IVR Anchors West Virginia 511 System

The West Virginia Division of Highways has selected Open Roads Consulting to develop, deploy, and host its first statewide 511 traveler information system.

The West Virginia 511 (WV511) system will help reduce congestion and increase mobility and safety by providing travelers with real-time traffic and road condition information on all major corridors across the state. The 511 technology solution will include a condition reporting system, interactive voice recognition (IVR) telephony system, traveler information Web site, and data archive management system. To assist with delivery and marketing of the new 511 system, the Open Roads' team includes LogicTree and Global-5 Communications. The system is scheduled to be fully operational by the middle of 2012.

The new WV511 system will support the continued growth of WVDOH's ITS program. Open Roads will be deploying its OpenCRS condition reporting and data fusion engine to pull 511 data into one location, allowing operators to distribute information to all stakeholders, both internal and public.

The system has been designed to integrate with existing WVDOH hardware investments, such as DMS, CCTV cameras, and sensors; access real-time data from OpenTMS Enterprise, the statewide Advanced Traffic Management System; and interface with stakeholder systems, such as 911/CAD data.

Bruce Kenney, ITS state systems manager and engineer at WVDOH explains, "We bring all that information into our communication hub. While it is certainly important for our maintenance forces, it also provides information to 48 other stakeholders, for instance, the trucking industry."