Missouri Department of Transportation

Data Management 

& Spatial 

Integration 

Missouri’s Transportation Management 

System 

SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY 

FHWA-SA-21-016 

Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety 

Roadway Safety Data Program 

http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp
i SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Notice 

This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the U.S. Department of Transportation in the 

interest of information exchange. The U.S. Government assumes no liability for the use of the 

information contained in this document. 

The U.S. Government does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ 

names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the 

document. 

Quality Assurance Statement 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides high-quality information to serve Government, 

industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used 

to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. FHWA 

periodically reviews quality issues and adjusts its programs and processes to ensure continuous quality 

improvement. 
ii SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

1. Report No.

FHWA-SA-21-016

2. Government Accession 

No.

3. Recipient's Catalog No.

 

4. Title and Subtitle

Data Management & Spatial Integration: Missouri’s Transportation Management 

System

5. Report Date

February 2021

6. Performing Organization Code

7.Author(s) 

Ian Hamilton and Catherine Chestnutt

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name and Address

Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc (VHB)

940 Main Campus Drive 

Raleigh, NC 27606 

10. Work Unit No.

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-16-D-00052

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

Federal Highway Administration Office of Safety 

1200 New Jersey Ave., SE

Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period

Case Study, January 2020-January

2022 

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

FHWA

15. Supplementary Notes

The contract managers for this report were Esther Strawder and Jerry Roche.

16. Abstract

This case study documents how the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT’s) Transportation Planning Division 

(TPD) coordinates with the Information Systems unit (the agency’s information technology unit) and the State’s Traffic Records 

Coordinating Committee (TRCC) to form a leadership group that supports the State’s data management and integration activities. 

The State’s Transportation Management System (TMS) stores all transportation-related data maintained by the agency. This 

Oracle-based database, directly managed by TPD, ties all asset data to a single, all public roads basemap and linear referencing 

system (LRS). This provides a tabular LRS location and a spatial location compatible with geographic information systems (GIS) 

software for all data elements located along Missouri’s public roads network. This spatial orientation supports several data 

management and integration efforts between different business units within MoDOT, as well as with external partners that 

manage relevant safety data. The DOT committed to spatial data integration early in the development of theTMS, and it has led to 

the flexible and expandable repository that exists today.

17. Key Words: 

Data Management, Safety, Data, Spatial, 

Integration

18. Distribution Statement

No restrictions.

19. Security Classif. (of this report)

Unclassified

20. Security Classif. (of this 

page) Unclassified

21. No. of Pages

 16 

22. Price

Technical Documentation Page
iii SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016
iv SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Acronyms 

Acronym Description

DOT department of transportation

FHWA Federal Highway Administration 

GIS geographic information system

HPMS Highway Performance Monitoring System

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems 

IS Information Systems

ISTEA Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act

LETS Law Enforcement Traffic System

LRM linear referencing method 

LRS linear referencing system

MIRE-FDE Model Inventory of Roadway Elements Fundamental Data Elements 

MMS Maintenance Management System

MoDOT Missouri Department of Transportation

MPO metropolitan planning organization

MSHP Missouri State Highway Patrol

RPC regional planning commission

SME subject matter expert 

SP&R State Planning and Research

STARS State of Missouri’s Accident Reporting System

STIP Statewide Transportation Improvement Program

TMS Transportation Management System

TPD Transportation Planning Division

TRCC Traffic Records Coordinating Committee 
v SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Table of Contents 

Introduction................................................................................................................................... 1

Overview of the Transportation Management System............................................................. 2

Data Management......................................................................................................................... 5

Training .......................................................................................................................................... 7

Funding........................................................................................................................................... 7

Challenges...................................................................................................................................... 7

Conclusions and Lessons Learned ............................................................................................... 8

References ...................................................................................................................................... 9

List of Figures

Figure 1. Graphic. MoDOT’s Q2 2020 performance highlights in Tracker. ............................ 3

Figure 2. Graphic. Missouri’s State Highway Patrol Mapping Tool.......................................... 4

Figure 3. Graphic. MoDOT’s Data Zone..................................................................................... 7
vi SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Executive Summary

This case study documents how the Missouri Department of Transportation’s (MoDOT’s) 

