6thAFRICA TRANSPORTATION T2 CONFERENCE4thto 8thMARCH 2013

Using Linear Referencing in Road Condition monitoring: a case of Kweneng District in

Botswana

Simon A. Oladele1 and Emmanuel Tembo1

1
University of Botswana, Department of Civil Engineering, P/Bag 0061, Gaborone

Abstract

Road condition data is a precursor for road maintenance and is collected on a periodic basis by
road authorities to assist in planning their maintenance schedules. Data that is collected is often
in disparate databases and spreadsheet and sometimes does not render itself to quick
decision-making. Geographic Information System (GIS) modules for analysing linear features
have been developed to enable dynamic segmentation of the line feature without having to
break the line into smaller portions. Most GIS softwares have developed Linear referencing to
achieve this. Line features have traditionally been stored in two dimensions using the x,y
coordinates. However owing to the dynamic nature of linear features a relatively newer model of
handling such dynamic linear data has been introduced. This is a one dimensional linear
referencing system that allows for the change of condition on a line. Dynamic segmentation
extends the basic link/node model (which was the predominant method of representation in
GIS) by making it possible to refer to points in the linear referencing systems that are not at
nodes. This paper discusses the application of linear referencing that was used to improve the
visualisation of road condition data for different periods of surveys done on gravel roads in
Kweneng District of Botswana. Road condition data that has been collected as attribute data for
three periods i.e 2002, 2005 and 2008 is imported into a GIS base map and dynamic
segmentation of the data is done to reveal the condition of the roads in map form for the two
different periods. The visualisation revealed the extent of maintenance required for specific
roads. The results of the study shows that the use of Linear referencing within a GIS
environment can greatly enhance monitoring of road conditions and hence improve road
maintenance.

Keywords: Road condition monitoring, GIS, Linear referencing, dynamic Segmentation,

Botswana

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1.0 INTRODUCTION

When dealing with line features in GIS the challenge that a user faces is how to handle
changes along a line feature and represent that change adequately without having to break the
line into smaller portions. Different organisations use line features in GIS. Organisations such
as Water Utilities, Road Authorities, and Power companies are examples of organisations that
use linear features for purposes such as analysis of the state of the line. Analysis of the state of
the line normally requires identifying points of interest along the line; this could be accident
spots, points and stretches of the line that require maintenance etc. These points have
traditionally been identified by their coordinates. Identification of points along a line using
coordinates requires knowledge of a spatial reference system. For instance the Department of
Transport in the United States uses a linear reference system to locate features instead of using
coordinate systems Scarponcini(2002).

The United States Cooperative Highway Research Programme (NCHRP, 1974) defines
a linear reference system (LRS) as a set of office and field procedures that include highway
reference methods. . NCHRP, 1974 further defines a linear reference method (LRM) as a way
to identify a specific location with respect to a known point while Vonderohe, Chou et al. (1997)
define LRM as a mechanism for finding and stating the location of an unknown point along a
network by referencing it to a known point. Curtin, et al (2007) define LRS as a support system
for the storage and maintenance of information on events that occur along (or within) a
transportation network

According to Curtin et.al (2007) a LRM is a process for determining a previously unknown
location based on
a defined path along the underlying transportation network,
a distance along that path measured from a known datum location, and
optionally an offset from the path.
Linear referencing is advantageous in referencing events along a route for some of the following
reasons;
locations can be readily recovered in the field.
linear referencing removes the requirement of a highly segmented linear network based
on differences in attribute values. As Curtin et. al, have indicated attributes in a network
to not begin, end or change at the same location. E.g. speed limits do not always
change at intersections and pavement conditions can change at any point along the
route. These can be depicted through the different Linear Referencing methods.

2. 0 GIS IN TRANSPORTATION
Transportation networks require some form of visualisation and because these are
spatial in nature a system such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS) is amenable to be
used for such networks. Burrough (1986) defines GIS as a set of tools for collecting, storing,
retrieving at will, transforming, and displaying spatial data from the real world for a particular set
of purposes. GIS in transportation has been well researched. Thill (2000) for instance highlights
areas of application of GIS in transportation as being the need for data management systems to
facilitate maintenance and the integration of the inventories of transportation infrastructures held
by public authorities among other uses. Pantha et.al (2010) postulate that what makes GIS
distinguishable from other database systems in highway management is its ability to store and
access geographic data. GIS according to Miles and Ho (1999) helps visualise geographic data
and helps people approach problems in dimensions of space and time with intuitive maps
instead of dimensionally restricted data tables and graphs. Borzacchiello et.al (2009) have
sketched developments in GIS and transportation science and state that initially in GIS, the
network model was implemented which allowed topological relations to be created. These
earlier models were based on the relational database structure but with the evolving technology
there is a move towards object oriented models which closely model reality.

