{"id":773110,"date":"2026-05-11T10:50:50","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:50:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcuser&#038;p=773110"},"modified":"2026-05-11T10:50:50","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T17:50:50","slug":"smoothing-out-turkey-road-network","status":"publish","type":"arcuser","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network","title":{"rendered":"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network"},"author":6921,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[493251],"tags":[1741,322812,20422,22782,493482],"arcuser_issues":[493467],"class_list":["post-773110","arcuser","type-arcuser","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-gis-at-work","tag-ai","tag-arcgis-api-for-python","tag-arcgis-pro","tag-shipping","tag-turkiye","arcuser_issues-spring-2026"],"acf":{"short_description":"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Traffic on the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route (TITR), a multimodal transport network connecting China and Europe through Central Asia, has intensified since 2022. Since Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine, this middle corridor has become a vital pathway for cargo and freight. Parts of the route are currently under development using existing roads, railways, and port facilities. But much of this infrastructure needs to be repaired or upgraded to keep up with the increased flow of traffic.\r\n\r\nThe central part of this corridor\u00a0is located in\u00a0T\u00fcrkiye, making the country a lynchpin for the TITR. Fortunately, T\u00fcrkiye already has over 90,000\u00a0kilometers\u00a0of road, including more than 100 four-lane national highways that will serve the middle corridor. Other major roadways include province highways and secondary motorways,\u00a0comprising\u00a0an extensive roadway system that is planned, designed, constructed, and\u00a0maintained\u00a0by the General Directorate of Highways (KGM).\r\n\r\nAs the TITR is built out across multiple continents, it has been an opportune time for the KGM to improve on its road maintenance process. The agency has relied on ArcGIS technology for more than 15 years, but the KGM is now employing AI tools that interface with software such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS API for Python to\u00a0maintain\u00a0and repair its vast road network.\r\n<h2>AI and Automation<\/h2>"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":773112,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cBecause of the high volume of traffic on our roadways, both domestic and international, maintenance is an expensive and ongoing process for the KGM,\u201d said\u00a0\u00d6zgen\u00e7\u00a0Uslu, director of the KGM\u2019s GIS department. \u201cThis is compounded by the country\u2019s geographic location between Europe and the Middle East, which increases the volume of goods being transported using heavy commercial vehicles.\u201d\r\n\r\nFourteen\u00a0different types\u00a0of cracks require identification and categorization for repair in the roadway system. In many cases, these varied cracks\u00a0contain\u00a0sub-structures that are difficult to distinguish visually, making manual inspection both time-consuming and prone to human error.\r\n\r\nAs a result, AI and deep learning techniques provide an ideal solution to detect subtle highway deterioration that cannot be easily\u00a0identified\u00a0by visual inspection."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":773113,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cArtificial intelligence is able to accurately classify each type of crack by processing large amounts of data during the training process,\u201d said Uslu. \u201cDeep learning works with this complex data to provide continuous, consistent, and much faster analysis of those cracks, all without\u00a0human intervention.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe KGM created a custom vehicle with specialized equipment to collect the data necessary to train models in the identification of pavement cracks and specify necessary repairs. This included lidar imagery of highway surface conditions and panoramic views of the roads.\u00a0Nearly 2.5\u00a0million panoramic images and the related five terabytes of lidar data were collected and geotagged during a four-month period in 2024. Each image was stored simultaneously with its coordinates so that crews could easily find the cracked pavement in need of repair.\r\n\r\nThe KGM team used ArcGIS Pro for data processing and visualization, with the ArcGIS Image Analyst extension for advanced imagery processing and analysis. ArcGIS Notebooks was used for rapid\u00a0modeling\u00a0and prototyping, while ArcGIS Enterprise allows crack detection data to be published as a service."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":773114,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Additionally, ArcGIS API for Python automated data preparation for deep learning workflows by applying transformations and augmentations to training data.\r\n\r\nThe team also used Python and\u00a0ArcPy\u00a0to automate processes, as well as the deep learning libraries of fast.ai and\u00a0PyTorch, plus\u00a0LabelImg\u00a0for image\u00a0labeling. PostgreSQL and\u00a0PostGIS\u00a0allowed the KGM to store panoramic image coordinates as well as lidar data, and\u00a0LAStools\u00a0and PDAL were used for point cloud processing.\r\n\r\n\u201cWith the Single Shot Detector algorithm, model training was performed using the deep learning capabilities of ArcGIS Pro,\u201d said Uslu. \u201cThe model was\u00a0optimized\u00a0to accurately detect cracks. On the completion of its training, it\u00a0identified\u00a0cracks on the panoramic images and saved these data with their coordinates. The cracks were then\u00a0analyzed\u00a0with lidar data to\u00a0determine\u00a0their depth. The resulting data were used to assess the severity of the cracks.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":773115,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>Expanding the Network<\/h2>\r\nImproving T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s roads with AI\u00a0didn\u2019t\u00a0begin and end with crack identification, however. The KGM recently completed three other projects using ArcGIS and AI.\r\n\r\nA speed limit map\u00a0analyzed\u00a0road type, pavement data, toll plaza locations, and residential area boundaries for a nationwide highway analysis. This was used to create a speed limit prediction model.