MoDOT's Harlan keeps drivers aware of road conditions

Stuart Harlan poses in his Missouri Department of Transportation office on West Main Street in Jefferson City. He is responsible for the department's Traveler Information Map, seen on the screen behind him.
Stuart Harlan poses in his Missouri Department of Transportation office on West Main Street in Jefferson City. He is responsible for the department's Traveler Information Map, seen on the screen behind him.

When a weather event makes Missouri roads hazardous, millions of residents turn to Stuart Harlan's mapping program.

Since 2009, he has been responsible for the Missouri Department of Transportation's Traveler Information Map.

When he joined the program, smartphones weren't yet common, he recalled.

But by 2012, he had built a mobile application.

For the last five years, interest in the program has grown by up to 20 percent, Harlan said.

On a normal day, the site may see about 500 users. But during a flooding event in St. Louis a couple of years ago, the number reached 1 million users.

"It was incredible; it was the heaviest load we have seen on it," Harlan said.

Although he rarely receives feedback from users, the numbers are encouraging, he said.

"I enjoy that people are able to use the information to get answers," Harlan said.

He started his state career in 1996 as an environmental specialist at the Department of Natural Resources, using his bachelor's degree in geology from what is now the Missouri School of Science and Technology.

Over time, he found he leaned toward information technology in his work there, and for five years, he worked for the department's IT program before it was consolidated statewide under the Office of Administration.

With a specialty for building interactive maps using GIS technology, Harlan moved to the transportation department in 2009.

Although he doesn't draw much from his environmental and geological background, Harlan has the unique position of understanding both sides of the IT world - the programmers and the users.

"One side rarely understands the other," leading to frequent misunderstandings, he noted.

So while he still collects the data and develops systems to analyze it, he also considers user needs and understanding.

One of the greatest balancing acts he has in this job is adding improvements and innovations to the traveler map while not diminishing its quality, Harlan said.

The program will never be completed. It is continuously updated and corrected.

"People have come to expect a fresh look and regular updates," Harlan said. "This is one of our most public products, and we want to keep people interested in it."

The Traveler Information Map is available online at traveler.modot.org/map.