When the My35 project was first conceived in 2008, it put Texans in the driver's seat by soliciting public input on what they thought needed improving along the 96-mile stretch of I-35 from Hillsboro to Salado. One of the project's primary goals has been to return that favor by providing timely information to make travelers' trips safer and more predictable, despite the Herculean nature of the construction effort.
Over the past eight years, the Texas A&M Transportation Institute (TTI) has created, refined, and expanded a traveler information system supporting TxDOT's goal to keep motorists informed of slowdowns and other potential mobility challenges during construction. Travelers can sign up for system alerts delivered by email, text messages, and social media channels to inform them, for example, when an incident has occurred and help them avoid traffic slowdowns by providing alternate travel routes.
Project 4B in Waco is the latest stretch of I-35 to be enhanced and expanded under the My35 initiative. The $341 million project promises to improve safety and reduce congestion, while providing motorists with updated access roads and access points from local streets, as well as improved traffic control.
"Project 4B, also called Waco North, is designed to increase the number of lanes in both directions from 3 to 4 lanes; also, all of the overpasses will be rebuilt, and the frontage roads throughout the 6-mile section from 12th street to North Loop 340 will be continuous," explains I-35 Information Officer Jodi Wheatley. "This one section in Waco has the most users of any in the entire corridor, with 140,000 vehicles traveling this area every day."
The project's impact on motorists is significant, so the latest enhancement to the traveler information system, the Waco Real-Time Traffic Map, is setting a new gold standard for providing real-time information to corridor travelers so they can "know before they go."
"The Waco Real-Time Traffic Map is a web page that's a resource for anybody traveling from 12th Street to North Loop 340 in the Waco area," TTI Research Scientist Bob Brydia explains. Brydia is head of TTI's Advanced Transportation Operations Program and the project lead of TxDOT's My35 traveler information system. "You can access current conditions along the corridor and see real-time video of various points along the roadway."
The web page is dynamic, which means it is easy to read however drivers access it — whether on a desktop computer or a smartphone. Users can see travel times, current traffic speeds, locations of traffic incidents and slowdowns, and lane closures. One value-added innovation in the Waco Real-Time Traffic Map is streaming video. Images are updated several times a second, so viewers can assess how busy a given section of the corridor is and plan their trips accordingly. Traffic at a standstill? No problem. You can easily find an alternate route to avoid wasting time sitting idle, staring at someone else's bumper.
"The whole idea behind this real-time travel map is to 'know before you go,'" Brydia says. "It makes you more aware; it makes you more alert. And that leads to a safer, more reliable traveling experience for you and everybody who uses it."
Check out a video featuring Brydia explaining the features of the Waco Real-Time Traffic Map. | Open the Waco Real-Time Map
Jake Smith
I-35 Public Information Officer
254-867-2705
Contact My35
