Online road utility authorization system utilizing GIS database
Saiji Miyamoto
Road Administration Information Center
Hirakawacho Daiichiseimei BLDG.3F
1-2-10 Hirakawacho Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, 102-0093, Japan
Telephone: +81-3-3221-0411, Fax: +81-3-3221-1505
E-mail: miyamoto@roadic.or.jp
Yoichi Doi
Tokyo Gas Engineering Co.,Ltd. Shinjuku Park Tower 18F
3-7-1 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-Ku, Tokyo, 163-1018, Japan
Telephone: +81-3-5322-7530, Fax: +81-3-5322-7509
E-mail: y-doi@tge.co.jp
Abstract
Rapid progress in information technology has been accompanied by a growing need to
construct systems that provide electronic processing of procedures such as application
preparation and processing. Road utility authorization is a procedure that is expected to
benefit greatly from electronic processing. Prior to excavating a road or laying facilities
underground, a utility company is obliged to submit an application to the road administrator
based on a prescribed form in order to secure permission. The annual number of cases of road
utility authorization including small cases exceeds 10,000, and conventional processing of
paper documentation is a huge burden in terms of both labor and time for both utility
companies and road administrators. Road Administration Information System (ROADIS) has
tackled this issue, and developed a new-type of electronic application system that utilizes the
huge infrastructure of a large-scale GIS that links road administrators with multiple public
utility companies. Starting in April 1998, implementation of the online road utility
authorization system has been launched successively in several urban areas including Tokyo,
and is now complete and operational in six cities. This report on the on-line road utility
authorization system that serves as a subsystem of ROADIS documents the successful
utilization of an electronic application system that exploits a GIS database, and describes the
subsystem's characteristics, impact and return on investment.
Outline of the road administration information system
Roads not only contribute to the development of transportation, but also play a vital role as
space to accommodate public utilities (telecommunications, electric power, gas, city water,
sewage, etc.) that are indispensable to our daily lives. Since these diverse lifelines occupy
space on, above and below roads, a huge amount of information must be managed in order to
provide road administrators and public utility companies with a precise grasp of the state of
roads and occupying facilities. Created with the aim of promoting more effective and rational
utilization of road space, the Road Administration Information System (ROADIS) is a highly
sophisticated geographical information system, jointly developed by the Ministry of
Construction (currently: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport), local government
bodies, and the public utility companies. Since its establishment in 1986, the Road
Administration Information Center (ROADIC) has been entrusted with the ongoing
development and operation of this system. Currently ROADIS is being used in the Tokyo
metro area (23 wards) and 11 ordinance-designated cities around Japan.
ROADIS is a system that uses GIS technology to provide comprehensive management of the
diverse information related to roads and the facilities that occupy road space. Online
connections between host computers installed at each ROADIC branch office and the
terminals and mapping systems of road administrators and utility companies enable the
mutual utilization of data. The heart of the GIS database in ROADIS is the Road Database
that consists of road and topographical mapping information. It has been constructed by the
extraction and digital conversion of essential information from 1/500-scale road registration
drawings. On this base map layer, the public utility companies (telephone, electric power, gas,
city water, sewage and transportation) in each area enter information about their facilities,
creating the Utility Database. Road administrators and each public utility company can use
these layered databases that have been jointly constructed by the participants in the ROADIS
development.
ROADIS consists of the following three subsystems related to road administration:
- Road and Utility Management
- Road Construction and Coordination
- Road Utility Authorization
This paper focuses on the development of the system for Road Utility Authorization.
Outline of road utility authorization procedures
Prior to any excavation of roads or the installation of utility facilities in the space under roads,
Japanese regulations demand the submission of a formal application based on a prescribed
form and receipt of authorization from the relevant road administrator.
Outline of the online road utilty authorization system
System Characteristics
The need to convert the various procedural systems from conventional physical handling of
paper-based applications and notifications to an online system of digital forms and electronic
documentation grows increasingly urgent every year. ROADIS also has given top priority to
tackling the issue of electronic conversion of administration information related to road utility
authorization in its development. In operation since April 1998, the Online Road Utility
Authorization System realizes electronic processing of applications and notifications for road
and utility authorization procedures as a subsystem of ROADIS.
The online road utility authorization system has the following features:
- Immediate Online Response
Providing an online connection between the terminals of road administrators and utility
companies via the host computers located in ROADIC branches, this system realizes
immediate transfer of electronic documentation. (See Figure 1.)
- Capability of Responding to the Entire Series of Tasks from Application for Road
Occupation and Submission of Revised Drawings Reflecting Completed Work to
Various Related Calculations
Figure 1. Workflow of road utility authorization
The system provides total support for the entire series of tasks related to the road utility
application workflow (preparation of application forms, submission, receipt, authorization,
work commencement, work completion, calculation of rental fees for road occupation,
project management, statistical compilation and various calculation tasks.) (See Figure 1.)