Transportation Planning Division (TPD) coordinates with the Information Systems unit (the agency’s 

information technology unit) and the State’s Traffic Records Coordinating Committee (TRCC) to form a 

leadership group that supports the State’s data management and integration activities. The State’s 

Transportation Management System (TMS) stores all transportation-related data maintained by the 

agency. This Oracle-based database, directly managed by TPD, ties all asset data to a single, all public 

roads basemap and linear referencing system (LRS). This provides a tabular LRS location and a spatial 

location compatible with geographic information systems (GIS) software for all data elements located 

along Missouri’s public roads network. This spatial orientation supports several data management and 

integration efforts between different business units within MoDOT, as well as with external partners 

that manage relevant safety data. The DOT committed to spatial data integration early in the 

development of the TMS, and it has led to the flexible and expandable repository that exists today.
1 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Introduction 

In 2019, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) completed the second U.S. Roadway Safety Data 

Capabilities Assessment (FHWA, 2019). This nationwide survey documented the safety data processes, 

policies, and procedures of all 50 States plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. This survey not only 

highlighted the current state of practice with respect to all phases of safety data collection, management, 

integration, and analysis, but it also revealed that State Departments of Transportation (DOTs) were 

eager to improve their capacity for data management and integration. The purpose of this case study is 

to highlight a noteworthy example by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) with 

respect to its data governance, management, and integration practices.

A core technology and data team within MoDOT, in coordination with the various data stewards 

throughout the agency, have continually developed the agency’s enterprise data capabilities for decades

(since the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act – ISTEA – of 1991). The agency’s enterprise 

database, the Transportation Management System (TMS), has been a cornerstone of MoDOT’s abilities

to spatially manage data and technology to support the agency’s broader transportation objectives. In 

fact, the TMS has served as a model for other proprietary transportation data systems that have been 

implemented at State DOTs across the country. As the second U.S. Roadway Safety Data Capabilities 

Assessment revealed, MoDOT has become a leader in transportation data integration as a result of its

policies and experience in enterprise data management. 

Purpose and Need

This case study documents how MoDOT’s Transportation Planning Division (TPD) coordinates with the 

Information Systems (IS) unit (the agency’s information technology unit), and the State’s Traffic Records

Coordinating Committee (TRCC) to form a leadership group that supports the State’s data management 

and integration activities. This leadership group coordinates with other business units within MoDOT to

meet the agency’s enterprise data and technology needs. This case study covers the following topics:

• Data collection and data standards

• Quality control and integration with a single public roads basemap

• Data management workflows

• Partnerships within the DOT

• Methods for sharing data between State and local agencies

Target Audience: 

• Executive Leadership

• Data Governance Committees

• Information Technology Staff

• Data Managers, Analysts, and Stewards

• Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) in Planning and Engineering

 
2 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Overview of the Transportation Management System

MoDOT stores all transportation-related data maintained by the agency in the TMS. This Oracle-based

database, directly managed by TPD, ties all asset data to a single, all public roads basemap and linear 

referencing system (LRS). This provides a tabular LRS location and a spatial location compatible with 

geographic information systems (GIS) software for all data elements located along Missouri’s public 

roads network, including:

• Roadway cross-section (e.g., lanes, median presence, etc.)

• Traffic volumes

• Crash locations

• Grade inventories

• Curve inventories

• Guard rail and barrier inventories

• Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) devices (e.g., cameras and speed signs)

• Pavement inventories

• Signs inventories

• Planned improvements; based on the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) 

The spatial component of the TMS allows the system to be very flexible with minimally processed data

that may use different linear referencing methods (LRM). Although the system requires a minimum 

standard for data to be integrated into the relational database, the TMS is capable of integrating 

relatively unstructured data by converting each data element’s unique location to a standardized location 

on the State’s basemap. This single, comprehensive basemap is the key component that allows MoDOT 

to effectively maintain its spatial data inventories with minimal time spent converting messy or disparate 

datasets.

Data Collection and Standards

MoDOT uses several methods to collect the data that support the agency’s strategic objectives. These 

include aerial imagery, video logs, mobile applications, and traffic counts. Individual MoDOT business 

units, district offices, and external partners collect the large volume of transportation data aggregated 

into the TMS. For instance, while MoDOT’s central office is responsible for maintaining the functional 

classification of each road segment, district offices maintain rumble strip and striping inventories. The 

strength of the agency’s data management process is its emphasis on spatial location. By focusing on 

spatial data as the backbone of the system, the TMS can accommodate data maintained by several 

different owners.

