That buzzing sound overhead may soon signal the arrival of the 21st-century version of a guy in a hardhat and bucket truck.

State transportation departments are increasingly studying the use of drones for everything from inspecting bridges to clearing car accidents.

Michigan transportation officials are set to begin a two-year study. Minnesota has tested a drone to help conduct safety inspections of bridges. Vermont is using federal grant dollars to study the use of drones to monitor river flooding and figure out how much material is needed to fix roads.

And in Massachusetts, a group has also been looking at the pros and cons of drone use, from potential threats to their possible use surveying construction projects.

The states are among 33 that have studied or used drones, helped develop drone polices, or aided in drone research.

That's according to a new survey by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, which represents departments of transportation in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico.

In 2014, state transportation officials there conducted a study with the Michigan Tech Research Institute that found drones potentially useful for a range of transportation tasks, from assessing bridge decks and monitoring traffic to processing thermal data and inspecting confined spaces.

The first study determined that drones are safe, reliable, less expensive and help keep workers out of harm's way, said Steven Cook, a Michigan Department of Transportation engineer.

"A traditional bridge inspection for example typically involves setting up work zones, detouring traffic and using heavy equipment," Cook said in a statement. "(Drones) can get in and get out quickly."

Michigan officials estimate that a standard bridge deck inspection takes eight hours, a crew of four people and heavy equipment at a cost of about $4,600. The same inspection with a drone takes two people just two hours at an estimated cost of about $250.

At the University of Vermont, researchers using federal grant money are developing programs to let drones estimate how much fill it will take to repair a damaged roadway by feeding images collected from above the site through a computer program.

By: DocMemory
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