Project helps county inventory infrastructure

The population of Clark County, Nev., has increased by 5 percent in each of the last five years. Currently, about 1.2 million people live in the 8,000-square-mile county, which encompasses Las Vegas. The resulting construction boom prompted the county’s public works department to take an inventory of its infrastructure.

In late 1998, Clark County hired Stantec, Las Vegas, to collect infrastructure data for transfer into various database management systems and the county’s GIS. Data collection focused on pavements, signs and supports, curbs and gutters, drop inlets, sidewalks, wheel chair ramps, medians and bicycle paths.

A roadway inventory and pavement surface condition survey of the county’s 1,384 road miles was accomplished using mobile data acquisition vans, and the resulting data was uploaded to the county’s Pavement Management System. A subsequent inventory of other designated infrastructure assets used the county’s GIS street centerline file and road database as a starting point.

Because of the large area involved, the county was divided into 15 audit areas, allowing for biweekly delivery of data to county staff prior to final approval and acceptance. Staff members verified the location of the assets and the attribute information collected on a subset of the data contained in each audit area.

The data collection involved use of voice-to-data technology. Data was collected by technicians traveling by van, by mountain bike or on foot, depending on the nature of the asset location. Portable backpacks were outfitted with GPS receivers, portable computers, battery packs and headsets. GPS receivers continuously collected location information. At the same time, field operators, using the voice-to-data technology, verbally identified each asset and provided the attribute information the county wanted. Upon naming the asset, the on-board software used the GPS signal to identify its location.

A year later, location and attribute information had been collected and processed on 43,888 signs; 25,703 drop inlets; 1,603 miles of curbs and gutters; 1,469 miles of sidewalks; 1,384 miles of roads; 40 miles of medians; and seven miles of bicycle paths. The information will be used to manage the maintenance of the road right-of-way infrastructure.