The Evolution and Benefits of Web Based Viewers for Pavement Data

Abstract

The data collection and processing for transportation asset management has evolved over time with technology. Collection results now contain a larger volume of data than ever before, and the time to obtain the results is getting closer and closer to real time. The industry has developed web based data viewers to better provide instant representation of the data. Pavement images are hosted in the cloud and made rapidly available to agencies. This allows for feedback within days of collection on location, data quality, and pavement condition. Accurate GIS information allows agency personnel to implement quality control (QC) on the data instantly and flag potential issues prior to the final delivery. Incorporating distress information and other innovations will allow agencies to get more out of the results while the results are still current. Once accepted, the data can be quickly shared to a range of stakeholders. This prevents long trips to view remote sites and extra project level investigations. Web based systems have evolved dramatically in the last five years and are widely used by a variety of agencies. The coming years will show many new features, such as back projection, asset identification/measurement, and collection tracking, all of which can be completed on the web, in real-time, as the vehicle drives down the road.