An internet-based geographic data system (GIS) utility supplies entry to spatial knowledge maintained by the Maine Division of Transportation. This interactive device permits customers to visualise and analyze transportation-related data throughout the state. For instance, people can use it to view highway classifications, bridge areas, site visitors counts, and deliberate development tasks.
The accessibility of transportation knowledge by this utility promotes transparency and facilitates knowledgeable decision-making. Stakeholders, together with authorities companies, companies, and the general public, can leverage this useful resource for planning, analysis, and group engagement. Traditionally, accessing such knowledge required direct requests to the division, which could possibly be time-consuming and resource-intensive. The net device streamlines this course of, providing a extra environment friendly and user-friendly different.
This text will delve into the precise options out there by the mapping system, the forms of knowledge accessible, and steerage on successfully using the device for varied purposes. Detailed explanations of the out there knowledge layers, search functionalities, and export choices will likely be offered. Moreover, issues for knowledge accuracy, limitations, and applicable use will likely be mentioned.
1. Information visualization
The Maine DOT mapping utility depends closely on knowledge visualization strategies to current complicated transportation data in an accessible and comprehensible format. With out efficient knowledge visualization, the uncooked knowledge units can be largely unusable for many stakeholders. Trigger and impact are immediately linked right here: the information units are collected (trigger), and knowledge visualization permits for the interpretable presentation of that knowledge (impact).
Information visualization inside the system manifests in a number of varieties. Street classifications are sometimes represented utilizing color-coded strains overlaid on a map. Site visitors quantity is indicated by various line thicknesses or heatmaps. Bridge circumstances may be displayed utilizing icons or symbols, with shade representing the structural integrity of every bridge. For example, customers can rapidly determine areas with excessive accident charges by spatially clustered factors or shaded areas, which then prompts additional investigation into potential security enhancements.
In conclusion, knowledge visualization isn’t merely a beauty characteristic; it’s a important part enabling the utilization of the Maine DOT’s geospatial data. It transforms uncooked knowledge into actionable insights, supporting knowledgeable decision-making throughout varied transportation-related actions. The effectiveness of the mapping utility hinges on its potential to current knowledge visually, permitting customers to simply grasp traits, patterns, and anomalies.
2. Spatial Evaluation
Spatial evaluation, as carried out inside the Maine DOT mapping utility, gives a collection of analytical strategies for understanding geographic patterns and relationships inside the transportation community. These analytical capabilities prolong past easy visualization, enabling customers to derive insights and make knowledgeable selections based mostly on the spatial traits of the information.
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Proximity Evaluation
Proximity evaluation assesses the gap between options. Inside the mapping system, this permits customers to determine areas inside a specified radius of transportation infrastructure, corresponding to figuring out the inhabitants density inside one mile of a proposed freeway exit ramp. This data is essential for assessing environmental impacts, planning emergency providers, and evaluating the accessibility of transportation assets to totally different communities.
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Community Evaluation
Community evaluation examines the connectivity and movement inside the transportation community. This performance permits the willpower of optimum routes, identification of bottlenecks, and evaluation of the affect of highway closures. For instance, a transportation planner can make the most of community evaluation to calculate essentially the most environment friendly route for emergency autos throughout peak site visitors hours or to judge the affect of a bridge closure on regional freight motion.
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Overlay Evaluation
Overlay evaluation combines a number of datasets to determine spatial relationships. By overlaying datasets corresponding to crash areas with highway traits, analysts can determine high-risk areas and perceive the contributing elements to accidents. The sort of evaluation helps focused security enhancements and useful resource allocation to mitigate potential hazards.
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Sizzling Spot Evaluation
Sizzling spot evaluation identifies statistically important clusters of options. Within the context of the Maine DOT mapping utility, this can be utilized to determine areas with a excessive focus of accidents, site visitors congestion, or infrastructure deficiencies. Pinpointing these sizzling spots permits the DOT to prioritize investments and implement focused options to handle particular challenges.
Collectively, these spatial evaluation instruments remodel the mapping utility from a easy visualization platform into a robust analytical useful resource. By leveraging these capabilities, stakeholders can achieve a deeper understanding of the transportation community, resulting in more practical planning, useful resource allocation, and decision-making processes throughout Maine’s transportation sector.
