RESEARCH PAYS OFF: INFORMATION ENGINEERING BOOSTS UTAH DOT'S EFFICIENCY

For many years, transportation agencies have been developing systems, such as those for pavement and bridge management, that combine hardware, software, and data files to solve particular problems. These systems have been isolated, with files being unique to the system in which they were created. Moreover, the systems have grown over time, and integration and maintenance problems have resulted. These limitations, together with requirements for increased quality, timeliness, and ability to manage change, are forcing organizations to consider implementing agencywide information architectures. This article describes how this problem presented itself to the Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT), UDOT's solution, and the benefits UDOT has realized and will continue to realize in the years to come.