@article{Jessup:207827,
      recid = {207827},
      author = {Jessup, Eric and Lenzi, Jerry},
      title = {Washington State All-Weather Road GIS Mapping: Improving  Statewide Freight Flows and Connectivity},
      address = {2007-03},
      number = {1428-2016-118576},
      pages = {20},
      year = {2007},
      abstract = {Freight transportation is extremely important in  Washington as it underpins the national and  state
economies, supports national defense and facilitates  the distribution of goods and services to nearly
all state  residents on a daily basis. Because of this, the freight  transportation system in Washington
must function at all  levels of government from international, national, to state  and local.
Internationally, Washington is a “gateway” state  connecting Asian & Canadian trade flows to the  U.S.
economy. Nationally, Washington's freight system  facilitates trade from Alaska and along the west
coast.  Additionally, the state's firms and farmers use the freight  transportation system to ship
Washington made goods  locally, across the country and around the world. And  lastly, Washington's
freight transportation system serves  as a local utility, vital to citizens throughout the state  to meet their
consumption needs. As a result, the planning  of freight improvement projects should be seamless
across  various government jurisdictions and county/state  boundaries.
To understand the need for the coordinated  collection and presentation of data, one needs  only
consider the various types of roads that contribute to  the freight transportation system in Washington.
Not only  does the state host international border crossings and  interstate highways, it is comprised of
a myriad of county  and city roads. As a result, there are several key agencies  that have a stake in
freight transportation planning in  Washington: Washington State Department of  Transportation
(WSDOT), County Road Administration Board  (CRAB), Strategic Freight Transportation Analysis
(SFTA) as  well as the county and municipal governments. In the  process of completing this study, it
was necessary to  contact each of these agencies for assistance in the  collection of data and maps.
To assist planners and  policymakers at all levels of government, this paper  describes the statistical
and geospatial data collected  from each county in Washington State and the analytical  application of a
complete GIS mapping of all-weather roads  throughout the state, along with future county  freight
improvement projects. This information is then  evaluated and analyzed on a regional/statewide basis
to  identify gaps or system inefficiencies resulting from  local/county improvement projects that don’t
extend across  county borders. Specific county and regional case  studies/examples of how this
centralized GIS may aid policy  decision-maker are also presented.},
      url = {http://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/207827},
      doi = {https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.207827},
}