Local Data Aggregation

Local agencies submit data on local roads to MoDOT as part of an ongoing program. County agencies

provide spatial information to MoDOT through red-lined map books. These contain the physical 

alignment of any local roads, as well as any supplementary information available to the county (e.g., 

number of lanes and surface type). This program serves as a primary method for collecting local Model 
3 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Inventory of Roadway Elements Fundamental Data Elements (MIRE-FDE) for non-State maintained 

roads. 

Data Integration

Despite the range of individual data 

stewards and owners collecting and 

maintaining asset data elements, the TPD is 

able to effectively aggregate these data and 

spatially integrate them into the State’s 

enterprise data systems. MoDOT adheres 

to documented metadata standards and 

data definitions for all data elements in its 

inventories. There are standardized 

processes and business rules for adding 

data elements to the TMS, and the agency 

applies a series of pre-validation checks on 

roadway and GIS data. 

This emphasis on spatial integration,

adherence to standards, and 

documentation provides a more efficient 

integration process. This not only allows 

the TMS to be a more flexible and 

expandable repository, but it also supports

MoDOT’s core function of providing a safe 

and reliable transportation system. Readily 

accessible data allow individual business 

units to perform their jobs more 

efficiently. The DOT relies on the efficient 

management and availability of the State’s 

data to track the outcomes listed in the 

agency’s quarterly performance 

assessment, Tracker: Measures of 

Departmental Performance. MoDOT is required to document these outcomes for its executive leadership 

and the general public (figure 1). The State’s crash data system and partnership between the DOT and 

law enforcement agencies demonstrate this approach and the benefits of an integrated data system.

Integration with Law Enforcement

Missouri’s crash data system is a practical example of inter-agency cooperation with the goal of safety 

data standardization and integration. In 2001, MoDOT and the Missouri State Highway Patrol (MSHP) 

collaborated on a joint data system that incorporated the MSHP’s State of Missouri’s Accident Reporting 

System (STARS) directly into the TMS. This cooperation between two of the largest traffic safety data

managers in the State produced a single crash data location tool and repository housed within MoDOT. 

This system spatially links crash data from law enforcement with MoDOT’s traffic and roadway asset 

inventories.

Figure 1. Graphic. MoDOT’s Q2 2020 performance 

highlights in Tracker.

© MoDOT
4 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

As of 2017, 237 local law enforcement agencies in the State use an electronic crash reporting system, 

the Law Enforcement Traffic System (LETS), that standardizes the crash data import into the TMS 

repository. To support this process, the IS staff at MoDOT developed a GIS-based user interface to 

assist crash mapping at State and local law enforcement agencies. The State Highway Patrol Mapping 

Tool is accessible via web-browser, and it allows reporting officers to both spatially locate crashes and 

link crash locations to the State’s LRS; the interface is designed to be readily accessible by users with 

limited GIS experience and skill (figure 2). 

Figure 2. Graphic. Missouri’s State Highway Patrol Mapping Tool. 

© MoDOT
5 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

By spatially integrating crash data with the State’s road and asset inventories directly within the TMS, 

MoDOT is able to efficiently manage the State’s safety data and produce the comprehensive summary 

reports that support the State’s safety planning efforts, including Missouri’s Strategic Highway Safety 

Plan. The DOT’s ability to automatically merge crash data with other spatial data is an example of how 

standardized data collection workflows and systems (e.g., the crash locations) impacts data integration. 

Furthermore, inter-agency cooperation with technology solutions provides a framework that reduces 

duplicate and incompatible data across the State’s safety data owners, managers, and users. 

Quality Assurance and Control

MoDOT runs a series of standardized, automated, and documented quality control checks on data 

elements in the TMS each night. These checks identify logical errors or unusual conditions in the data 

(e.g., roads with a coded median type being misclassified as undivided); the system flags errors for 

MoDOT staff to investigate. MoDOT’s single, authoritative all roads basemap makes performing these 

checks more efficient. The structured data within the TMS allow the automated checks to run with 

minimal translation of data (as opposed to a system that relied on converting data elements between 

basemaps). In addition to automated checks, video logs collected along the network as part of the 

agency’s pavement inventory process allow MoDOT staff to manually note and report any 

inconsistencies between the video and the data coded in the TMS.

