Geographical Information Technologies for Road Infrastructure Maintenance in Uganda

Abstract: This thesis is a documentation of research on Geographical Information Technologies (GITs) as decision support tools in Road Infrastructure Maintenance (RIM) in Uganda. The main objective is to develop an operational framework within which the use of geo-information technologies can be enhanced as decision support tools in road infrastructure maintenance works of Uganda. Specifically, the research identifies the gaps and limitations in the use of and access to GITs for RIM and defines an algorithmic framework to accentuate the use of GITs in RIM. The research undertook a participatory multifaceted approach that included a review of documentation both in academia, in form of articles, journals, books, reports and research theses and also reports and documents prepared by the road infrastructure maintenance sector. Participant observations, field visits and measures, interviews and workshops were also triangularly employed to obtain the inherent answers. Content and GIS analyses were made to arrive at the findings that are documented in the papers which are part of the thesis. The gaps to using GITs in RIM have been found to include the lack of standardized datasets to address key nation-wide and local maintenance requirements, challenges on coordinating how geospatial data are acquired and utilized and the collection of duplicate data sets at the local and national levels. Also, the present institutional arrangements do not permit the formation of lasting partnerships and operating under a coordinated GIS infrastructure. The limitations to access of GITs in the sector include; the absence of policies for accessibility and standard use of GITs, lack of infrastructure to support utilization of geographic datasets, unavailability of and limited accessibility to geographic data, lack of geospatial capacity at individual and organizational levels and the digital divide. A nondeterministic algorithmic framework approach to the accentuation of GIT usage in RIM has been suggested. This framework involves strategies on; developing a policy on data collection guidelines emphasizing the use of GPS, satellite imagery and GIS, continuous undertaking of capacity building in the benefits of GIT use and the science involved, establishment of Local Spatial Data Infrastructures (LSDI) for road maintenance data and setting aside yearly budgets for the defined activities. In this framework, the dynamic segmentation data model is considered a superior data storage strategy for road maintenance data within the GIS. Dynamic Segmentation is the process of transforming linearly referenced data (also known as events) that have been stored in a table into features that can be displayed, queried and analyzed on the map through computations. It allows for the location of multiple events stored with linearly referenced attributes without any duplication with route geometry and in effect supports sharing of network infrastructure with different applications