National Traffic and Road Closure Information: A Keeper of a Site for Road Trips

Picture it if you will, Mom's mini van packed to the gills with kids, coolers, crackers, kool-aide and kindred spirits, all set out on the quest of "the perfect vacation"! The mere thought of the adventures which lie ahead can spur yet another verse of "99 bottles of beer on the wall" to begin anew and believe it or not, Mom and Dad are almost as giddy, with the idea of 7 days of R&R as the kids! Until......they happen across that inevitable sign that states "Road construction, next 10 miles".

Now 10 miles really isn't all that long.....in real time only about 5 bottles will have fallen from that wall by the time the odometer rolls around, BUT this is not real time....it is "highway construction time" and that 10 minutes soon stretches into 30 minutes, 40 minutes and sometimes more than an hour later, by the time they inch past the endless gravel, yellow monster machines and men in orange vests. By that time comes, the whole car is not only cranky and crabby but ready to throw whatever "bottles" are left at each other and all due to the delay in their vacation....a delay that could have been avoided.

With this site "National Traffic and Road Closure Information", http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/ you can start your journey with the peace of mind that you have the information at hand, on all the road construction that might be in the area and thus plan ahead for detours or re-routes as you may see fit.

This site reminds us of "511" America's Traveler Information Telephone Number and it explains in detail the use of and the idea behind travelers having such a number at their fingertips when taking a trip.

Clicking on any state on the map will take you to an informational page which will lead you further still into that states Department of Transportation page, giving you the most up to date information regarding road construction or delays in that state.

On the far left hand side of the page under the header "National Links" is a link called "local and state transit links" this takes you to http://www.apta.com/links/state_local/ where you can then choose your state and
discover important information about the transit situation in the area in which you may be traveling
.
Another page onsite, is filled with links about weather/road conditions and traffic condition information is http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/#weat

This page alone will be a much needed resource for those travelers who don't want to waste precious vacation time staring at sweaty construction workers and smelling the unmistakable odor of "black top" as it is spread across the road! One of my favorite links on the page is the "traffic online" link which though it in turn takes you to another site, it does give great information about specific areas and the amount of traffic you can expect to encounter when traveling in the area.

Rounding out the site is a page entitled "What's new?" http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/trafficinfo/whatsnew.htm
which lists updates and other information. Note: the last time this page was updated was May 4, 2006, so while it is fairly new in information, you might want to check local DOT pages to double check the information found within.

All in all, this is a great site and a wonderful starting place for those "on the road" summer travelers or even those who are making "anytime" trips with the family. In my opinion, any time you can bypass road construction and delays, not only our family benefits but the construction workers benefit as well for as fewer people travel by their construction site, the danger lessens for the workers and the injury/death rate drops and whenever that happens....we all win! And that's what it's all about.....having a happy, safe summer!