Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) Secretary Timothy W. Martin recently unveiled a new website aimed at improving customer service information delivery. The new web page, www.gettingaroundillinois.com, brings multiple IDOT Internet-based maps together allowing users to have access to multiple layers of information on one page.
“We are using technology to make IDOT more accountable and accessible to the public. You can view current road conditions, construction information and plans for future projects all on the same page,” IDOT Secretary Martin said. “By incorporating multiple electronic maps into one, we’re making it easier to get information and saving everyone valuable time.”
The gettingaroundillinois website provides users with up-to-date road conditions, construction information, average daily traffic counts and will also map out future projects contained in the IDOT’s highway programs. Users will also be able to map travel destinations, like hotels, restaurants, gas stations, airports, tourist attractions, museums, hospitals, schools and government agency locations.
IDOT built gettingaroundillinois using the latest mapping technology to bring together information from a variety of IDOT bureaus for use by IDOT staff, transportation industry professionals and the general public. The idea was to create a one-stop location that was easy to navigate in an interactive format. Multiple layers can be displayed on the map at one time, making it more efficient for travelers to plan routes.
Two of the most popular IDOT Internet tools have already been switched to gettingaroundillinois, winter road conditions and construction information. Construction information is updated on a daily basis between March and November, and on an as needed basis during the off-season. Winter road conditions are update at least every two hours during a winter storm event, and in one 24-hour period earlier this month the site received more than 1 million hits.
The gettingaroundillinois website was developed by IDOT staff and GIS Solutions as part of a much larger technology initiative. That initiative includes creation of a free database accessible to local governments for all roads on the Illinois highway system, including state, municipal, county and township roads. This database will allow for more collaboration on transportation issues between different governments in the future.