3. Public Entry
Public entry is a foundational precept underpinning the design and performance of the Maine DOT mapping utility. This dedication ensures that transportation-related data is available to a broad spectrum of customers, fostering transparency, collaboration, and knowledgeable decision-making. The accessibility of this knowledge empowers residents, researchers, and stakeholders to interact with transportation planning and growth processes.
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Information Transparency and Accountability
The mapping utility supplies a centralized repository of transportation knowledge, selling transparency in authorities operations. Publicly accessible knowledge permits residents to scrutinize deliberate tasks, assess infrastructure circumstances, and maintain the DOT accountable for its selections. For instance, residents can overview proposed freeway enlargement plans and related environmental affect research by the mapping interface, enabling knowledgeable participation in public hearings and suggestions processes.
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Neighborhood Planning and Growth
Native governments and group organizations can leverage the mapping utility for planning and growth initiatives. Entry to knowledge on site visitors patterns, demographics, and infrastructure areas facilitates data-driven decision-making in areas corresponding to zoning, transportation infrastructure enhancements, and financial growth. For example, a city planning board can use the mapping utility to determine optimum areas for brand new bus stops based mostly on ridership demand and inhabitants density.
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Analysis and Training
Researchers and academic establishments profit from public entry to transportation knowledge for varied research and tasks. The mapping utility supplies a helpful useful resource for analyzing site visitors traits, assessing the effectiveness of transportation insurance policies, and creating progressive options to transportation challenges. College college students learning city planning can use the mapping utility to conduct analysis on the affect of transportation infrastructure on land use patterns.
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Citizen Engagement and Participation
Public entry empowers residents to actively take part in transportation planning processes. By offering available data on transportation tasks and points, the mapping utility encourages knowledgeable dialogue and collaboration between the DOT and the general public. Residents can use the appliance to report issues about highway circumstances, site visitors hazards, or accessibility points, contributing to a extra responsive and citizen-centric transportation system.
These aspects of public entry collectively reinforce the significance of the Maine DOT mapping utility as a device for selling transparency, collaboration, and knowledgeable decision-making in transportation planning and growth. By offering available entry to transportation knowledge, the appliance empowers stakeholders to interact with the DOT and contribute to a extra environment friendly and equitable transportation system for the state of Maine.
4. Transportation planning
The Maine DOT mapping utility serves as a central device inside the state’s transportation planning processes. Its potential to visualise and analyze spatial knowledge immediately helps knowledgeable decision-making throughout varied planning levels. Transportation planning actions, starting from long-range strategic plans to particular project-level designs, rely upon correct and accessible knowledge; the mapping utility delivers this basis. With no dependable supply of spatial knowledge, transportation planning turns into considerably tougher, counting on much less environment friendly strategies for knowledge assortment and evaluation. For example, when creating a brand new freeway alignment, planners can make the most of the system to evaluate environmental constraints, current land use patterns, and potential impacts on adjoining communities. Trigger and impact are evident: complete planning requires entry to high quality knowledge, and the mapping utility facilitates the efficient presentation and evaluation of stated knowledge.
The applying’s particular functionalities immediately help varied facets of transportation planning. Site visitors quantity knowledge informs capability planning and identifies areas the place infrastructure enhancements are wanted. Accident knowledge helps security evaluation and the event of countermeasures to cut back crashes. Info on bridge circumstances and pavement high quality informs upkeep and rehabilitation methods. The flexibility to overlay a number of datasets permits planners to evaluate the affect of transportation tasks on environmental assets, corresponding to wetlands and guarded species habitats. Moreover, the mapping utility helps public engagement by offering a platform for disseminating challenge data and soliciting suggestions from stakeholders. For instance, in the course of the planning section of a bridge substitute challenge, the appliance can be utilized to current proposed designs to the general public and collect enter on potential impacts to site visitors movement and native companies.
