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

  • Car to car communications a step closer
    December 14, 2012
    Vehicle manufacturers have targeted 2015 for the first cars to roll off European assembly lines fitted with operational V2X technology. They and their partners in the Car 2 Car Communications Consortium are confident of meeting the target, reports Jon Masters. Around three years from now vehicles should be appearing in showrooms boasting the capability of communicating with each other. Manufacturers will have started fitting the first proprietary car-to-car driver-aid safety devices and deployment of ‘vehic
  • Comprehensive communications combats tolling resistance
    May 19, 2017
    Toll road operator must provide clear, comprehensive and consistent communications to user groups and the local community long before the facility opens. When new tolled highway infrastructure is about to go into service, the construction, management and finance specialists who brought it into being are about ready for a well-deserved celebration. But for the communications and outreach team responsible for building public support for the project – for bringing drivers to the road, and keeping partners and
  • LiDAR sets its sights on future problems
    February 23, 2017
    AAdvances in LiDAR are helping transport authorities improve services and identify potential problem areas, as geospatial technology expert Dr Neil Slatcher explains. The effects of climate change on the transport infrastructure have long been a cause of concern within the transportation sector - and not only on the structures themselves but also on the surrounding areas. This year, those concerns have become reality with landslides, structural collapses and surfacing issues impacting services across the wo
  • Platooning with Ease on the I-70
    July 15, 2025
    What would happen to truck platooning - a nascent technology - if the weather turns nasty? The I-70 Truck Automation Corridor Project in the northern US should provide some answers, reports David Arminas…