolution. As a result, districts are finding that managing their operations data is an increasingly difficult task, which is only getting worse as the amount of data produced continues to grow. These inefficiencies result in unnecessary data redundancy, data integrity and quality control problems, underutilization of the data, and higher operating costs. This study assessed transportation operations data characteristics, with a focus on data needs, data flows, and recommendations to help optimize the production, use, and archival of transportation operation data. Two surveys (one short and one long) helped researchers characterize current and potential data operations user needs, summarize procedures and systems other states use for managing transportation operations data, describe a database model that represents information collected through the surveys, summarize relevant data management practices and implementation plans at TxDOT, outline strategies for managing the data, and formulate implementation guidelines.