Washington State GIS Transportation Repository Takes Long Road

create data processing routines that would be as automated as possible. But the routines had to be individualized for each provider's unique geographic coverage, scale, datum, metadata, linear referencing, attributes and data quality. Using FME, the WA-Trans team developed a "master" transformation template to manage processes common to all providers, to place provider data into the centralized database, and to flag processes needing customization for each provider.

To submit data to WA-Trans, providers securely log on to the provider portal and browse their own system to select data files for upload. The portal validation system verifies that all required GIS files are present; then the provider is allowed to submit the data. Submitting the files initiates FME to begin the validation and translation process that's specific to that individual provider. After the data is successfully translated into WA-Trans, automated change detection processes can flag changes since the most recent data submittal. FME also performs control checks to verify the proper data schema, the completeness of data; it also identifies data duplicates and flags the possible data issues. Once the data passes the quality assurance process, it's distributed to the WA-Trans Microsoft SQL, ArcSDE centralized database that all providers can access.

"By building the FME master transformation template and other customized templates, we have been able to integrate local data sets much more efficiently, reducing the hours per individual provider by 90 percent," says Leierer. "And we continually ask for provider feedback each time a new data set is added to WA-Trans."

To retrieve WA-Trans data, users simply access the data-user portal built on Latitude Geographics' Geocortex Essentials technology, search for the specific data they need and choose the data sets in their desired format. FME then extracts the chosen data layers, transforms them into the specified format, and when the data is ready it automatically sends users a message with a link to their downloadable zipped file.

"FME is critical for bringing data from providers into the database, and for serving it out," said Leierer. " Having a good spatial ETL tool like FME is a critical factor in WA-Trans's success thus far."

24-Hour Drive-Through

With WA-Trans a reality, WSDOT personnel, other state agencies and county authorities are navigating a path to numerous operational and financial benefits, and paving strong collaborative bonds along the way.

"WA-Trans has facilitated dialog and collaboration between counties and entire regions on a scale rarely achieved with previous data-management structures," said Griffin. "With WA-Trans, suddenly everyone can be on the same data page, enabling people to perform E-911 planning and routing, transportation planning and maintenance, root cause incident analyses and road-related reporting with far more efficiency and confidence. And they can do it on a countywide, regionwide or statewide basis."

By spring 2010, WA-Trans will include seven of the most populous counties, which Leierer said comprise more than 70 percent of the state's traffic incidents. That data will enable users to analyze the root cause of traffic incidents, which will be particularly beneficial to WSDOT and local jurisdictions. For example, in the past, individual counties as well as WSDOT were only able to analyze roadway incidents within their respective jurisdictions, which didn't provide an accurate view of the entire safety mitigation picture. WA-Trans provides a holistic base map. Now local law enforcement can identify the exact X,Y location of collisions on the roadway, and WSDOT personnel can combine those geolocations with other roadway-related information, such as the locations of bars or schools, to determine if there are other mitigating factors contributing to the volume of collisions at a given location. That can help the state spend their transportation dollars more effectively, rather than using anecdotal information for justifying decisions.

Access to the seamless database opens up other interests and potential applications. Regional planning and transportation planning organizations now can acquire