Data Management

MoDOT Partnerships

Institutional partnerships form a key component of MoDOT’s data management activities. The TPD and 

IS units form a steering committee that manages the TMS. The goal of this partnership is to reduce 

redundancy and enhance data availability. The TPD houses and manages the system, while the IS

provides development support and the core funding for the system. Staff from TPD and IS, including 

director-level staff, meet monthly to discuss new opportunities, ongoing projects, and the status of the 

TMS. If a specific business unit within MoDOT proposes to make adjustments or additions to the 

agency’s data, TPD or IS will receive the request and communicate the purpose and need to its TMS 

partner. This collaboration between data stewards and developers helps prevent the creation of systems 

and data that are not compatible with the agency’s enterprise technology.

An example of this cooperation in practice at MoDOT was the recently completed Maintenance 

Management System (MMS). This two-year effort required weekly interaction between the TPD, IS, and 

relevant DOT staff, and demonstrates the effectiveness of well-managed spatial data. The MMS platform

simplifies tracking of maintenance work performed on the State’s roads by spatially locating project 

bounds on the State’s basemap and synchronizing with personnel timesheets. From a safety analysis 

perspective, this spatially integrated records system allows DOT staff to track work zone-related 

crashes, among other fiscal, project management, and data integration benefits within MoDOT.

This partnership within MoDOT is able to handle requests for data additions and technology upgrades

costing up to $250,000. For larger requests, especially those that could reshape MoDOT’s institutional 

technology and data, the State’s TRCC acts as the executive forum for transportation data governance 

activities. The TRCC strategically plans the State’s investment in transportation and safety-related data, 
6 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

and it programs a mix of Federal and State funds to achieve short- and medium-term goals. In addition 

to data-related guidance such as the Highway Performance Monitoring System (HPMS) guidelines and 

the FHWA’s Traffic Monitoring Guide (FHWA, 2016), the TRCC’s Strategic Plan serves as the primary 

data business plan for the State. As a part of this strategic planning, all major strategic investments in 

traffic data and technology require a benefit/cost analysis to be approved by the TRCC.

The active and engaged TRCC representing traffic safety partners is key to MoDOT’s successful 

program of enterprise-level data integration. TRCC membership is comprised of a broad coalition of 

data stakeholders with memoranda of understanding formalizing each agency’s participation. The 

technical TRCC meets monthly to discuss ongoing efforts and new business. 

Interagency Data Sharing

A strong relationship with local planning agencies is a critical component of MoDOT’s data management 

program. In addition to collecting map books from local agencies as a means to aggregate local road 

data, MoDOT also publishes select components of the State’s data in a browser-based platform, the 

TMS Data Zone (figure 3). Prior to the development of Data Zone, MoDOT provided yearly packages 

of data (e.g., crashes by route) to local partner agencies, such as metropolitan planning organizations 

(MPOs) and regional planning commissions (RPCs). Local agencies could then query the data for their 

own analysis purposes.

Although MoDOT still provides this service on an annual basis, the Data Zone provides direct access to 

select spatial datasets, such as the State’s HPMS data and STIP project locations. The State does not 

publish crash data and other sensitive information publicly, but local partners may access it through Data 

Zone with MoDOT’s approval. MPOs and RPCs may also request additional datasets that are not 

provided through Data Zone from the State.
7 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

Training 

As the SMEs, owners, and stewards of the TMS and MoDOT’s transportation data, the TPD provides 

customer assistance and training to individual data element stewards and end users as needed; however, 

MoDOT offers biannual training for the State’s Traveler Information System in the spring and fall. All 

data inventories collected and maintained in the TMS have an associated manual and metadata 

documentation that support training efforts across the agency.

Funding 

The TRCC allocates several Federal and State funding streams to manage data and technology 

improvements in Missouri. MoDOT mostly funds the TMS and many of the technology improvements 

intended to improve data integration under the IS unit’s budget. Within IS’s budget, State Planning and 

Research (SP&R) funds cover most activities related to data integration technology and data 

management. TPD supplements with funding for customer service and data management activities (e.g., 

GIS data management), and these are also typically covered by SP&R funds. Individual business units 

support specific relevant data needs for that unit (e.g., application development for maintenance 

management).