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GIS modules for analysing linear features have been developed to enable dynamic
segmentation of the line feature without having to break the line into smaller portions. Dynamic
segmentation is the process of transforming linearly referenced data (also known as events)
that have been stored in a table into features that can be displayed and analysed on a map
(Cadkin, 2002). Line features do not need to be split (in other words, "segmented") each time
an attribute value changes; you can "dynamically" locate the segment. Most GIS softwares
have developed Linear referencing to achieve this. Line features have traditionally been stored
in two dimensions using the x,y coordinates. However owing to the dynamic nature of linear
features a relatively newer model of handling such dynamic linear data has been introduced.
This is a one dimensional linear referencing system that allows for the change of condition on a
line. According to Goodchild (1998) dynamic segmentation extends the basic link/node model
(which was the predominant method of representation in GIS) by making it possible to refer to
points in the linear referencing systems that are not at nodes.

2.1 USING GIS FOR DISPLAYING ROAD CONDITIONS

To develop a GIS tool one requires data, procedures and GIS software. What informs a
methodology in GIS therefore is what data is going to be collected and what procedures are to
be implemented in the system. In terms of software, ArcGIS 10 was used to display the existing
conditions of the gravel roads. The purpose in creating the GIS tool was to display the
conditions of gravel roads as a first step in developing a predictive model of the future condition
of the road and therefore the required maintenance for such roads.

2.2 PROCEDURES AND DATA REQUIREMENT

The GIS tool is meant to query data about the condition of gravel road. The condition
that this research was concerned with was the gravel loss condition which according to Roads
Department is classified in a five scale level (1-5; 1-low, 5-High). The expected procedure for
the GIS tool is that a user will be able to identify gravel road surface types from the
classification of road surface types on a GIS. The Botswana road design manual (BRDM)
identifies four (4) road surface types namely; tarred, gravel, earth and sand.

In order to identify road surfaces and particularly in order to select gravel roads from a
set of roads the data set must be a vector format and as a line map. GIS vector data comes as
either as line, point or area features. The expected data sets for roads are line features which
have either been digitised from existing maps or mapped from various sources such as satellite
images, aerial photos or measured in the field. Line features on their own without attribute data
are not sufficient for any analysis in a GIS; therefore the road line features must have attribute
information. The attribute information must be information that is relevant to the area of study. In
this case the data must have the following attribute (road type {tertiary, access, secondary},
road surface {gravel, tar, earth, sand}, chainages).

Table 1 shows the data that was collected and the sources.

Table 1: Data used and sources

Data required Source

Line or digitised road map Department of Surveys and Mapping
Point shapefile- for all settlements in the Department of Surveys and Mapping
district
Attribute information about road conditions Roads Department

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The line map was obtained from Department of Surveys and Mapping in shape file
format for use in ArcGIS. This line map was then edited to include the road names for each
visible digitised road so that it is easy to identify the roads by their name. Figure 1 below shows
a portion of the road file that has been edited to include the names of the roads.

After the roads names were created, data about the condition of the roads was collected
for each of the roads from Roads Department. This data initially in Microsoft Excel was
converted to ArcGIS table format. Table 2 shows a portion of the data on road conditions from
the Roads Department and represents data of a road starting from chainage 100.480km to
117.480km. As can be seen in the data every kilometre was measured for its condition
regarding gravel thickness, gravel quality, potholes, rutting, loose materials, corrugations and
gravel loss. This road link of 17.480km had to be connected together to ensure that the link was
recognised as one road in ArcGIS. The connection was done using the Create Route function in
ArcGIS. It should be noted that generally when a polyline shapefile is digitised it will not be
complete line as it will made up of nodes according to the digitising process used. To ensure
that the line segment are fully connected for a particular road that road nodes should be joined
together using the Create Route function in ArcGIS.

In order to use the Linear referencing tool in ArcGIS one has to create routes from line
features. Line features on their own are not routes and become routes after this conversion. To
convert an Excel file such as the one in Table 2 we had to use the route identifier so that the
information specific to a route would be tied to that particular route. The data that was obtained
from Department of Surveying was transformed into routes. It was then edited to include a route
identity for the roads whose condition was surveyed. Figure 3 shows a sample of the route file
with labelled routes and settlements in a portion of Kweneng District.

