Virginia 511 upgrades
Brent Finnegan -- August 21st, 2008
VDOT just launched their “new and improved” 511 phone system and website for up-to-date info on wrecks and construction on the roads. I’ve used it in the past for email updates, but the interface was very web 1.0. I couldn’t get information specifically for Harrisonburg, and I didn’t care for the deluge of emails about delays on I64, so I unsubscribed.
With this most recent upgrade, it appears they’ve addressed those issues by letting you sign up for alerts for certain roads within the city, and adding text message alerts. So far, so good.
My sentiments as well.
I just signed up for US 33 and VA 253 (Port Republic). Pretty much every highway and main road is listed and can be added to your notification list.
You can even signify what days and times you like to receive them (they’re all off by default).
“Choose the priority level for which you’d like to receive alerts. VDOT assigns all alerts a priority based on the severity of the alert. For instance a multi-lane closure due to an accident might be graded “high priority” while an overnight construction project that causes a brief delay on a small US route may be designated “low priority” [EDIT - Which is a big deal on 33 and 253]. Choosing “All Priorities” will return the highest number of emails.”
“When making your selections, keep in mind that selecting just a few routes can result in the system sending you many emails. It’s best to “start small” and select a smaller coverage area; i.e. only a few routes or a few regions. You can always log back in to make adjustments to add coverage.”
Thanks for this update Finn…very much needed for me!