Whenever corporations and government entities coordinate to build a new semiconductor fabrication plant, automobile manufacturing plant, industrial/logistics park, or other high-priority development, they evaluate multiple factors before selecting a site. One of these key considerations is transportation infrastructure and associated costs.
While these private sector clients often have an aggressive production schedule, the public sector does not always have the staff to support that pace. The reality is that government agencies, notably departments of transportation, are understaffed and operate with outdated methods. They need to implement automated traffic analysis tools to enable their teams to do more with less.
High-Priority Development Sites: Understanding Traffic Needs and Costs
Despite lingering setbacks from the pandemic, such as material availability challenges affecting construction, the U.S. population continues to grow. States are looking to accommodate this growth, as well as support advancing technology, by identifying suitable high-priority development sites (HPDS).
HPDS are specific locations targeted for redevelopment, infill, or cleanup, often selected to promote sustainable growth, reduce urban sprawl, and revitalize underserved or economically distressed areas. These sites can also create significant employment opportunities. In rural communities, HPDS may take the form of large-scale facilities that bring an influx of new jobs. Consequently, these sites generate an immediate need for supporting transportation infrastructure, including roads, highways, and other connections to link existing development.
When developers evaluate a potential site, their first step is to determine the full range of costs they may be responsible for, namely, transportation costs. In many cases, developers must fund infrastructure improvements if their project cannot secure state-level planning approvals, making early financial clarity essential. Understanding traffic needs and the associated cost requirements for new transportation infrastructure is therefore a critical first step. However, many state DOTs and other agencies are not equipped to finalize these estimates quickly, resulting in delays.
Challenges State DOTs Face Today
One of the biggest challenges DOTs face right now is understaffing. As a result, they do not have enough personnel available to run traffic analyses quickly. Frequently, requests arrive with an “ASAP” timeline, and DOT teams simply don’t have the analytical bandwidth to respond at the pace developers expect.
Another significant issue is that these traffic analyses and cost calculations are still performed manually. Currently, DOT teams calculate everything for each HPDS individually, compile the results, and then assemble the associated estimates. Every time they need to run a calculation for a new site or rerun a simulation, they must start from scratch. Without automated traffic analysis tools, this entire process takes about two weeks to complete.
The transportation industry is also experiencing a major shift toward map-based applications. Visual tools are becoming the norm because they’re more intuitive, especially for non-engineers and members of the public. The end users of these analyses often aren’t traffic engineers but economic development specialists, planners, community leaders, and residents.
Ideally, DOT teams would present their results visually rather than as raw numbers or spreadsheets, making them easier for audiences to understand. Unfortunately, they do not have the staffing capacity to package their findings into a user-friendly format for developers.
How DOTs can Accelerate Traffic Analyses and Cost Calculations
Like any other industry where people and resources are constrained, the solution is to work smarter, not harder. Nationwide, state DOTs need planning and evaluation tools that can streamline traffic needs analysis, automate calculations, and quickly generate reliable results.
Woolpert’s START application, for example, is a user-friendly, planning-level evaluation tool developed for the Ohio Department of Transportation. It allows ODOT teams to input a potential development site and automatically identify and analyze traffic movement to and from the nearest four-lane highway. This automated traffic analysis tool evaluates every selected intersection along the routes, determining needs for turn lanes, signals, roundabouts, or other improvements. All this information is merged into a high-level roadway improvement and planning cost estimate for each site, tied directly to its development potential.
This automated traffic analysis tool can also adjust inputs and rerun simulations in just minutes, presenting findings in an easy‑to‑read visual format. Currently, these tasks take DOT teams two weeks or more to complete. By automating repetitive processes and eliminating inefficiencies, government agencies gain the analytical bandwidth needed to provide developers with construction‑ready sites and scenario‑planning insights within aggressive production schedules.
While incredibly powerful, the core of an automated traffic analysis tool is not novel. These tools rely on nationwide, industry-standard methodologies and publicly available geographic information system datasets, which can be applied across multiple applications, to complete their calculations. Woolpert’s START application, for instance, leverages data from the Institute of Transportation Engineers and data taken directly from ODOT’s own GIS system to run traffic calculations.
Preparing to Use an Automated Traffic Analysis Tool: Why Strong Data Matters
When someone inputs inaccurate data into an AI‑powered tool, they shouldn’t be surprised when the output is also incorrect. Likewise, if a DOT’s data repositories are outdated or incomplete, the results produced by an automated traffic analysis tool will be less reliable. Partnering with a third‑party organization experienced in traffic engineering, GIS, and data integration can help bring these data resources up to an acceptable standard. This enables DOTs to support developers seeking to build on HPDS more effectively, even amid staffing and resource shortages.
