Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 13 hours ago
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data help transportation agencies plan roads, maintain pavements, and make policy decisions. In Texas, local roads make up 67% of the total roadway mileage, but collecting traffic data on every local road is costly and challenging. As a result, many DOTs rely on alternative or aggregated methods to estimate VMT.
This project explored new, data-driven approaches for estimating VMT for local roads. Researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute collaborated with TxDOT to develop, test, and compare new methods against TxDOT’s existing VMT estimation approach. The results showed that certain statistical models provided the most accurate estimates while minimizing the number of field counts.
For more information on research project 0-7187, check out the TxDOT Research Library project record here:
https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=M2UxNzg5YmEtYzMyZS00ZjBlLWIyODctYzljMzQ3ZmVmOWFl&rID=MTA0Mw==&qrs=RmFsc2U=&q=NzE4Nw==&ph=VHJ1ZQ==&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==&rrtc=VHJ1ZQ==
For access to all TxDOT research, please visit the TxDOT Research Library at https://ctr.utexas.edu/library/
Vehicle miles traveled (VMT) data help transportation agencies plan roads, maintain pavements, and make policy decisions. In Texas, local roads make up 67% of the total roadway mileage, but collecting traffic data on every local road is costly and challenging. As a result, many DOTs rely on alternative or aggregated methods to estimate VMT.
This project explored new, data-driven approaches for estimating VMT for local roads. Researchers from the Texas A&M Transportation Institute collaborated with TxDOT to develop, test, and compare new methods against TxDOT’s existing VMT estimation approach. The results showed that certain statistical models provided the most accurate estimates while minimizing the number of field counts.
For more information on research project 0-7187, check out the TxDOT Research Library project record here:
https://library.ctr.utexas.edu/Presto/content/Detail.aspx?ctID=M2UxNzg5YmEtYzMyZS00ZjBlLWIyODctYzljMzQ3ZmVmOWFl&rID=MTA0Mw==&qrs=RmFsc2U=&q=NzE4Nw==&ph=VHJ1ZQ==&bckToL=VHJ1ZQ==&rrtc=VHJ1ZQ==
For access to all TxDOT research, please visit the TxDOT Research Library at https://ctr.utexas.edu/library/
