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Highway staff present countywide GIS, culvert-sizing study and Novo integration
Summary
County highway staff described a project that centralized asset mapping, used a culvert-sizing study to recommend replacement diameters for most culverts, and integrated maintenance tracking with Novo to link work orders and costs to mapped assets. The study flagged many undersized culverts and proposed municipal participation in shared mapping.
Cody, a highway department staff member, told the General Services committee the county modernized its geographic information system to host a single, living inventory of road assets. "This isn't a one-time mapping project. It's a living database that continues to grow and improve every day," Cody said, describing layers for culverts, bridges, signs and more and the use of ArcGIS Field Maps on iPads for field verification.
The project included a culvert-sizing study that cross-referenced the county's culvert inventory with countywide elevation data to estimate drainage areas and 100-year flows. Cody said the study produced recommended pipe diameters for 929 of Lewis County's 1,124 culverts and categorized sites as simple (analyzed) or complex (requiring site-specific design). He added the study flagged urgent replacements; when asked whether culverts were undersized, Cody responded that "more than 75% of our culverts were undersized," a finding the committee noted would increase future pipe and budget needs.
Cody also described adopting Novo asset-management software to replace an obsolete work-order system. He said NoviO (Novo) integrates live with field maps so crews can assign labor, equipment and materials directly to mapped assets, creating complete maintenance and cost histories. That integration, he said, will help FEMA reimbursement after disasters and support data-driven prioritization of capital work.
Staff invited municipalities to participate: the county would host the centralized mapping and municipalities would only need to purchase a tablet to collect data. Committee members asked about records disposition and were told paper records have been scanned and excess filing cabinets shredded.
The committee did not take a formal vote on the presentation itself; staff framed the mapping and culvert work as groundwork that supports several grant and capital requests discussed later in the meeting.