In conclusion, the Maine DOT mapping utility is an indispensable useful resource for transportation planning inside the state. Its potential to combine and visualize disparate datasets, coupled with its analytical capabilities, empowers planners to make knowledgeable selections that improve security, effectivity, and sustainability. The applying’s position extends past merely offering knowledge; it fosters collaboration, promotes transparency, and helps a data-driven method to transportation planning. Challenges stay in guaranteeing knowledge accuracy and sustaining system performance, however the utility’s total contribution to efficient transportation planning is plain.
5. Infrastructure Stock
The Maine Division of Transportation’s mapping utility is intrinsically linked to the company’s infrastructure stock. This stock encompasses a complete catalog of transportation-related belongings, forming the spine for asset administration, upkeep planning, and capital funding selections. The mapping utility serves as the first interface for accessing, visualizing, and analyzing this important stock knowledge.
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Asset Location and Attributes
The mapping utility supplies the spatial context for the infrastructure stock by displaying the situation of assorted belongings, corresponding to bridges, culverts, roadways, and site visitors indicators. Every asset is linked to a database document containing detailed attributes, together with age, situation, materials sort, and upkeep historical past. For instance, customers can choose a particular bridge on the map and entry data on its structural score, inspection studies, and deliberate rehabilitation tasks. This integration of spatial and attribute knowledge permits environment friendly asset administration and knowledgeable decision-making.
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Situation Evaluation and Monitoring
The applying facilitates the visualization of asset situation knowledge collected by routine inspections and monitoring applications. Customers can view color-coded representations of pavement situation, bridge deck scores, and culvert structural integrity. This permits the DOT to determine belongings requiring speedy consideration and prioritize upkeep actions based mostly on the severity of decay. For example, areas of the state with a excessive focus of roads exhibiting poor pavement situation will be readily recognized, enabling the focused allocation of resurfacing assets.
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Upkeep and Rehabilitation Planning
By integrating the infrastructure stock with upkeep and rehabilitation schedules, the mapping utility helps environment friendly useful resource allocation and challenge planning. Customers can view deliberate tasks superimposed on the map, together with their related budgets and timelines. This allows stakeholders to grasp the DOT’s funding technique and assess the potential affect of deliberate tasks on the transportation community. For instance, a metropolis planner can use the appliance to view upcoming bridge rehabilitation tasks of their space and coordinate native site visitors administration methods.
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Information Integration and Interoperability
The mapping utility serves as a central hub for integrating infrastructure stock knowledge with different related datasets, corresponding to site visitors counts, accident data, and environmental constraints. This integration permits a holistic view of the transportation system and helps complete planning and evaluation. For example, by overlaying crash knowledge with roadway traits, engineers can determine high-risk areas and develop focused security enhancements, corresponding to putting in guardrails or enhancing signage.
In abstract, the Maine DOT’s mapping utility is important to the administration and utilization of the state’s infrastructure stock. The applying’s potential to spatially characterize, analyze, and combine asset knowledge helps knowledgeable decision-making throughout all levels of the asset lifecycle, from preliminary development to ongoing upkeep and eventual substitute. This integration is essential for guaranteeing the security, effectivity, and sustainability of Maine’s transportation community.
6. Mission monitoring
Mission monitoring, as a characteristic inside the Maine DOT mapping utility, supplies an important mechanism for monitoring the progress and standing of transportation tasks all through the state. This performance permits stakeholders to entry real-time data concerning challenge timelines, budgets, and potential disruptions to the transportation community. The Maine DOT invests important assets in infrastructure growth and upkeep; subsequently, efficient challenge monitoring is important for accountability and environment friendly useful resource administration. With out this functionality, monitoring challenge milestones, figuring out potential delays, and informing the general public about development actions can be considerably harder, resulting in potential price overruns and public inconvenience. The mapping utility, by its challenge monitoring options, ensures a clear and accessible platform for disseminating project-related data. For example, a person can view the present stage of a freeway enlargement challenge, together with any scheduled lane closures or detours, permitting them to plan their journey accordingly. The trigger is the challenge itself, the impact is the customers that work together with the challenge and the necessity to monitor these customers.
