ODOT District 4 GIS Plan Vault Program

1. ODOT District 4GIS Plan Vault Program Jim Bruner P.E., GISP

2. Original Plan Vault Program • 2000 – 2003 District 4 scanned all of its original construction plans (.tif format) • Over 275,000 files in 9,300 folders • 2000 - 2011 PXS & PXV programs were used to search and view plans • Advantages • Search, View & Print plans from District 4 and other Districts • Sheet preview capability while highlighting a file name • Had customizable fields the districts could use • Disadvantages • Search Primarily by County, Routeand Section (SLM) • Index file required manual linking to each plan and data • Districts had slightly different file, folder and index naming conventions • Developed before GIS was widely used at ODOT

3. Original Plan Vault Program • Specific PXS/PXV Issues in District 4 • In 2011 District 4 upgraded to Windows 7 • Initially some PXV features were not supported • District 4’s PXS index file was still incomplete • District 4’s plans were stored in multiple network/folder locations • Searching by County, Route, Section (CRS) yielded mixed results • Many plans were indexed based on their original CRS, which changed over time, some were in metric • We determined that a GIS based program may resolve some of these issues

4. Fixing the Immediate Issues • Move all district plan files and associated data to one location • Develop a standard file and folder naming convention • Rename plan folders based on their current CRS – not original project name • Plans with multiple route segments in multiple counties were stored in one location on the network • Based on County Name, then Highest Priority Route Type (IR, US, SR, etc.) then by lowest route number • All Metric projects were converted to English units • Construction Year was added to the folder name

5. New File & Folder Structure

6. How to Proceed? • Use Windows Explorer until the new GIS Plan Vault program was deployed • New Plan Vault Program would be GIS based • Use ODOT’s LRS/LBRS centerline files • A new Index File would need to be created with the necessary GIS attributes • Use ODOT’s Network Linear Feature ID or NLFID and Begin & End County True Log (CTL) fields • NLFID Example… STRUIR00080**C

7. New GIS Plan Vault Program • Program Requirements & Features • Must automatically link to each plan and its associated data • Construction, R/W, & Soils Plans, Proposals, Addenda, Mark Ups, Special Provisions, etc. • Bridge & Culvert Photos, possibly inspection/inventory forms • Allow Multiple search options to find plans • “Draw a box on a map” - sort through the results • Directly Enter a PID, Constr. Project Number, SFN or CFN • Filter by Project Type, Year • Search by County, Route, Section or Original Project Name • Flexible enough to include future enhancements • Easily deployed within District 4 and possibly Statewide • Windows 7, Microsoft .NET 4.0+, Excel, ArcGIS 10.0+

8. New GIS Plan Vault Index • Requirements & Features • Minimize number of attributes/columns needed to satisfy the automatic linking requirements • Resolve a plan down to its simplest components • Paving or Roadway Work – Centerline Segment • Bridge or Culvert Work – Centerline Point Feature • Facilities – Point Feature based on Latitude/Longitude • Each record would represent one work type associated to a road segment, bridge, culvert or facility • Maintenance projects without specific locations were not indexed • Excel was used initially to populate the index, can now be updated in a geodatabase

9. Plan Vault Index Attributes • (Continued)

10. GIS Plan Vault Update Process • Index file/Geodatabase is edited and saved • Currently 20,000 records • A Python script is launched (need ArcGIS) • Information is read from the Excel Index/Database • A shapefile or feature class is created containing: • A line or point feature for every record in the index with associated attributes • The following links are created automatically: • Plan, R/W, Soils, Proposals, Special Provisions, Addendums, etc. • Bridge & Culvert Photos…eventually inventory/inspection reports • Pathway’s web based video log location • The GIS Plan Vault program is updated automatically every time it is opened

11. Questions? District 4 GIS Section Thomas.Buckler@dot.state.oh.us – GIS Plan Vault Programmer Mark.Thomas@dot.state.oh.us – Plan Indexer/QC Charles.Vickers@dot.state.oh.us – Plan Indexer/QC