Driving Progress: The New 511 Puts Motorists On Easy Street

511 helps people driving in Wisconsin choose the safest and easiest routes to their destinations.

Driving Progress: The New 511 Puts Motorists On Easy Street

​Whether you dial 511, use the new mobile app or log on to 511WI.gov, an upgraded 511 Wisconsin Traveler Information System is ready to serve motorists throughout the state, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) announced.

“511 helps people driving in Wisconsin choose the safest and easiest routes to their destinations,” WisDOT Secretary-designee Craig Thompson said. “Whether you use the app, the phone line or the web site, we are pleased to offer timely, detailed, custom information about weather issues, roadway emergencies or other alerts.”

The all-new 511 Wisconsin mobile app, available for Apple and Android devices, is the perfect companion to your preferred navigation app. With the 511 Wisconsin app running in the background, it can give audible alerts on incidents and closures as they occur on your route.

Calling 511 will connect you to an interactive state-of-the-art voice recognition system. Callers can say a roadway name, a county or a destination – such as Lambeau Field -- to get relevant information. Alternatively, if a caller has ‘My Routes’ setup in their account, users can hear personalized information about their preferred routes as soon as they connect.

“One of the best enhancements of the new 511 Wisconsin Traveler Information System is the full integration between the three modules: the 511WI.gov website, the 511 Wisconsin mobile app and the 511 automated phone system,” explained Jon Riemann, communication manager at the WisDOT Traffic Management Center. “Once a user has set up the ‘My Routes’ feature in their account, it doesn’t matter if they are on the web, in the app or calling 511, the user can receive personalized information for their chosen routes.”

Enhancements to the 511WI.gov website include user-selectable layers for information including incidents, project closures, camera images, weather radar and the introduction of crowd-sourced data from Waze. “All of the features previously available are still there,” Riemann added. “We didn’t take anything away.”

The 511 Wisconsin Traveler Information System is the state’s official source for trusted roadway conditions and traffic impacts across Wisconsin providing travel times, traffic speeds, near real-time images of roads from traffic cameras, incident locations, maintenance and construction work along with project information including schedules, closures, contacts and maps for large construction projects throughout the state. This information is provided so drivers can make informed decisions about their travel plans.

511 Wisconsin was first launched in 2009 with an automated phone system and website. In 2015, the first mobile app was released

Last Update: Feb 26, 2020 7:57 am CST

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