The sensible utility of challenge monitoring inside the mapping utility extends past easy progress monitoring. It permits for proactive identification of potential dangers and challenges. By visualizing challenge areas and related knowledge (e.g., environmental constraints, utility conflicts), stakeholders can anticipate potential delays and implement mitigation methods. The combination of challenge monitoring with different datasets, corresponding to site visitors counts and accident data, permits a complete evaluation of challenge impacts. For instance, if a highway closure is projected to considerably improve site visitors congestion on different routes, the DOT can implement measures to alleviate the affect, corresponding to adjusting sign timings or offering extra public transportation choices. Additionally it promotes the citizen engagement and participation.
In conclusion, challenge monitoring is an integral part of the Maine DOT mapping utility, offering important data for monitoring challenge progress, managing assets, and informing the general public. Whereas challenges exist in sustaining knowledge accuracy and guaranteeing well timed updates, the appliance’s challenge monitoring capabilities contribute considerably to the environment friendly and clear administration of transportation tasks throughout the state. This performance enhances accountability, minimizes disruptions, and in the end improves the general high quality of Maine’s transportation infrastructure.
7. Determination help
The Maine DOT mapping utility features as a major resolution help device, offering stakeholders with the data essential to make knowledgeable selections associated to transportation planning, infrastructure administration, and useful resource allocation. The provision of complete spatial knowledge, coupled with analytical capabilities, empowers decision-makers at varied ranges. Absent such a system, decision-making processes would depend on incomplete knowledge, doubtlessly resulting in inefficient useful resource utilization and suboptimal outcomes. A transparent cause-and-effect relationship exists: the gathering and presentation of knowledge inside the mapping utility immediately permits better-informed selections throughout the transportation sector. For instance, when figuring out the optimum location for a brand new freeway interchange, planners can make the most of the system to evaluate site visitors patterns, environmental constraints, and group impacts, in the end resulting in a more practical and sustainable infrastructure funding.
The choice help capabilities of the appliance prolong to numerous sensible purposes. Throughout emergency response conditions, the system supplies real-time data on highway closures, site visitors circumstances, and the situation of important infrastructure, enabling emergency responders to successfully handle incidents and decrease disruptions. Within the space of asset administration, the appliance facilitates data-driven selections concerning upkeep and rehabilitation methods. By visualizing asset situation knowledge and integrating it with price range constraints, decision-makers can prioritize investments to make sure the long-term efficiency of the transportation community. Moreover, the appliance helps public engagement by offering entry to challenge data and enabling stakeholders to offer suggestions, fostering a extra collaborative and clear decision-making course of.
In abstract, the Maine DOT mapping utility is an important ingredient in supporting evidence-based decision-making throughout the state’s transportation sector. The system’s potential to combine, visualize, and analyze spatial knowledge empowers stakeholders to make knowledgeable selections that improve security, effectivity, and sustainability. Whereas challenges persist in guaranteeing knowledge accuracy and sustaining system performance, the appliance’s contribution to improved decision-making is plain, in the end benefiting the residents of Maine by a extra strong and responsive transportation system.
8. Useful resource allocation
The Maine DOT mapping utility immediately helps the environment friendly and strategic allocation of assets inside the state’s transportation sector. The system’s functionality to visualise and analyze spatial knowledge permits decision-makers to prioritize investments based mostly on goal standards, guaranteeing that restricted assets are directed towards tasks and initiatives with the best affect. This course of stands in distinction to useful resource allocation selections made with out the good thing about such knowledge, which will be prone to political affect or outdated data, doubtlessly resulting in inefficient spending and suboptimal outcomes. The mapping utility, subsequently, serves as a significant device for maximizing the return on funding in Maine’s transportation infrastructure. For example, the identification of high-crash corridors by spatial evaluation permits the DOT to allocate security enchancment funds to these particular areas, quite than spreading assets throughout all the community. The underlying trigger for useful resource allocation is knowledge, and the impact is healthier allocation of assets.
The applying’s position in useful resource allocation extends to numerous sensible purposes. Through the annual budgeting course of, the DOT can use the system to judge the situation of bridges and roadways, prioritize upkeep tasks, and allocate funding accordingly. The flexibility to overlay this knowledge with site visitors volumes and accident data permits for a complete evaluation of infrastructure wants and the event of data-driven funding methods. For instance, the appliance can be utilized to check the cost-effectiveness of assorted pavement preservation strategies, enabling the DOT to pick essentially the most applicable remedy for a given highway section. Additional, the mapping utility facilitates public communication concerning useful resource allocation selections. By visualizing deliberate tasks and their related budgets, the DOT can improve transparency and accountability, fostering public belief and help for transportation investments.
