Local Roads Mileage System - Liquid Fuels Network Migration Design

The PennDOT Local Road Mileage system is used to determine the Liquid Fuels funding allocations for each municipality in the State. Municipalities use this funding to help improve road conditions in local communities and create additional roadway engineering opportunities. The system is also the primary local road source for the department’s All Roads Network of Linear Referenced Data (ARNOLD). ARNOLD is provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and contains the locations of all roads in the State.

­JMT worked with stakeholders from PennDOT Central Office, as well as numerous districts, to develop, test, and implement the new system. JMT developed this workflow-based application to allow users to enter and edit liquid fuels inventory data, submit data for review, validate inventory data, and generate the required reports. The system required varying levels of access for administrators, district users, and view only. Security and permissions were tailored to support the different levels.

Prior to the implementation of the new Local Roads Mileage system, the process for submitting changes to local road mileage totals required municipalities to submit a letter requesting the addition or removal of road data, along with paper copies of the required supporting documentation to their respective PennDOT district office. The district office would then complete an official form for the purposes of summarizing and submitting the annual local and turnback mileage data changes for approval. The goal was to ensure that the annual Liquid Fuels fund payments to the municipalities were timely and accurate.

While the legacy process served its purpose, the new Local Road Mileage system directly improves the process by providing an intranet-based application that centralizes the processes, data, and documentation essential for updating and maintaining local road data and efficiently dispersing Liquid Fuels funds payments to municipalities. This new system helped modernize the entire process making it more efficient and sustainable for municipalities and PennDOT.

This project was selected as a 2022 Diamond Award for Engineering Excellence from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Pennsylvania. “JMT’s work with the PennDOT Local Road Mileage System has created a more streamlined process that allows the system to work more effectively,” said Leeann Sherman, executive director of ACEC/PA. “We are so impressed by the work JMT has been able to accomplish with their knowledge, skill and innovative ideas.”