Skip to main content

West Virginia state-wide 511 traveller information system launched

West Virginia’s state-wide 511 traveller information system, designed and deployed by intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provider Open Roads Consulting, has been unveiled by Governor Earl Tomblin and Secretary of Transportation Paul Mattox. The comprehensive system provides everything drivers need to know for a smooth commute: real-time traffic information including updates on congestion, crashes, construction, lane closures, road conditions and severe weather. It covers all of West Virginia’s interst
December 21, 2012 Read time: 2 mins
West Virginia’s state-wide 511 traveller information system, designed and deployed by intelligent transportation systems (ITS) provider 5660 Open Roads Consulting, has been unveiled by Governor Earl Tomblin and Secretary of Transportation Paul Mattox.

The comprehensive system provides everything drivers need to know for a smooth commute: real-time traffic information including updates on congestion, crashes, construction, lane closures, road conditions and severe weather. It covers all of West Virginia’s interstates and other major highways.

The 511 system offers four convenient ways for travellers to access free roadway information: by calling 511 toll-free from any landline or mobile phone; visiting their WV511.org online; downloading the free WV 511 Drive Safe mobile app for Android and iPhone devices available at WV511.org/mobile; and following one of twelve WV Twitter feeds at WV511.org/Twitter. In addition to traffic information, the 511 system offers public safety alerts, including Amber and Silver alerts.

West Virginia Department of Highways (WVDOH) traffic engineering director Cindy Cramer heralded the new system and its critical role in a recent public safety incident that also impeded traffic. “We are thrilled to publicly launch the statewide 511 system,” she said. “All of us at the WVDOH are appreciative of the commitment and dedication of the Open Roads consulting team in delivering a fully functional 511 system that proved to be an invaluable tool in assisting the public at the time of the natural gas line explosion that recently closed a portion of I-77 near Sissonville. The new 511 system will support the continued growth of WVDOH’s ITS technology program.”

Bruce Kenney, ITS coordinator and systems management engineer at WVDOH said the new 511 enhances existing systems to provide timely traffic and travel information to all users of the highways. “With the new 511 system designed and deployed by Open Roads Consulting and being hosted by them, the Transportation Management Center operators will be able to distribute information to all our stakeholders, both internal and public. The system has been designed to integrate with the existing state-wide advanced transportation management system also deployed by Open Roads Consulting, with WVDOH ITS field devices including 911/CAD data providing information to many other stakeholders including the trucking industry, 1742 Department of Homeland Security and the Parkways Authority,” Kenney said.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Washington DC gets multimodal transportation information displays
    May 31, 2013
    US-headquartered digital signage specialist Transit Screen has partnered with local Business Development Agencies (BID) Business Improvement Districts in what is said to be Washington, DC’s, first real-time multimodal display of transportation information. The Transit Screen displays provide a live, real-time snapshot of all Metro, Capital BikeShare, Metrobus, Circulator, and ART bus transit arrivals at a given location.
  • Centralised traffic control, managing changing traffic demands
    January 23, 2012
    Paul van Koningsbruggen and Dave Marples of Technolution BV describe, using a national example from the Netherlands, how smart add-ons to traffic control centres combine to increase cross-centre capabilities and cost-efficiency. Increasingly, traffic management is becoming the natural partner of the civil engineer, improving flows over existing infrastructure to deliver an alternative to laying more blacktop. As in any emerging market, the first steps towards mature traffic management have not necessarily r
  • More for less with traffic control centre technology
    May 31, 2013
    Rich pickings are now available in a maturing market supplying screens and processors for traffic management operations. Jon Masters reviews what’s on offer. Competition in supply of technology for traffic management and control centres has increased significantly in recent years. Suppliers introduced better products and customers are changing the way they operate, which benefits traffic authorities and emergency services alike. These are the views of Electrosonic’s control rooms solutions sales manager Pa
  • Emissions reductions targets to have major impact on transport
    October 28, 2015
    As bold moves aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions have been introduced in California, David Crawford looks at the ramifications for transportation. California Governor Jerry Brown’s recent dramatic raising of the bar on emissions reduction policy for the state has won him praise from Japan, Australia, Europe and the secretariat of the critical UN conference on climate change being held in Paris in November/December 2015. His April 2015 executive order aimed at bringing emissions to 40% below 1990 lev