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ITD rolls out new Idaho Traveler Services 511 app April 1

Traveler Information will be available through a new Idaho Transportation Department 511 smart-phone application (app) beginning April 1, because of work that began last year to make this vital information available to iPhone and Android phone users.

Links to download the free 511 app for both types of phone may be found on ITD's 511 Travel Information page at 511.idaho.gov. The new app also may be downloaded through the iPhone and Android app stores.

"511 system developer Castle Rock built the application, after first doing one for Minnesota's DOT last year," said Tony Ernest, ITD's traveler services coordinator.

Idaho joins a short list of transportation departments nationwide offering a 511 app, along with Georgia, Virginia, Iowa, South Carolina and Minnesota.

This will be ITD's second mobile app, joining its Aeronautics app deployed in 2012. That mobile app has earned several awards for providing critical safety information to pilots.

This is the most recent enhancement to the 511 Traveler Information system for drivers of Idaho highways, joining a feature added in September 2013 that enables drivers to report what they experienced on their commutes or drives across the state, and another upgrade this past fall that made hazardous condition alerts more accessible, timely and visible.

These enhancements ensure motorists have the best information available when making travel plans. ITD's award-winning 511 system remains one of the most robust in the country, based on input and suggestions from its users. It is constantly evolving to better serve travelers.

"The new app helps make sure drivers have access to timely and accurate information, whether commuting to and from work or traveling across the state," Ernest said.

ITD's 511 Traveler Services system replaced the Idaho road report in 2005, providing computer access to information that previously was voice recorded and made available through a toll-free telephone number.

The transportation department budgeted $57,000 for development and deployment of the new app, which features camera images, incidents, construction and winter-road conditions on a map-based interface. That budget includes an upgrade to ITD's new app planned for later in 2014 that will offer text-to-speech technology to inform drivers of reports in real time.