If you travel during winter weather, travel intelligently — ALDOT has tools to help

HUNTSVILLE — Though the Alabama Department of Transportation maintains highways throughout the state, it also has an “I” for the weather.

As in ITS – the Intelligent Transportation System.

The system provides information to motorists to help them make better travel decisions during severe weather events, such as this weekend.

The winter storm threatens to coat much of the state in snow and ice and produce widespread travel impacts throughout the weekend. The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning, and Gov. Kay Ivey declared a state of emergency for 37 Alabama counties.

Though ALDOT cautions against non-emergency travel, those who must travel should be aware of hazards they may face. Motorists can prepare by visiting algotraffic.com or downloading the ALGO Traffic app to get real-time travel information.

ALDOT North Region Traffic Systems Management and Operations (TSMO) Engineer Phillip Day said the Traffic Management Center (TMC) in Huntsville will remain staffed 24/7 throughout the event.

TMC operators monitor road conditions and emergency responder activity. They then update ALGO to show confirmed incidents, such as crashes, and hazards, such as icy patches, that motorists may encounter. ALGO should also reflect any road closures implemented by law enforcement.

An ongoing ITS expansion in Limestone and Madison counties is nearing completion. The $5.2 million project offers tools to TMC operators and motorists:

• Cameras
  Nine of the 11 new cameras installed on I-565 under the project are now powered and functioning. The live feeds are viewable on ALGO, allowing motorists to see current road conditions.
  These are in addition to pre-existing feeds from cameras on I-65 in Morgan and Limestone counties, I-565 and U.S. 31/Alabama Highway 20 in Limestone County, and several locations on U.S. 72/U.S. 43, Alabama Highway 20, and Alabama Highway 133 in the Shoals area.
• Overhead message boards
  Another feature of the project is overhead message boards that can be changed remotely to display route-specific messages wnow functioning. Additionally, ALDOT is deploying portable message boards on roadsides across north Alabama to remind motorists to limit travel and reserve the inside lane for first responders.
• Weather stations
  The project also added two weather stations on I-565. These devices, installed at key locations, provide ALDOT with information about weather and road conditions. ALDOT’s partnership with Baron Weather provides an extensive network of weather stations in addition to ALDOT’s own. ALDOT can also deploy mobile weather units to map conditions on a route while moving during winter weather operations.

TMCs are also in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Montgomery, and Mobile to serve those regions of the state.

Additional tips for safer travel in hazardous conditions can be found here.