\r\n\r\nThe KGM also used AI and a lidar-generated point cloud to sort road terrain into three categories according to slope for land structure classification. Processed terrain data was published as a GIS feature layer."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":773116,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"For a traffic safety study, deep learning models were trained to detect curve points and their start and end positions in the roadway network. The radii were then calculated using the existing road\u00a0centerline.\r\n\r\n\u201cIn the future, we plan to use artificial intelligence algorithms to detect and classify the deformations and distortions of our bridges using high-resolution images captured with a drone,\u201d said Uslu.\r\n\r\nThe possibilities for AI-augmented GIS projects are myriad\u2014and crucial\u2014when it comes to T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network. And with the heavy traffic coming through, the KGM is more determined than ever to ensure that its roads are well-maintained and well-equipped to handle\u00a0the load."}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network | Spring 2026 | ArcUser<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Esri\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/arcuser-banner-smoothing-wide.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Esri\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\n\t    \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n\t    \"@graph\": [\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebPage\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network | Spring 2026 | ArcUser\",\n\t            \"isPartOf\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"datePublished\": \"2026-05-11T17:50:50+00:00\",\n\t            \"description\": \"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.\",\n\t            \"breadcrumb\": {\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network#breadcrumb\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ReadAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": [\n\t                        \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network\"\n\t                    ]\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"BreadcrumbList\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network#breadcrumb\",\n\t            \"itemListElement\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 1,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Home\",\n\t                    \"item\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\"\n\t                },\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"ListItem\",\n\t                    \"position\": 2,\n\t                    \"name\": \"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network\"\n\t                }\n\t            ]\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"WebSite\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website\",\n\t            \"url\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Esri\",\n\t            \"description\": \"Esri Newsroom\",\n\t            \"potentialAction\": [\n\t                {\n\t                    \"@type\": \"SearchAction\",\n\t                    \"target\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"EntryPoint\",\n\t                        \"urlTemplate\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}\"\n\t                    },\n\t                    \"query-input\": {\n\t                        \"@type\": \"PropertyValueSpecification\",\n\t                        \"valueRequired\": true,\n\t                        \"valueName\": \"search_term_string\"\n\t                    }\n\t                }\n\t            ],\n\t            \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\"\n\t        },\n\t        {\n\t            \"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t            \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/2ea2e24ff1bf1335829717357eaf3b3a\",\n\t            \"name\": \"Lidia Davidson\",\n\t            \"image\": {\n\t                \"@type\": \"ImageObject\",\n\t                \"inLanguage\": \"en-US\",\n\t                \"@id\": \"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\n\t                \"url\": \"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\n\t                \"contentUrl\": \"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g\",\n\t                \"caption\": \"Lidia Davidson\"\n\t            },\n\t            \"url\": \"\"\n\t        }\n\t    ]\n\t}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network | Spring 2026 | ArcUser","description":"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network","og_description":"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network","og_site_name":"Esri","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/esrigis\/","og_image":[{"url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/app\/uploads\/2026\/05\/arcuser-banner-smoothing-wide.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_site":"@Esri","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network","name":"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network | Spring 2026 | ArcUser","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-05-11T17:50:50+00:00","description":"T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s road network is vital for cargo and freight. Learn how the country uses GIS and AI tools to keep up with maintenance needs.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcuser\/smoothing-out-turkey-road-network#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Smoothing Out T\u00fcrkiye\u2019s Road Network"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/","name":"Esri","description":"Esri Newsroom","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/2ea2e24ff1bf1335829717357eaf3b3a","name":"Lidia Davidson","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/69fae831c26e7d10c2c6cdaff1c8c9f2e148d083fe79f851e5ad201f7793fad5?s=96&d=blank&r=g","caption":"Lidia Davidson"},"url":""}]}},"sort_order":"8","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser\/773110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/arcuser"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6921"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser\/773110\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=773110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=773110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=773110"},{"taxonomy":"arcuser_issues","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/arcuser_issues?post=773110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}