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Figure 1: Kweneng District roads with road names

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Table 2: Attribute data from Roads Dept

From To Road Gravel Gravel Potholes Rutting Loose Corrug- Gravel

0.000 0.000 Width Thickness Quality Material ations Loss
0.0

km km m 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5 1-5

100.480 101.480 5.5 2 3 3 4 4 3 3
101.480 102.480 5.5 2 3 3 4 4 3 3
102.480 103.480 5.5 2 3 2 4 4 3 3
103.480 104.480 5.5 4 3 3 4 4 3 4
104.480 105.480 5.5 4 3 3 4 4 3 4
105.480 106.480 5.5 4 3 3 4 4 3 4
106.480 107.480 5.5 4 3 3 4 4 3 4
107.480 108.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
108.480 109.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
109.480 110.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
110.480 111.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
111.480 112.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
112.480 113.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
113.480 114.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
114.480 115.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
115.480 116.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4
116.480 117.480 5.5 4 3 2 3 4 3 4

Figure 2: Route file created with labelled routes and settlements

A typical table of route file is shown in Table 3 below. The table shows the road names and
their length after the route creation is done in ArcGIS. For instance a road B120 as
measured by ArcGIS is 76362m

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Table 3: Table of created routes from original shape file

Kweneng_Roads_CreateRoutes

ROADNR Shape_Length

A1 16398.44
A10 41076.07
A12 51905.80
A129 4585.62
B108 2802.59
B111 52722.07
B112 130038.05
B120 76362.70
B120a 46525.55
B120b 25639.85
B120d 40328.01
B120e 28156.82
B120f 46002.406
B120g 13144.50
B122 69200.05
B123 14238.041
B123a 39752.152
B127a 35029.215
B127b 23528.18
B127c 42838.08

With the unique feature class of routes created the next task was to make a route
event layer in ArcMap. The route event layer is the one that enables dynamic segmentation.
Dynamic segmentation is essentially a two stage process; firstly ensuring that all adjacent
line segments are grouped together in order to create a linear sequence. This is what was
achieved in the creation of routes from line features. Secondly, dynamic segmentation
requires attribute information to be associated to the routes that are created by referencing
all the data from the starting point of each route. This route event layer was created from the
attribute table of road conditions being linked to the newly created routes. The attribute table
must have a field which uniquely identifies the road and this same identification must be in
the created route layer. The combination of the route layer and the attribute table (also
known as the event layer) results in a route event layer. With this linkage the new route
event layer can then be exported as a shape file or feature class in order for it to be queried
as any other GIS data set. A typical route event layer and its table is shown below.

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Figure 3: Route event layer with associated table

Display of data in GIS

When the route event layer is created and exported as a feature class symbolisation
can be made for whatever condition is being studied. In this case visualisation for the Gravel
loss condition (1-5) was done and maps for the year 2002 and 2005 done to compare the
conditions for the two epochs. A third epoch for 2008 was also considered at which time

The gravel loss condition for the Road segment number B123a for the year 2002 is
displayed below. In the figure 1(green) denotes that there is low gravel loss while compared
to 5(red) denotes a high gravel loss. Certain sections of the road i.e. those with red had a
high gravel loss and required maintenance.

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Figure 4: Gravel loss in 2002 for section of B123a

Figure 5 shows the changes that took place when the survey of road conditions was done in
2005. Visualisation quickly reveals that the road conditions had not changed between the
2002 and 2005. This would suggest that no maintenance was done between the two
epochs.

Figure 5: Gravel loss in 2005 for Section B123a

Figure 6 shows that in 2008 the section of the same road was no longer a gravel road and
had been tarmaced.

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Figure 6: Road no longer gravel in 2008

3.0 CONCLUSIONS

The study shows that data from the National Mapping Agency together with road
survey data which would normally be in non-spatial spread sheets could be combined
together to visualise the existing maintenance conditions of the road. Though the
visualisation was done for Gravel loss only in this study, this method can be used to
visualise different conditions of the road at different maintenance epochs. This would help
visualise the extent of maintenance required for sections of roads. The use of Linear
referencing in highway maintenance means that data which is often held in spread sheets
can be collected along chainages of the road without the need for use of GPS or Land
survey equipment such as total stations. There is need for Road Authorities to define routes
in such a way that creating route events in GIS software would not be a problem. This
requires that Road Authorities work with producers of maps such as National Mapping
Agencies so that when road features are digitised\the mapping agencies will take into
consideration the requirements of the Road authorities.

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