Culvert Assessment for MDOT's Transportation Asset Management System

Real-Time Data Collection Offers Efficiencies in Asset Management Planning

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) partnered with OHM Advisors to inventory culverts in multiple counties, with project parameters to include spatial location and condition assessment information, for use in its Transportation Asset Management System (TAMS). With an in-depth understanding of the devastation that can be caused when culvert conditions remain unchecked, our surveyors, GIS analysts and structural engineers located and inspected the designated culverts in a timely fashion and provided accurate, complete data to MDOT in real time.

Our team visited each non-driveway culvert within the project limits and recorded direct observations, determining the proper spatial location and assessing the condition of each—noting information on deterioration, deformation, joint stability, scour protection and other attributes. Where needed, we viewed interior pipes via use of a GoPro camera, a method our team established to eliminate the need for a subcontractor to view physically inaccessible areas and save our clients time and money on the project.

We collected assessment information using the industry-standard software, ESRI Collector and ArcGIS Online, and published the collected information in real time via web-based portal ArcGIS Online. In this way, our team could perform daily monitoring of the collected data to check for duplicate lines, compare against the aerial imagery, eliminate any vertices needing to be deleted, and confirm attribute information for culvert lines or culvert ends. We provided accurate, reliable information to MDOT the first time, saving the agency time and money and enabling it to plan the most efficient future culvert maintenance activities.

Project Highlights: DOT, GIS, surveying, asset inventory, condition assessment, permitting assistance, MDOT policies & procedures, reporting