Maintaining the gravel material along a road’s shoulders to reduce drop-off and mounding is critical for safety, but identifying where maintenance is needed often requires a manual inspection, which can be time-consuming and costly.
To determine whether remote and automated detection of these areas might be feasible, the Ohio Department of Transportation evaluated a prototype system of different sensor technologies and analysis software designed to identify the existence and extent of defects in road shoulders and other highway assets.
Read the report: Shoulder Drop-Off/Mounding Severity Determination, August 2025.
Image source: Ohio Department of Transportation