TDOT Debuts New Road Conditions Web Map
More details available just in time for winter weather

Nashville, Tenn.—The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) is debuting a new electronic road conditions map as part of its TDOT SmartWay Information System on the department’s website.

“This is an exciting advancement in the level of information we can provide to the public,” said TDOT Commissioner Gerald Nicely. “It is a much more sophisticated map that can provide specific road condition information like we were never able to do before, plus it is now easier and faster to use.”

This is the first major improvement to the map since the late 1990s. In its early form, the map provided road conditions only on a county by county basis.

“This advanced SmartWay system allows people to log on and pinpoint specific roadways rather than just a county to find out the current driving condition in that spot,” added Judy Steele, Director of TDOT’s Community Relations Division. “We sincerely hope that people will use the map frequently and begin to depend on it as an important travel tool when planning their driving trips any time of the year.”

Weather related road conditions displayed on the map includes snow, ice and flooding.

Users of the map can view information on a statewide, regional or local scale. Options include information about construction, roadway incidents, traffic flow and road conditions. The map will also allow the user to view TDOT SmartWay cameras and message signs in the cities where those systems have been established. Those cities include Knoxville, Nashville, and Memphis.

A one page instruction sheet on how to use the new map is attached to this news release. To access the map go to the TDOT home page at www.tennessee.gov/tdot. Those who have the old map already bookmarked on their computers should change to the new site as the old one will no longer exist.

**If you have already visited the old map today, you need to go to the TDOT homepage and hit Control and the function key “F5” then refresh before accessing the map and the new map will become available.

How to Navigate the Improved SmartWay System

There is a new look and feel to the SmartWay maps – they are now easier and faster to use. There are only three basic functions you need to understand to successfully use these maps, these are View, Traffic Information display and Feature Selection.

View – With the new Smartway maps, you can easily select how large an area on which you want to receive traffic information. You can view traffic information at a Statewide, Regional, or City/County (local) scale.

The three tabs above the map allow you to easily switch from one scale to the other. The regional tab allows you to view traffic data for one of the four TDOT management regions for the state. These regions are East Tennessee, Middle Tennessee (Central), Middle Tennessee (West) and West Tennessee. A drop-down list in the upper-right corner of the map allows you to easily pick which region you wish to view. The City/County tab allows you to view traffic information for any county in the state and select an even closer view of traffic for the four largest cities. Again, there is a drop-down list in the upper right corner of the map to use to select any county or urban area for viewing.

Traffic Information – Above the map, you will see a row of check boxes. They are: Cameras, Construction, Incidents, Message Signs, Traffic Flow and Road Conditions. These boxes allow you to select the specific traffic information you want to view. All maps will allow you to view construction site locations, traffic incident locations and hazardous road conditions. The meaning of the respective symbols that appear on the map to provide information is shown in the legend below the map.

For cities where an Intelligent Transportation System, or ITS, has been deployed, even more information may be available such as traffic cameras, dynamic message signs or even current traffic flow. All maps, by default, will initially show any traffic incidents that may have occurred in the viewing area. By simply clicking your mouse on the checkbox, other conditions such as construction or hazardous road conditions can be viewed.

Feature Section – As you move the cursor over an incident or construction symbol, a text box will pop up that gives a basic description of what is occurring at that location. That small text box will remain in view as long as you hold the cursor over the symbol. If you click on that symbol, a larger, easier-to-read text box will pop up in the upper-left corner of the screen that contains additional information about that construction event or incident.