State departments of transportation (DOTs) are increasingly adopting digital technologies throughout project lifecycles, with many moving toward digital deliverables for construction and comprehensive asset management environments for improved data access and utility. While several states have made significant progress in generating structured digital subsurface data, fewer have developed methods—such as Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)—for integrating this data efficiently into digital workflows. Geotechnical model development remains challenging, particularly in relation to data quality, reliability, provenance, and governance.
The objective of this synthesis project is to document state DOT practices and policies on the deployment of digital geotechnical and geologic data in the DOTs’ digital workspace.
Information to be gathered includes (but is not limited to):
- Current practices for integrating structured geotechnical and geologic data, including subsurface data models, into digital project delivery workflows;
- Procedures for incorporating historic, current, or proposed data into the digital workspace for design, bidding, construction, and post-construction documentation (as builts);
- Types of data and digital geotechnical deliverables provided at each project stage, including the extent of explanation or interpretation included;
- Classification of geotechnical data and deliverables (e.g., contractual, information-only, internal-only);
- Methods for managing version control, traceability, and data transaction records within digital workflows;
- Use and compatibility of industry standards for data exchange (e.g., AASHTO, DIGGS-XML, OGC);
- Content and structure of geotechnical models—whether they include discrete elements (e.g., borings, geophysical data) or volumetric representations of stratigraphy and material properties in 3D; and
- Allocation of staffing resources and workforce development for design, construction, asset management, etc.
Information will be gathered through a literature review, a survey of state DOTs, and follow-up interviews with selected DOTs for the development of case examples. Information gaps and suggestions for research to address those gaps will be identified.
Information Sources (Partial):
TRB Staff
Arefeh Nasri
Phone: 202-334-2763
Email: anasri@nas.edu
Meeting Dates
First Panel Meeting: September 16, 2025, Virtual meeting via Microsoft Teams
Second Panel Meeting: TBD, in-person meeting in Washington, D.C.
Panel Members
Katie Brown, Oklahoma Department of Transportation
Derrick Dasenbrock, Minnesota Department of Transportation
Adrian Martinez, Texas Department of Transportation
Angelica Naumowicz, New York State Department of Transportation
Erron Peuse, Michigan Department of Transportation
Kelly Shishlova, Florida Department of Transportation
Silas Nichols, FHWA Liaison
