AASHTO Journal - ITD Revamps Digital Road Mapping Processes

For years, Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) teams conducted road mapping efforts using a wide variety of digital tools, from Exel spreadsheets to Visio diagrams. Now the agency’s information technology department has created a single cloud-based software tool all ITD teams can use in concert to create a more unified road map for the state.

[Above photo by ITD]

The ITD’s Extended Technical Support or ETS Business Engagement team created “Roadmunk” replaced the patchwork of outdated tools with a single, intuitive platform that gives every ITD team a clear view of their initiatives and how they connect to the agency’s overall transportation mission.

“This would help us shift from a reactive to a proactive planning approach,” said Will Miller, the manager of the ETA team, in a statement.

“Roadmaps that once took hours to update can now be refreshed and updated in minutes,” added Jim Carr, one of the other ETS managers leading this effort. “Teams no longer wonder whether they’re working from the latest version,” he said – giving ITD business leaders real-time visibility into timelines, dependencies, and strategic value.

The agency said the impact of “Roadmunk” has been significant. First, time spent creating and updating roadmaps has dropped by more than half, with a corresponding decrease in mapping duplication and budgetary waste.

The cultural shift is just as meaningful as the technical one, ITD said, as roadmaps are now starting to be shared, are accessible, and easy to understand. Most importantly, transparency has strengthened trust, Miller noted: “Everyone can see the same information, at the same time, in the same format.”

Going forward, ITD said its ETS group plans to expand this new road mapping approach across every one of its divisions. As more teams join the shared framework, ITD said it will gain even greater agility, stronger cross-team engagement, and a clearer path toward long-term strategic execution.

Thus, what began as a solution to a fragmented process, has become much bigger, ITD stressed: A unified planning system that brings clarity, alignment, and confidence to the entire organization.