Maine’s Approach to Data Warehousing for State Departments of Transportation

Most transportation agencies are faced with changing needs, challenges, and limited resources. State departments of transportation need tools to address these issues. One such solution combines data warehouse and geographic information systems (GIS) technology to allow easy access to reliable information for systemwide query, analysis, and reporting. To meet these challenges, to be more responsive, and to provide staff and managers with a better platform with which to deliver integrated transportation information to both internal and external customers, the Maine Department of Transportation (MeDOT) has turned to integrating data warehousing and GIS technologies. A detailed overview of MeDOT’s Transportation Information for Decision Enhancement (TIDE), a robust GIS-linked data warehouse, is given. A range of inherent technical issues involved in a project of this nature is discussed. The role that TIDE has played in breaking down the functional boundaries that have existed on both informational and technical fronts and how this robust tool facilitates the growth of agency integration also are discussed.