Network Analysis

Goal and Objectives: 

The goal of this assignment was to lean how to use and perform network analysis. I used model builder to automate the process for us.  Using model builder helped my understanding to show the flow of work that goes into network analysis and what steps need to happen at what time in the process to get to the end goal.  I applied network analysis to the determine the cost of frac sand mining across counties by the increased truck traffic from moving the sand from mine to rail terminal.  This method helped to understand the impact of frac sand mines that is not just the impact of the mine itself, but the entire county.

Methods:

I had to prepare the feature classes to use the network analysis tool. I am using the mine data that I revived from the Wisconsin DNR.  We have been using this data for a few weeks now.  Some of the mines are not currently active therefore not all of the mines are used.  The mines that I am looking at ship their sand from the trucks to the rail terminals. Using a python script helped too speed up the process which selected all of the active mines without rail loading stations within 1.5km of railway.  I was left with 44 mines.   

To start the second part of this exercise I was given a geodatabase that had rail terminals in Wisconsin and had to use these for my analysis. I also used a street network data set from ESRI street map which was used during the network analysis to learn how to map routes and find the closest facility using incidences and facilities. 

Figure 1: This is a model showing how I came to the conclusion of the graphs below.

Once I was finished with that steep I was to use model builder and create a flow chart (Figure 1). This flow chart was the tool to figure out the distance and cost associated with the roads due to the distance of the trucks going from the sand mines to the rail terminals and back.  First i had to use the Make Closest Facility Layer tool and the add location tool.  I used the mines as the incidents and the rail terminals as the facilities which allowed me to set up my network analysis.  I then had to solve by routes to determine the closest station to each mine. Then, I had to use the select data  and Copy Features tools to create a feature class from the routes that I solved for from the network analysis. I then had to use the Project tool to change it to NAD 1983 HARN Transverse Mercator feet to get the correct numbers to use in my calculations. I then had to use the Summary Statistics tool which allowed me to create a table with the route distances broken down by county.  I then had to create two different fields and use two different calculations.  The first field I had to create was miles from the total shape length.  I then had to create a field called cost for the amount it cost to repair the roads.  The two equations I used were multiplying the foot distance by 0.00018939 to get meters.  I then took the meters number and multiplied it by 2*50*[total_Miles]*0.22.  The numbers for cost and trips are hypothetical.

Figure 2: Final Map showing the closest routes from mine to rail terminal along with the cost of maintenance per county.

Results:

The results I got from the data from the first part can be shown below.  This shows the different routes and gives a better understanding of the model we previously used.  

Figure 3: This graph is showing the distance  trucks would need to drive within each county to get from the mine to the terminal.

Figure 4: This graph is showing the annual cost each county will have to spend on its roads due to the heavier traffic from the trucks delivering sand to the terminals.

Discussion:

I was actually very surprised by the price of maintenance.  I thought it was going to be much higher than I arrived at, but this may be due to things not being calculated.  I also feel that there area some other variables that may happen while the trucks are on the road that were not accounted for, for example, break downs, accidents, and extra trips.  To change any of the numbers we could also start to add the facilities outside of Wisconsin. 

One problem I thought of is that are there any counties that do not allow the trucks to drive on certain roads. I feel like this is something that should be looked into to get a better  detailed and more accurate representation, because I know that the trucks may not be allowed to always go the fastest way if its through a neighborhood or something of the like.  

Conclusion:

I have found that the network analysis tool is one of my favorite tools to use.  I could see myself using this tool in a future job, and I feel like it has some of the largest uses.  Its not just to find the fastest route, but to determine where things can be put or which way to go.  Being able to figure out the price for maintenance on the roads is beneficial, and the figure could be brought to a meeting about opening up a sand mine in a different county determining its affects on the surrounding roads.  I feel like this would be great for the people to see who live in the surrounding area.