Challenges

While effective data governance, management, and integration can open data to a broader user base and 

provide greater efficiency to the core functions at a State DOT, the process of data collection and 

maintenance still requires active management. The TMS allows MoDOT to store and manage a diverse 

range of data elements, but individual business units must still be effective stewards of their data and 

Figure 3. Graphic. MoDOT’s Data Zone.

© MoDOT
8 SAFETY DATA CASE STUDY FHWA-SA-21-016

invest in keeping that data maintained. Data management and data integration can support the enterprise 

needs across all departments within MoDOT, but it cannot maintain quality, accuracy, and timeliness of 

data without active management from the responsible data stewards.

Finally, MoDOT has a process by which it acquires certain data elements from local agencies, but not all 

data collected by local agencies are applicable at the State level. For instance, local agencies might collect 

traffic counts to support a local analysis (e.g., a signal timing or a traffic impact analysis), but these data 

may not be sufficient for estimating annual average daily traffic. These data would not be stored in the 

TMS.

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

MoDOT built its institutional knowledge, data, and partnerships over time, and recognizes that this

gradual approach provides stability to the overall data program and with its external partners. The DOT 

committed to spatial data integration early in the development of the TMS, and it has led to the flexible 

and expandable repository that exists today. Documentation of the State’s transportation data and 

processes has been an invaluable component of keeping MoDOT’s enterprise data organized and 

available to the authorized users. 

The State does not currently have a formalized data governance committee with a documented charter 

and other formal structures, but the partnership between TPD and IS forms the leadership group that 

guides the management of data and technology at MoDOT. Furthermore, the State’s active and engaged 

TRCC performs many of the functions, and brings together many of the same partners, that a data 

governance committee would accomplish (e.g., coordination and integration of data generated outside of 

the DOT, such as the MSHP’s STARS platform and LETS program). The TRCC strategic plan serves as 

the agency’s core data business plan, and projects are prioritized and programmed in this forum. This 

combination of active management and a commitment to consistent, integrated, spatial data has made 

MoDOT a leader in the realm of transportation data management.
9 

References

 Federal Highway Administration. (2014). Missouri Roadway Data Improvement Program: Final 

Report, Washington, D.C.

 Federal Highway Administration. (2019). Second U.S. Roadway Safety Data Capabilities 

Assessment, Report No. FHWA-SA-19-018, Washington, D.C. Available online: 

https://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/rsdp/downloads/rsdp_usrsdca_final.pdf. 

 Federal Highway Administration. (2016). Traffic Monitoring Guide, Washington, D.C. Available 

online: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/policyinformation/tmguide/tmg_fhwa_pl_17_003.pdf. 

 Missouri Department of Transportation. (2020). “Tracker: Measures of Departmental 

Performance” (website). Available online: https://www.modot.org/tracker-measuresdepartmental-performance, last accessed October 12, 2020.

 Missouri Department of Transportation. (2019). State Highway Patrol Mapping Tool: Training 

Manual, Jefferson City, MO. Available online: 

http://traveler.modot.mo.gov/hpmaps/res/StateHighwayPatrolMappingTool.pdf, last accessed 

November 2, 2020. 

 Missouri Department of Transportation. (2016). Missouri’s Blueprint: A Partnership Toward Zero 

Deaths, Jefferson City, MO. Available online: http://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/modotpdfs/Blueprint_2016-2020.pdf, last accessed November 2, 2020. 

 Missouri State Highway Patrol Traffic Division. (2001). STARS/TMS Integration Project Phase I – 

Requirements Definition, Jefferson City, MO.

 Missouri Traffic Records Coordinating Committee. (2017). State of Missouri Strategic Plan: For 

the Improvement of The State Traffic Information System, Jefferson City, MO. 

 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2016). State of Missouri: Traffic Records 

Assessment, Washington, D.C.

 Phone Interview on October 6, 2020, with Brian Reagan (MoDOT) and John Miller (FHWA – 

Missouri Division). 

Contact

Missouri Department of Transportation

Brian Reagan, Transportation System Analysis Engineer

Brian.Reagan@modot.mo.gov