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Transportation

Apply GIS to resilient infrastructure projects using federal funding

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Rethink transportation infrastructure investments

Transportation agencies have the opportunity to use funding resources to build needed transportation networks for the future, not simply repair aging infrastructure. With a geographic approach to infrastructure planning and management, agency leaders can analyze data with location-based context that informs strategic decisions about where and how to invest transportation infrastructure funding.

Areas that GIS can support

Fund the right project at the right time

Making the most strategic investments involves finding the optimal balance among factors such as safety, congestion mitigation, and economic development to achieve the greatest societal benefit. GIS analysis can help you understand the trade-offs between different investments, ensuring that agencies' dollars deliver the greatest impact. GIS is a platform of insight that helps decision-makers achieve smarter transportation infrastructure investments that benefit the community.

Read the smart planning ebook
A gray city map with routes in orange and yellow, and a photo of a construction site on the median between two curving highways

Design lasting transportation networks

GIS is an essential tool to address current climate-related vulnerabilities, identify areas with future risk, and determine where to focus mitigation efforts. Design resilient infrastructure and stay aligned with federal funding objectives with spatial analysis that enhances nearly every aspect of infrastructure planning and project management.

Use GIS to

  • Inventory and manage the conditions of assets. 
  • Understand asset criticality, determined by social and economic importance, and identify available alternatives.
  • Run prediction models that reveal patterns that help develop long-range plans.
Read the resiliency ebook
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Ensure transportation systems are fair and equitable

Location is central to understanding inequity, especially in transportation where mobility and accessibility vary with demographics. GIS provides a framework for analyzing social imbalances in communities near infrastructure investments so agencies can achieve greater equity and meet new federal funding equity requirements. Deliver enhanced mobility to jobs, schools, housing, and health care with location-based data and analysis in GIS.

Read one agency's approach
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Products for your recovery efforts

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Available funding programs

Current funding programs support a wide range of transportation investment activities. GIS can help you meet and stay aligned with the objectives in these featured programs.

PROTECT Program

Make surface transportation resilient by supporting planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure.

Read the fact sheet

Airport Improvement Program Discretionary Grants

Eligible projects include improvements related to enhancing airport safety, capacity, security, and environmental concerns.

Learn about these grants

Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program

This program provides funding for community projects that help reduce the number of deaths and serious injuries on highways, streets, and roads.

Learn about this program

RAISE Grants

The RAISE Discretionary Grant Program helps communities build transportation projects that have significant local or regional impact and improve safety and equity.

Explore the grant program

Insight on how to use federal funding

  • Two elevated L train tracks with two rail cars surrounded by modern, high-rise buildings in downtown Chicago
    Case study

    Chicago RTA transforms rider experience with GIS

    The Chicago Regional Transportation Authority (RTA) used GIS to understand and fulfill riders’ needs while enhancing the services they provide.

  • A bridge that crosses a body of water illuminated by streetlights
    Blog

    Virginia ahead of curve on prioritizing infrastructure projects

    The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and Office of Intermodal Planning and Investment (OIPI) leveraged GIS to assist with the evaluation and prioritization of infrastructure projects across the state.

  • José Simo and Carl Hughes from the Massachusetts Department of Transportation giving a presentation at the 2022 Esri UC
    Video

    A common system for infrastructure investments

    The Massachusetts Department of Transportation developed GeoDOT Local, a hub to connect the state to projects in cities and towns, which simplified the process of applying for and distributing infrastructure funds.

  • A residential street lined with houses and trees near a lake
    Case study

    Maryland agency improves infrastructure resilience

    The Maryland State Highway Administration is leveraging GIS to show how small changes to existing processes improve infrastructure and help to prepare for the future.

  • A map dashboard with a map, statistics, and several charts in bright blue, green, and red on a white background
    Webinar

    DOT Webinar: Addressing the Impacts of Infrastructure Investments

    Esri recognizes that the transportation industry must take bold new approaches to shaping our future. Understanding what is in front of us in a real-world setting will help decide whether we maintain and build infrastructure in the traditional fashion or if we need to shift our approach. By preparing today, we can envision how forward-thinking communities will thrive in the future.

  • Two black cars parked side by side in a parking lot, both with smashed front bumpers from recent accidents
    Webinar

    GIS for Effective Safety Management

    For roadways to become safer for citizens, DOTs need to have an effective safety management program. By using GIS as framework professionals can be empowered with tools to design better programs to improve overall roadway safety.

  • A blue-tinted aerial photo of a large urban suspension bridge across a still lake, overlaid with the ebook title in white letters
    ebook

    Build Back Smarter with GIS

    GIS provides a framework to facilitate data sharing and collaboration, allowing agencies to share the same information and have the same understanding with respect to project definitions and assumptions. Plan and deliver more strategic infrastructure investments with GIS.

  • Webinar

    A Focus on Transportation and Transit Funding

    This webinar from the Aligning Your Programs with Federal Funding series focuses on expanding your use of GIS with federal funding to address transportation and transit needs.

  • People boarding a train
    EBOOK

    Creating a More Equitable Transportation System

    Transform your transportation network with GIS technology to create more inclusive transportation systems and design policies that address historical inequities.

  • Map of San Diego area
    USER STORY

    SANDAG proposes 5 Big Moves to change transportation in the San Diego region

    The San Diego Association of Governments' (SANDAG) vision, 5 Big Moves, addresses current mobility needs and long-term trends. GIS played a role in almost every element of SANDAG's planning process, improving the quality of life for its residents.

  • High Street/Brooklyn Bridge subway stop
    WHERENEXT

    How the New York MTA manages $1 trillion in assets

    Location intelligence technology is helping the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) shift to data-driven budgeting, map its assets and maintenance needs, and give executives data to make better decisions. The transportation network encompasses hundreds of miles of track, more than 12,000 buses and train cars, and a staggering $1 trillion in assets.

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Additional Funded Areas

Explore how Esri technology aligns with other funding objectives.

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