Critical suppliesWeb App Helps Truck Drivers Move Critical Supplies
As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, a patchwork of well-intentioned, state-level restrictions has emerged. They have impeded interstate commerce and the rapid delivery of critical food, medical and sanitation supplies. As truckers work to move products throughout the country, they are often confronted with closed rest areas, local curfews, and in some cases, 14-day quarantines. INL researchers developed a web application to visually display route restrictions, alternative routes and other pertinent information pulled from publicly available sources, including state websites and databases.
According to the American Trucking Association, when measured by weight, commercial trucks move 71 percent of nation’s freight each year. From furniture to food, and medicine to medical supplies, most products American consumers or businesses purchase are delivered by one of the 3.5 million U.S. truck drivers.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has evolved, a patchwork of well-intentioned, state-level restrictions has emerged. They have impeded interstate commerce and the rapid delivery of critical food, medical and sanitation supplies. As truckers work to move products throughout the country, they are often confronted with closed rest areas, local curfews, and in some cases, 14-day quarantines.
While some states have instituted waivers for truck drivers, others require them to obtain special permits or show proof of medical clearance in order to pass beyond their borders. In many cases, the restrictions are slowing the delivery of critical supplies at a time when they are needed most.
Meeting the Challenge
Just before 11 p.m. Eastern Time on March 24, 2020, David Wilkinson, deputy associate director for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Integrated Operations Coordination Center, sent an email to Ollie Gagnon, an INL Infrastructure and Assurance manager. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), a risk adviser and coordination center within DHS, was seeking assistance developing a tool to provide a common operational picture of current restrictions on movement and commerce faced by the trucking industry.
Within an hour, a five-member team of INL researchers responded by proposing the development of a web application to visually display route restrictions, alternative routes and other pertinent information pulled from publicly available sources, including state websites and databases. The following morning, the team was on the phone with CISA holding their first coordination call.
“CISA has been a critical customer of ours for the last several years, and we’ve provided them with geospatial mapping and critical infrastructure protection analysis,” said Rob Edsall, one of the tool’s designers. “Because of our existing relationship and previous work, we knew they trusted us to provide a solution.”
Working closely with the nonprofit All Hazards Consortium, a 30,000-member public-private emergency response working group, the INL team developed a prototype of the tool in just a couple of days. Initial designs relied on widely used geospatial technology from the Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) and demonstrated how an information hub using public data sources could function.
