Current GIS Projects

Below is a list of current projects that the CDOT Geographic Information Systems (GIS) team is working on. Please check back for updates as these projects progress.

Equity Mapping & Project Scoring

The CDOT GIS section is partnering with the CDOT Office of Environmental Justice and Equity and the CDOT Civil Rights and Business Resource Center to map environmental justice and equity factors in an interactive online mapping tool. The tool includes CDOT asset and roadway location data, US Census data, and data from a variety of initiatives including Justice40, the Colorado Environmental Justice Act (HB21-1266), and the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment EnviroScreen. A future goal of this project is to bring together relevant, location-intelligent data sources to score and evaluate planned transportation projects in the context of equity and environmental justice factors.

Linear Referencing System/Roadway Updates

The CDOT GIS Section Data Management Unit develops, manages, and maintains the statewide roadway Linear Referencing System (LRS) and roadway characteristics that represent the current status of the state’s public roadway network for use by CDOT and other state and federal agencies, metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs), local governments and the general public. The Data Management Unit is working on ensuring more timely updates of roadway changes so that the GIS roadway data we publish is as accurate, complete and current as possible. This project involves updating internal CDOT policy and working with other CDOT business units and systems on manual and automated notifications of roadway changes.

Real-Time Data Integration

CDOT GIS staff are working closely with the CDOT Office of Data Management to translate real-time data feeds from CDOT’s real-time data hub (Google Cloud Platform/Confluent Kafka) to continuously updated GIS layers that can be used in internal and public online maps and applications. Some of the feeds that will be available are:

  • Atmospheric and road weather
  • Snowplow locations
  • Current traffic incidents
  • Planned events (construction, closures, etc.)

CDOT is using Esri’s ArcGIS VelocityⓇ product to complete the transformation of these feeds to GIS layers. When this project has been completed CDOT will provide access to these real-time GIS layers via CDOT’s OpenData website.

Right-of-Way Mapping

The CDOT GIS Section worked over the past several years to transform CDOT’s Right-of-Way (ROW) information into authoritative digital GIS data and link that data to official ROW records. This data has proven to be incredibly valuable and is helping with the following CDOT use cases:

  • Title IV/non-discrimination investigation
  • Managing and maintaining vacant and leased property
  • Selling unused property
  • Lane improvement projects
  • Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) work involving topographic surveys and bridge and construction inspections
  • Traditional survey activities
  • Identifying electric vehicle charging station locations
  • Environmental scoping
  • Much more!

This data is also being used to identify vacant, CDOT-owned property that could be ideal for solar energy development in the future. CDOT has currently mapped about 85% of its ROW information and is working towards improving the data quality so that it can be provided to the public in the future.

Statewide Aerial Imagery

CDOT recently purchased statewide high resolution imagery from Vexcel®. CDOT is working with the Colorado Office of Information Technology (OIT) to make this imagery available to CDOT employees. The imagery includes 4 bands (RGB, NIR) and has a resolution of 15 cm. 7.5 cm resolution imagery and oblique imagery is available for urban areas. The imagery products can be utilized by all Colorado government agencies and their partners. To learn more and gain access please read the Colorado Statewide Imagery User Guide. 

System of Engagement/CDOT GeoHub

In 2017 the CDOT Office of Data Management (formerly the Chief Data Office) and the CDOT GIS Section partnered with EsriⓇ to complete a System of Engagement. This system consists of over 15 web mapping applications, dashboards, and field data collection tools that help CDOT staff with daily operations and enable them to make better decisions in a location-intelligent environment. The CDOT GIS Section took over management of the System of Engagement in 2020 and rebranded it as the CDOT GeoHub. The CDOT GeoHub applications have over 1,500 internal users and also includes the Freight and Trucking Dashboard that is open to the public. GIS Section staff continue to develop new GeoHub applications to serve CDOT business needs and additional applications will be available to the public in the future. More detailed information on many of the GeoHub applications can be found online here.