Ports-to-Plains Energy Summit, April 7, 2011, Carol Davis, Director of Motor Carrier Division, Texas Department of Transportation

1. New Technology Solutions for
State and Regional Permitting of
Oversize/Overweight Cargo
Carol Davis, TxDOT Motor Carrier Division Director
Chair - WASHTO Committee on Hwy Transport
April 2011

2. Challenges from State Perspective
 Artificial barriers to obtaining permits = safety &
infrastructure issues, increased costs, economic
impacts (jobs to China), decreased compliance &
fee collections
 Risks of manual permitting & routing
 Inefficiencies
 Lack of uniformity between states and regions –
we’re on different pages regarding OS/OW cargo
and permitting
 Demand reflects economy

3. Challenges from State Perspective
TxDOT OS/OW Permits Issued
600,000
580,415
580,000
560,000
543,788
554,276
540,000
c
527,453
520,000
522,639
500,000
500,522
480,000
FY 2006 FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011
(proj)

4. WASHTO and WRP

5. Addressing the Challenges
 Education and outreach – both internal (DOT’s)
and external (carriers, shippers, municipalities,
etc).
 Developing and implementing a WASHTO
committee work plan with short & long range
goals
 Western Regional Permitting Agreement expansion
 Provides a roadmap for uniformity and beyond
 Efforts to advance issues to higher levels of state
DOTs
 Helps justify state participation in uniformity efforts
 New technology solutions

6. TxPROS Background
 Automates majority of routing - manual
processes use customized paper maps & online
resources
 Existing state permitting/routing systems did not
meet requirements (“active” versus “passive”
routing)
 Used vendor that has “real world” routing
experience in motor carrier industry, IFTA, etc.
 ADD THE OLD WAY PHOTOS FROM RAY

7. TxPROS Background
 Designed from ground up with extensive
customer input
 Map augments with TeleAtlas data quarterly
 Uses available TxDOT system data + geo-coded
Permit Map data
 Does not analyze bridges (low ROI) but “pulls”
bridges for analysis
 Texas has 90,000 miles of centerline, 50,000
bridges and between 2,000 and 2,500 permit
restrictions at any given time
 Four years and $1.6 million later…

8. TxDOT Benefits
 Risk Reduction
 Improves safety for traveling public, protection of
infrastructure & transported loads
 Reduces manual mapping and routing errors
 Permit restrictions updated real-time with “New
Restriction Alerts” for active permits
 Increased compliance (and associated fee collections)
due to improved service levels
 Improved reporting capabilities - OS/OW traffic by road
segment, bridge, emerging corridors, etc.
 Improves ability to plan/target maintenance dollars
 Test Restrictions for “What If” scenarios

9. TxDOT Benefits
 Increased Efficiency
 Routing in seconds versus minutes or hours
 Self-serve permitting/routing for majority of customers
 Permit Specialists can focus on more difficult permits
 Fewer help desk calls & amendments
 Potential to move some FTEs to Compliance/Enforcement
 Self Reliance versus Vendor Reliance
 MCD ability to change/add tables with permit types, fees,
system and help verbiage, Permit Wizard, etc.
 Manage queues and staff queue assignments
 Implications for Western Regional (WASHTO) and
cross-regional (SASHTO, MVA, etc.) permitting &
routing uniformity, corridor demo projects

10. Customer Benefits
 Reduced permit turnaround times – auto issue for
“normal” OS/OW loads
 Routing consistency when submitting multiple loads
 “Google-style” turn-by-turn directions
 Manage own accounts, users, yards, financials,
equipment inventory, contract information
 Restrictions shown on map versus text in tables
 Save/clone permits and routes
 Generate bid routes
 Reporting functionality
 Permit Wizard for less experienced customers to
navigate 27 different permit types

11. Schedule
 Continued testing of permitting functionality,
MCD staff tasks, tie up loose ends
 Stress testing mid-April
 Soft launch (live permits issued by customer
workgroup) late April
 Incorporate soft launch customer feedback
 Hard launch late May
 Marketing, communication & education plan
implementation over next 3 months

12. TxDOT Dashboard

13. Customer Dashboard

14. Routing
 by street address,
intersection, border
crossing, select on
map, via points
 Ownership & contact
info for off-system
roads

15. Route
 Red areas
are restrictions
effecting this
particular load
& route

16. Restriction Details

17. Turn-by-turn Directions

18. Save, Pay and Self-Issue, or
Submit for Alternate Routing

19. www.txdot.gov
www.washto.org
carol.davis@txdot.gov