Mapping van to work across two counties

A high-tech van later this week will begin digitally mapping select roads and streets throughout Lewis and Jefferson counties as part of a 15-municipality initiative.

"We're glad to see this up and running," said John K. Bartow, executive director of Tug Hill Commission, which is assisting with the project.

The municipal group — consisting of Lewis and Jefferson counties and 13 of their towns and villages — is contracting with Transmap Corp., Columbus, Ohio, to digitally map more than 1,300 miles of roads and streets and store the information on new servers maintained by the two counties. Lewis County is the lead agency for the project.

A project kickoff and news conference has been slated for 9 a.m. Aug. 4 at the Lewis County Courthouse in Lowville.

However, the Transmap van is slated to begin traversing area roads Friday, said Lewis County Planner Renee J. Beyer.

The company plans to first map portions of Waddingham, Goulds Corners, Nellis and Rogers roads in the town of LeRay, which are to be impacted by the Fort Drum connector road project, then work in the town of Denmark over the weekend, Mrs. Beyer said.

From there, the Transmap crew is to spend two weeks completing work in Lewis County, moving from south to north, then work two or three weeks in Jefferson County, she said. Completion is expected by early September.

The mapping shouldn't impact local traffic, since the Transmap van is able to collect data at normal highway speeds, Mrs. Beyer said.

The van will collect video of the pavement surface and positions of signs, culverts, fire hydrants, water shut-off valves and other objects.

Local highway workers have begun marking culverts with roadside numerals so that the van, when it passes, can pick up their Global Positioning System locations and information on diameter, length and material, Mrs. Beyer said.

The new system should allow highway superintendents to improve record-keeping and maintenance planning and save time when preparing reports required for state Consolidated Highway Improvement Program funding, Mrs. Beyer said.

The $708,954 project is being funded primarily through a $638,059 state Local Government Efficiency Grant awarded in late December. The $70,895 local share is to be split among participants based on road mileage.

Tug Hill Commission officials estimate the project would cost $1.74 million if undertaken separately by each municipality.

Lewis County participants are the town and village of Lowville and the towns of Denmark, Croghan and Martinsburg. Jefferson County participants are the town and village of Philadelphia, the towns of Adams, Alexandria, Champion, Clayton and LeRay and the village of West Carthage.

The concept for the project began nearly two years ago when Denmark Highway Superintendent Patrick F. Mahar was looking for highway management software.

Officials from Lewis County and five of its municipalities soon began meeting regularly to research companies that could do the work and develop a project scope. Several Jefferson County town representatives later learned of the project and expressed interest, leading to an expansion of the proposal.

While the full system likely won't be operational until next spring, some data should be available within a couple months, Mr. Bartow said.

If the project is successful, the eventual goal would be to allow other local municipalities to join the initiative, possibly with the aid of further grant funding, he said.

Officials in Oswego and Oneida counties have also expressed interest in the project, Mr. Bartow said.

ON THE NET

Transmap Corp.: www.transmap.com