Spatial Approach for Assessing Energy-Related Impacts on Transportation Systems

Like many other states around the country, Texas has experienced a boom in energy-related activities in recent years, particularly in the generation of wind power and the extraction of oil and natural gas. Although energy developments contribute to the state's energy reliability, they also result in many short- and long-term impacts on the state's transportation system. Recently, Texas conducted an evaluation of the effects of energy developments on the state right-of-way, including pavement, roadside, operational and safety, and economic impacts. During the evaluation, the research team developed a spatial approach for the assessment and prediction of energy impacts that used geo-databases of existing energy- and transportation-related data sets. This paper focuses on the development of the geodatabases, their applications in assessing energy-related impacts, and lessons learned during the development and application of the geodatabases. The development of the spatial databases involved significant effort in data collection and processing. The spatial databases that were developed enabled a wide range of queries and reports that helped the research team to understand the distribution and magnitude of energy activities in relation to transportation facilities. In addition to information about data sources and data processing methodologies, the spatial databases provided state transportation officials a useful framework for energy-related transportation planning and assessment of energy impacts and their trends. The valuable lessons and recommended strategies can help other states to fully utilize spatial data sources for understanding energy-related impacts and developing mitigation strategies.