In abstract, the Maine DOT mapping utility is integral to knowledgeable and efficient useful resource allocation inside the state’s transportation system. Its functionality to combine and visualize spatial knowledge empowers decision-makers to prioritize investments, maximize the return on funding, and talk successfully with stakeholders. Though challenges persist in sustaining knowledge accuracy and integrating the appliance with different monetary administration programs, the mapping utility’s contribution to improved useful resource allocation is plain, guaranteeing the environment friendly and accountable use of taxpayer {dollars} in sustaining and enhancing Maine’s transportation infrastructure.
9. Geospatial data
Geospatial data varieties the foundational knowledge construction underpinning the Maine DOT mapping utility. With out geospatial data, the mapping utility can be rendered unusable. Geospatial data, on this context, refers to any knowledge related to a particular location on the Earth’s floor. This consists of, however isn’t restricted to, highway areas, bridge coordinates, site visitors sensor positions, and accident areas. The precision and accuracy of this geospatial data immediately affect the reliability and utility of the mapping utility. Inaccurate location knowledge would result in inaccurate visualizations and doubtlessly flawed decision-making processes. For instance, if the geospatial location of a bridge is incorrectly recorded, the mapping utility could misrepresent its situation, resulting in inappropriate upkeep scheduling and doubtlessly compromising structural integrity. The gathering, upkeep, and integration of correct geospatial data are, subsequently, important parts of the mapping utility’s performance. Information is the underlying trigger, and the impact is an knowledgeable utilization of the maps.
The Maine DOT mapping utility leverages geospatial data to carry out a wide range of features. Spatial evaluation capabilities, corresponding to proximity evaluation and community evaluation, rely closely on the correct geographic positioning of options. For instance, assessing the affect of a proposed freeway realignment on close by wetlands requires exact geospatial knowledge on each the freeway route and the wetland boundaries. Equally, figuring out the optimum route for emergency autos depends upon correct geospatial knowledge on highway networks, site visitors circumstances, and potential hazards. The mapping utility additionally integrates geospatial data from numerous sources, together with GPS knowledge, aerial imagery, and LiDAR surveys. This requires a strong knowledge administration system to make sure knowledge consistency, accuracy, and interoperability. For example, the mixing of real-time site visitors knowledge from sensors with historic site visitors patterns necessitates cautious knowledge calibration and standardization to make sure that the mixed data supplies a dependable illustration of site visitors circumstances. Geospatial data promotes citizen engagement and participation.
In abstract, geospatial data isn’t merely a part of the Maine DOT mapping utility; it’s its core basis. The accuracy, completeness, and integration of geospatial knowledge immediately decide the appliance’s effectiveness in supporting transportation planning, infrastructure administration, and emergency response. Whereas the challenges of sustaining and updating geospatial data are ongoing, the advantages of a strong and dependable system are substantial, contributing to a safer, extra environment friendly, and extra sustainable transportation community for the state of Maine.
Incessantly Requested Questions In regards to the Maine DOT Map Viewer
This part addresses widespread inquiries concerning the functionalities, knowledge, and applicable use of the Maine DOT map viewer. Understanding these facets is essential for successfully using the device.
Query 1: What forms of knowledge are accessible by the mapping utility?
The system supplies entry to a wide range of transportation-related knowledge, together with highway classifications, bridge areas and circumstances, site visitors volumes, crash knowledge, deliberate development tasks, environmental constraints, and administrative boundaries.
Query 2: How present is the data displayed inside the mapping utility?
Information forex varies relying on the precise dataset. Some datasets, corresponding to real-time site visitors circumstances, are up to date ceaselessly. Different datasets, corresponding to bridge inspection studies, are up to date on a periodic foundation, sometimes following scheduled inspections.
Query 3: Is the mapping utility suitable with all internet browsers?
The mapping utility is designed to be suitable with most trendy internet browsers, together with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Nonetheless, efficiency could differ relying on the browser model and laptop {hardware}.
