From Insight to Investment: Using Data to Drive Resilient Transportation Decisions: Bridging Data, Policy, and Planning to Guide Transportation Investment Decisions

As transportation needs continue to evolve, agencies must make investment decision to make investment decisions that balance mobility, safety, resilience, environmental stewardship, and fiscal responsibility. At the same time, the volume of available transportation data – from traffic and freight movement to land-use trends, travel demand, and asset condition-continues to expand. The challenge is no longer access to data; it is converting information into actionable investment decisions.

From Insight to Investment: Using Data to Drive Resilient Transportation Decisions brings together leaders from TxDOT, TTI, and H-GAC to examine how agencies and research institutions are bridging data, policy, and planning to prioritize transportation investments. The panel will explore practical examples of performance-based planning, corridor analysis, freight and multimodal evaluation, scenario modeling, and regional coordination that have informed funding priorities and project development.

Discussion topics include:
• Turning large and diverse datasets into decision-ready information
• Connecting findings with policy and programming decisions
• Aligning statewide objectives with regional and local transportation needs
• Using data-driven strategies to improve resilience, reliability, and long-term system performance
• Building trust and transparency through collaborative planning processes

Panelists will share lessons learned from real-world applications and discuss the institutional, technical, and communication challenges that arise when integrating analytics into transportation decision-making. Attendees will leave with a clearer understanding of how data, research, policy, and planning can work together to support resilient transportation investments and more effective infrastructure outcomes across Texas.