More than 40 state departments of transportation have pledged to adopt some form of electronic ticketing by the end of the year. Electronic tickets sent by app, tablet or computer eventually would replace the reams of paper that move to and from production facilities, job sites and the DOTs.
The move is in response to the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law, which includes $100 million for DOTs to advance technologies. Matthew Valle of the National Construction Materials e-Ticketing Task Force told EquipmentWorld.com.
According to the EquipmentWorld article, in Indiana, a $21.2 million resurfacing and bridge rehabilitation project on U.S. 30 in Kosciusko County uses e-Ticketing through a collaboration among the contractor, materials producer, e-Ticketing vendor and InDOT. InDOT is working to develop a standardized way of feeding the ticketing data to DOT inspectors in the field no matter the material type, contractor or vendor.
The challenge remains to develop a consolidated system for DOTs where the data can be fed and easily accessed. Some states are working regionally, such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Maine and New Hampshire, but there is no national plan in place yet.
Eventually, data will be integrated into intelligent construction management models or building information modeling (BIM). The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is heading in that direction, having established its Digital Delivery Directive 2025.