Hazardous condition alerts to be more visible on 511 system

A new alert notification on ITD’s 511 Traveler Services system (511.idaho.gov) will be introduced this fall to let motorists know of potentially hazardous conditions.

The new alerts are based on highway and weather data recorded at more than 100 Road Weather Information Stations (RWIS) located at strategic sites across Idaho. A new icon that features a thermometer in a red triangle will identify places where motorists might encounter slick highway surfaces, high winds, snowfall or low visibility (fog, blowing snow and dust), explains Tony Ernest, coordinator of ITD’s 511 system.

“Travelers will have access to the hazard alert information generated automatically from our 511 system,” Ernest says. “It will create a more visible way of identifying areas that might have hazardous conditions.”

Available on the “full feature” (high bandwidth site), the alerts will display automatically on the 511 Idaho map, even if website users don’t choose to display camera views. When they select the icon, an array of highway and weather reports will be visible, but a special banner at the top of the window will clearly identify the hazardous conditions that can be expected.

The window also shows a wealth of more traditional highway data associated with the RWIS sites that have been available for about six years. Created primarily as a tool for maintenance crews, the RWIS sites include camera views of major highways and mountain passes. The cameras and condition reports help motorists make safe travel decisions, even if hazard alerts have not been triggered. Data includes:

  • Relative humidity
  • Dew point temperatures
  • Precipitation
  • Wind speed and direction
  • Snow depth
  • Visibility, and more than a dozen other measurements

Ernest hopes hazard reports will be available on the “streamlined” 511 section in the future and perhaps push those alerts directly to motorists as technology and funds become available.

Idaho is the only state in the CARS (Condition Acquisition Reporting System) coalition that can generate automatic hazardous condition alerts or warnings, Ernest says.

ITD invested about $45,000 in the new enhancement and has been working on implementing it since early summer.

Published 11-15-13