Video logging, aerial photography and satellite imaging are giving researchers a better picture of highways and could pave the way to safer and more efficient roads. The focus of the project is a 50-mile stretch of Florida's Interstate 10 between Jacksonville and Tallahassee. Using remote sensing, Demin Xiong of Oak Ridge National Laboratory is gathering extensive information about roadways such as pavement types, road conditions, geography, locations of road signs, traffic signals, center lines, shoulders, medians and lane widths. This information can support many applications, including roadway planning, operations, project management and maintenance. Information technology, particularly Intelligent Transportation Systems, is a key strategy to improve transportation safety and efficiency. The ability to collect data faster, cheaper and more accurately without interruption to normal transportation operations is an essential component to this strategy. Officials with the United States and Florida departments of Transportation, which funded the project, plan to use the information to help solve real-world problems using the latest technologies. Findings and recommendations will be presented at a conference planned for December in Jacksonville.
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