Project 17.4
Communicating Route Restrictions to Third Party Mapping/Navigation Providers

Feedback from North/West Passage members has indicated that during times when a stretch of highway is closed or when travel delays are excessive, travelers using third-party mapping/navigation systems are sometimes advised to detour onto routes that are not safe or appropriate for their travel (e.g., geometry of the road may not support the size of the vehicle, or the diversion routes may not have been cleared of snow or other conditions).

To attempt to avoid or minimize these situations, this project will summarize the risks and challenges with automated re-routing. Then, this project will conduct outreach to known mapping/navigation companies with the intent of initiating discussions to both inform them of the challenges and risks as well as to discuss possible solutions (e.g., if supplemental DOT reports are possible that could assist navigation systems in avoiding these situations).

In November 2019, the National Operations Center of Excellence (NOCoE) held a webinar, Adventures in Crowdsourcing: Engaging Navigation Providers, related to the focus of this project. This as well as other related efforts will be considered for this project. For example, the ENTERPRISE Pooled Fund Study recently completed a project, Establishing a Framework for Communicating Map Updates to Mapping Companies, to develop a consistent communication approach for providing transportation agency map updates to mapping/navigation companies that utilize DOT-generated data for various applications such as route guidance. A similar approach of outreach and collaboration with the navigation companies will we used in this project. Additionally, this project will outreach to The Eastern Transportation Coalition (TETC) as it is understood they are initiating an effort to identify standard information fields for states to provide to mapping companies.