Query 4: Can knowledge be downloaded from the mapping utility to be used in different software program?
Sure datasets will be downloaded from the mapping utility in varied codecs, corresponding to shapefiles or CSV information. Nonetheless, knowledge obtain availability could differ relying on the precise dataset and knowledge licensing restrictions.
Query 5: What are the constraints of the information introduced within the mapping utility?
The information introduced within the mapping utility is topic to sure limitations, together with potential inaccuracies, omissions, and inconsistencies. Customers ought to train warning when deciphering the information and seek the advice of with Maine DOT employees for verification functions.
Query 6: Who needs to be contacted for questions or technical help concerning the mapping utility?
For technical help or questions concerning the mapping utility, contact the Maine DOT’s Geographic Info Techniques (GIS) unit. Contact data can sometimes be discovered on the Maine DOT web site.
In abstract, the Maine DOT map viewer gives a helpful useful resource for accessing transportation-related knowledge, however customers ought to concentrate on the constraints and search clarification when mandatory.
The following part will present steerage on efficient utilization methods for the mapping utility.
Efficient Utilization Methods
To maximise the advantages derived from accessing the Maine DOT’s interactive mapping utility, think about the next methods. These strategies improve knowledge interpretation and facilitate knowledgeable decision-making.
Tip 1: Familiarize Your self with Information Layers: The mapping utility incorporates quite a few knowledge layers. Earlier than starting any evaluation, discover the out there layers to grasp the forms of data accessible. Understanding the out there layers is essential for efficient searches and knowledge visualization.
Tip 2: Perceive Scale-Dependent Information: Sure datasets are solely seen at particular zoom ranges. Zoom in or out to make sure that the specified knowledge is displayed. Trying to research knowledge at an inappropriate scale could result in misinterpretations or inaccurate conclusions.
Tip 3: Use the Legend Successfully: The legend supplies essential details about the symbology used inside the mapping utility. Seek the advice of the legend to appropriately interpret the information being displayed. Ignoring the legend can result in misunderstandings of the information represented on the map.
Tip 4: Make use of Filtering and Querying Instruments: The mapping utility gives filtering and querying instruments to isolate particular options based mostly on attribute values. Make the most of these instruments to refine your evaluation and concentrate on related data. Unfiltered knowledge could also be overwhelming and tough to research successfully.
Tip 5: Assess Information Foreign money: Be aware of the information’s publication date or replace frequency. Stale knowledge could not precisely replicate present circumstances. Counting on outdated data may end up in poor selections.
Tip 6: Consider Information Accuracy: Perceive that each one geospatial knowledge is topic to potential inaccuracies. Train warning when deciphering the information and cross-reference data with different sources when attainable. Unquestioningly accepting the information with out contemplating potential errors can result in flawed analyses.
Tip 7: Make the most of Measurement Instruments: The mapping utility supplies measurement instruments for figuring out distances and areas. Use these instruments to quantify spatial relationships and help knowledgeable decision-making. Estimating distances visually will be inaccurate and result in errors.
Efficient utilization of the Maine DOT mapping utility necessitates an intensive understanding of its options, knowledge limitations, and applicable analytical strategies. By making use of these methods, customers can extract helpful insights from the out there geospatial knowledge.
The following part will present some conclusion for this subject.
Conclusion
This exploration has highlighted the important position of the Maine DOT map viewer in facilitating entry to transportation-related knowledge. The mentioned facets, starting from knowledge visualization and spatial evaluation to public entry and useful resource allocation, underscore the device’s multifaceted utility in supporting knowledgeable decision-making throughout varied sectors. The viewer empowers stakeholders to interact with transportation planning processes, analyze infrastructure circumstances, and contribute to a extra environment friendly and equitable transportation system.
The continuing growth and refinement of such geospatial instruments are important for sustaining a strong and responsive transportation community. Continued funding in knowledge accuracy, system performance, and person coaching will additional improve the Maine DOT map viewer’s capability to help evidence-based decision-making and contribute to the financial vitality and high quality of life for all Maine residents. Lively engagement with this useful resource is inspired for all stakeholders searching for to contribute to the betterment of Maine’s transportation infrastructure.
