Governor Terry McAuliffe announced today that the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) has launched a new interactive portal, www.Virginiaroads.org, that provides a one-stop information source to VDOT data and projects. The Governor made his announcement while speaking at the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the Brookings Institution’s Eco-Engineering Forum 2014: The New Eco-System of Information on Harnessing the Potential of Big Data.
An important feature of this new portal are interactive maps showing current and planned road construction projects included in the Six-Year Improvement Program as well as pavement conditions and resurfacing projects. Some of the data made available through this app is in response to requests by Virginia broadband providers to have greater visibility and earlier notice regarding road construction and repair projects. Providing access to this data will facilitate coordination between VDOT and broadband providers seeking to build new infrastructure.
“Virginiaroads.org is a prime example of the type of project I envisioned when we launched our Data.Virginia initiative aimed at using data to make government more transparent,” said Governor McAuliffe. “It’s as simple as clicking on the link, selecting a location and seeing in a glance the status of current and future transportation projects. The information is easily accessible and open for to the public to see how their taxpayer dollars are being invested to improve Virginia’s road system.”
“A good transportation program depends on VDOT providing clear information that is relevant and available to the public,” stressed Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne. “Virginiaroads.org turns complex data into knowledge, allowing the public to become more engaged with their transportation program.”
Virginiaroads.org features a series of interactive maps in a central online location. One of the maps displays current construction projects, projects in the design phase, projects scheduled to go to construction and future projects. Projects can be searched via project stage, location, route or street name and the project identification number as it is listed in the Six-Year Improvement Program.
Another map shows pavement conditions, with colors identifying whether a section of pavement is in excellent, good, fair or poor condition. You can click on a section of pavement to find out more details on resurfacing projects.
VDOT Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick added, “You can easily see what is going on where you live or work by zooming in on a county or city, click on the projects for more detail or view the latest pavement conditions and repaving projects. This tool combines layers of data in one application that the public can use to learn more about transportation projects in their localities.”
Virginiaroads.org has other maps, some of which are interactive, including:
- 511 real-time traffic information
- Park and ride lots
- Snow plowing status
- Virginia toll facilities
- Major road construction
- Highway safety corridors
- Truck routes
- Scenic roads
- Bicycling maps
- Capital trail
- State map
- City maps
Future updates to the portal will include bridge locations and conditions, and accident and cash information.
VDOT maintains and operates nearly 58,000 miles of roads and bridges across Virginia, the third largest state maintained highway system in the country, just behind North Carolina and Texas.
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Chris Graham
