Planning tool for Texas agency can now lead you to best BBQ joints

AUSTIN – A Texas Department of Transportation planning tool is celebrating its 20th anniversary with new map overlays, including one that can lead you to the best barbecue in the state. 

TxDOT BBQ map

What’s new:

TxDOT’s Statewide Planning Map has been updated with new data layers and basemaps in celebration of its second decade of operation. 

The most recent additions include a BBQ layer, which can lead you to Texas Monthly’s Top 50 barbecue joints in the state, as well as a new Thanksgiving theme. 

TxDOT’s Statewide Planning Map

The backstory:

TxDOT launched their planning map in 2005, just one year after the creation of Google Maps. Since then, the map has become a daily tool for planners, engineers, and partners across Texas.

Michael Chamberlain, TxDOT’s director of data management, built the first version of the planning map himself, the release says, teaching himself coding languages to create the tool. 

Since then, the map has become an analytical tool used by TxDOT engineers to plan, design, build and maintain the state’s highway system. 

The map also offers additional features like the best places to view the night sky, see wildflowers, live traffic, current and future project locations and more.

Evolution of the map

What they’re saying:

“The first version was brutally simple,” Chamberlain  said. “None of the mapping frameworks available today existed back then so I wrote my own—after reading and re-reading a dozen books on the topic.”

“Over the years it evolved into more than a simple map viewer,” Chamberlain said. “We added overlays, dynamic data, more basemaps, and the ability to share everything you create using URLs.”

What’s next:

New creative additions are planned for 2026, TxDOT said in their Wednesday announcement. 

“I am proud of what it has become, and I want to thank everyone who contributed to its success over the years,” he said. “As part of our celebration for ‘20 Years of Planning Map,’ we are creating unique overlays, basemaps and content through the end of the year and 2026.”