The California Office of Traffic Safety, through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, has given the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) a $400,000 grant to help update traffic data collection equipment and software for the state’s highway system.
The Model Inventory of Roadway Elements (MIRE) grant will update a system that is used in traffic safety investigations, asset management, maintenance mission safety planning ad local development intergovernmental reviews, the agency says.
“This grant allows us to procure the latest technology and continue to deliver top-notch research and results, so we can continue to improve safety for all who use the State Highway System,” Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty says. “The new equipment will provide for a higher degree of accuracy and greater reliability.”
More than 200 MIRE specified data points will be collected through the grant, with geopositional equipment being used to gather horizontal, vertical, curve and grade data that are “crucial” to traffic safety investigations. This will help investigators in assessing roadway design elements and future highway safety projects.
The collected data is required as a part of The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act.