Publish fiber-optic cable map on Google Maps

As part of my job, I get these notices from Digger's Hotline that say somebody is going to plant a tree or dig for buried treasure or in the vicinity of where we have fiber-optic cable buried. Having somebody cut our fiber is a real pain, so I look up the address, consult a big paper map, and see if I have to look at more detailed paper maps. If it's really close, I go spray paint a line where I think the fiber is. I think of it as a ritual to ward off the evil fiber-cutting gremlins.

It's tedious to look for markings on increasingly old paper maps. I also (temporarily) lost the maps a couple weeks ago and panicked. Just a little. So I started thinking about a way to improve on this process. Thanks to Google Maps' new "My Maps" feature, I've found it.

I've begun making a personalized map with the locations of our fiber superimposed on the Google map. I'm started working on this from home, so I'm going by memory of where the fiber is. When I get back to work where I keep the paper maps, I can make really detailed maps of the fiber. Then, when I get a Digger's Hotline notice, I can plug in the address and immediately see if there is fiber in the area. Need more detail? Just zoom in.

Eventually, I should be able to make a script that will parse the email I get from Digger's Hotline to extract the Latitude and Longitude coordinates, plug them in to Google Maps, and instantly display the location of the ticket along with where the fiber actually is.

I don't actually know how I'll do that last part, but this idea is practical enough that it stands a much better chance of being implemented than a lot of others. I think the time saved in the long run will be huge, since trying to squint at maps is tedious and time-consuming. But the risk of getting fiber cut is too great to not take the time.

To see my proof of concept using Google Earth, download the KMZ file here. (or download directly from http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&ie=UTF8&msa=0&output=nl&msid=107146045038233619275.0004387d0069e55dc5693 )