With the growth and development of GIS and digital databases within the Missouri Highway and Transportation Department, a need to rapidly produce and update the county highway map series has arisen. The Geographic Resources Center has created a set of AML's and menus to implement the change from a strictly manual production to a menu driven system whereby maps can be edited, updated, and produced at a substantially faster pace. This system uses GIS to automate repetitive tasks, and also to open up new map possibilities for the future. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the process of building a GIS database from scratch, and provide ideas and methods for creating such databases in the future. The interface is examined, as well as the various options that the user is given.
There are several ways to implement a multipurpose GIS system depending on the goals and objectives of the people who will use the system. However, many government jurisdictions have implemented GIS not understanding the fundamentals necessary to properly implement the system both on an organization level as well as technically to serve all current and future needs. The purpose of this paper is to illuminate the fundamental issues concerning the building of a multipurpose GIS through a needs analysis, determining what data is available, quality of the data, and necessary geodetic control. The paper will go over the pilot project, developing necessary interlocal agreements, and establishing committees to set policy, establish annual direction, and satisfy technical issues. Further, this paper will set forth the necessary steps to technically set up a basemap with an accuracy under two feet. The products used or produced are digital ortho-rectified photography, stereo digitized planimetric features (street centerline with intersection nodes, street name, edge of pavement, hydrography, railroads), and a county-wide parcel coverage for over 2,000 square miles and 300,000 parcels. The paper will depict how we developed an "assembly line process" to accurately build the parcel coverage on top of the orthophoto and planimetric base using densified geodetic control. It will discuss the pros and cons of using scanned data versus coordinate geometry as well as how ArcInfo, ArcView, ARC COGO, and ARC NETWORK are being used.
The U.S. Geological Survey, National Mapping Division is developing the Product Generation-Enhanced (PGE) system to generate graphic products from feature-based digital line graphs (DLG-F) and other source data. Whereas previous cartographic production systems required costly interactive editing to generate graphic products, PGE reduced editing requirements by applying automated, standards-driven processing. To support a versatile production system in the context of today's emerging spatial data framework, PGE applies several new technologies. These technologies include feature-based transaction loads and unloads, migrating the DLG-F data model into ArcInfo, and rules-driven processing for automated data generalization. PGE applies ArcInfo to support its data editing and data plotting requirements and extends ArcInfo capabilities through developments in C and Oracle. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. government.
Cities, counties, and utilities are integrating GIS and photogrammetry to resolve questions associated with the development of engineering management plans. Because these plans are usually the basis for inventory, permitting, and regulatory compliance, the databases must be up-to-date, complete and have a verifiable positional accuracy. Photogrammetry has long been a tool for engineers and planners to evaluate spatially related problems. However, with the advent of GIS, the photogrammetrist had to modify stereo-compilation procedures to account for the data being analyzed in a digital rather than analog environment. In addition to the traditional planimetric and topographic data, derivative products are being integrated into solution-based information systems. Products such as a digital terrain modeling, GPS utility locations, and ortho imagery are the tools now required for decision making. The purpose of this presentation is to illustrate and describe innovative methods of photogrammetric database development that support a variety of engineering applications. These new methods now allow attributes associated with photogrammetric coverage's to be easily populated and readily imported into application models. This process is extremely important due to the topologic data structure required for defining impervious surfaces and areas of pavement condition. In addition to the photogrammetric automation process, editing and subsequent ArcInfo processes, several GIS/engineering projects where topologic databases were developed will be highlighted. The projects being discussed for stormwater applications will be Spokane, WA, and Pierce County, WA. Also, projects in Casper, WY, and Fargo, ND, will review fire hydrant inventory and pavement management applications.