Statewide Data and Information Systems Committee
08/2000 – Performance Measures
03/2001 – Data Integration
07/2001 – Adding Value with Data Collection Programs
03/2002 – Using Spatial Data, Tools and Technologies to Improve the Delivery of Transportation Programs
05/2003 – Data Partnering
06/2004 -- Data Business Plans
Maryland State Highway Administration
Jan 2005 Update - Transportation Data Programs
Progress on New Initiatives
1. The Maryland Shared Centerline Program
The Shared Centerline Program is a cooperative data sharing process between The State Highway Administration and local governments. The goal of the program is to create a highly accurate, attributed GIS roadway centerline of every public road in the State that will be maintained over time. When complete, it is envisioned this centerline will be shared with any agency that requires a highway network as part of their GIS system.
Using a common centerline allows better exchange of information about the roadway system, puts both State and local government on the same page when referring to the highway system, and provides opportunities for more efficient collection of information about that roadway asset. Many entities collect information about the roads in our State. This data is needed for emergency response and management, routing buses and other vehicles, planning for land use and transportation needs, tracking assets on and along the roadway network, and numerous other applications.
SHA has developed a methodology that allow us to share the common centerline with a local government, linear referencing the shared centerline, perform extensive quality control, and give all the resultant products back to the local government. As part of the process, SHA attaches a unique ID onto each road segment allowing future data exchange to be simplified as well as making the data model flexible. This allows both parties to do what they do best, local governments provide centerline and address information, and SHA provides roadway distance measurements, linear referencing capability, quality control, and data validation. The centerline program is being coupled with the State's comprehensive annual roadway inventory effort so the centerline can be maintained over time.
As of early 2005 every county that has been approached (17 of 24) desires to participate, 4 counties have had a shared centerline completed, and work is underway on the rest.
2. Transportation Spatial Database (TSD)
Maryland SHA has developed a new central repository for spatial information and services. One central tenet of the TSD's data model is to have all GIS and cartography products have a database foundation and these products are a derivative of the database. The data model employed in the TSD was developed after considerable review of the past 10 years of research conducted at the international and national level has focused on understanding the unique problems associated with designing a GIS for highway systems - among those are NCHRP 20-27, NSDI Framework Transportation Identification Standard, and UNETRANS models.
On major goal was to develop an interoperable environment that allowed the TSD to interact with users of either CADD (Microstation) or GIS (ArcGis).
As of early 2005, the TSD has been developed and we are in the early stages of making productive use of it and working through emerging interoperability issues.
Contacts:
Bill Walsek, Chief
Highway Information Services Div
Maryland State Hwy Admin
410-545-5529
or
Jack Martin, Asst Div Chief
Highway Information Services Div
Maryland State Hwy Admin
410-545-5537