Reports Help

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Overview

The Travel Midwest site provides you with a number of reports to help you make your travel decisions. Each report displays a particular type of data and is organized as a series of tables, one for each location. The locations are either a given expressway in a given direction (for expressway reports) or a given county (for arterial reports). On the left side of the report page is a list of links for the available locations that you can select to display the corresponding tables. Some report pages also have a legend above the list of location links to indicate the meaning of symbols used in that report. The contents of each report is described below.

Report Locations

When you navigate to a report page from a menu item on the "reports" menu, the tables for the locations that you have selected on the MyTravel page are displayed. The My Travel Help page describes how to use the My Travel page. If you have not selected any preferences, then no tables are displayed initially. To display a different set of tables, select from the location links on the left side of the page. For example, if you select "I-90" under "Illinois", the tables for eastbound and westbound I-90 in Illinois are displayed.

The figure on the left below shows the top of the list of location links. Selecting "My Travel Preferences" displays the tables for your preferred locations, selecting "Entire Region" displays every table, and selecting "Illinois" displays all the tables for locations in Illinois. Many expressways have both a numeric designation (e.g., I-55 or Interstate 55) and a name (e.g., Stevenson Expressway). In this case, the location link for the expressway name is indented below the corresponding numeric designation. You may use whichever gives you the information you need. Note that when you select "Entire Region" or "Illinois" some items will be duplicated, e.g. in both the tables for "I-55 NB" and "Stevenson NB". Next to each state name is an arrow icon that you can use to collapse or expand the list of location links for that state to make it easier to access the information you desire. When the arrow points down, the location links are visible and when it points to the right they are hidden. The figure in the center below shows the list after the icon next to "Illinois has been clicked, which makes it easier to access the links for the other three states. The Travel Midwest site now has more data about events and devices on arterial highways. This information is grouped by county on the report pages. For example, clicking on "Indiana Arterials" in the middle figure below displays all the information in Indiana with a table for each county. Clicking the arrow icon next to "Indiana Arterials" expands that heading to give the figure on the right below, which allows viewing the data for a given county only.

The Travel Midwest site keeps track of which locations are expanded and collapsed as you click on various locations on the report page.

Report Links

Each of the report pages has a group of links at the top of the page that provide direct access to the other reports for the report location being displayed. These links allow you to view all the traffic conditions, events, and devices for a given report location without having to select that location again on the next report, as you would if you used the "reports" menu items.

Travel Times Report

The Travel Time Report gives approximate travel times along major expressways between predefined points.

The items on the Travel Times Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Congestion Legend - the meanings of the congestion colors used on the report
Location List - the locations the user can click on to select the tables displayed in the report
Location Name - the name of the expressway or county for this table
Congestion Status - a general measure of the congestion for the location associated with this entry
From - the start of the section for which travel time information is provided, usually an exit from an expressway or a major cross road
To - the end of the section for which the travel time information is provided
Travel Time - the time in minutes calculated by the Travel Midwest site for travel on the expressway between the From and To streets
Average Travel Time - the average travel time in minutes for this time of day and day of week; clicking on this value opens a window displaying the Travel Midwest Stats web site where you can compare the current travel time on that road segment against several years of historical data
Extreme - if the travel time is 50% greater than the average, a red ball is displayed
Distance - the distance in miles along the expressway between the From and To streets
Speed - the average speed in miles per hour along the roadway, which will in all likelihood not be constant along the entire length of the section

Congestion Report

The Congestion Report shows where congested areas are along the expressway.

The items on the Congestion Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Congestion Legend - the meanings of the congestion colors used on the report
Location List - the locations the user can click on to select the tables displayed in the report
Location Name - the name of the expressway or county for this table
Congestion Status - a general measure of the congestion for the location associated with this entry
From - the start of the section for which congestion information is provided, usually an exit from an expressway or a major cross road
To - the end of the section for which the congestion information is provided

Incident Report

The Incident Report shows the location of traffic-related incidents that have been reported to the Travel Midwest site.

The items on the Incident Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Location List - the locations the user can click on to select the tables displayed in the report
Location Name - the name of the expressway or county for this table
Description - a brief description of the incident
Location - a nearby cross road for an expressway report, the road on which the incident occurred and a nearby cross road for a county report; clicking on the location opens a window displaying a map zoomed to the incident location
Mile Marker - the mile marker at which the incident occurred (blank for arterials)
Closure Details - which lanes are blocked, if known
Status - the current status of the incident, "New" implies the incident has just been reported and "Updated" indicates that additional information was recently received
Start Time - the estimated time that the incident occurred
End Time - the estimated time that the incident will be cleared
Source - the agency that reported the incident to the Travel Midwest site

Construction Report

The Construction Report shows the location of construction and other maintenance work that has been reported to the Travel Midwest site.

The items on the Construction Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Location List - the locations the user can click on to select the tables displayed in the report
Location Name - the name of the expressway or county for this table
Location - a nearby cross road or start and end cross roads for an expressway report, the road on which the construction will take place and a nearby cross road or start and end cross roads for a county report; clicking on the location opens a window displaying a map zoomed to the construction location
Mile Marker - the mile marker or range of mile markers at which the construction will take place (blank for arterials)
Severity - the effect on traffic of the construction ("Major", "Medium", or "Minor")
Closure Details - which lanes and shoulders are closed, shifted, etc.
Start Time - the scheduled date and time the construction will begin (construction activities may begin earlier or later depending on other conditions)
End Time - the scheduled date and time the construction will be completed (an estimate based on schedules provided to the Travel Midwest site by government agencies)
Source - the agency which reported the construction activity to the Travel Midwest site
Description - a description of the activity which is occurring (if provided)

Camera Report

The Camera Report shows information about video cameras in the region that are reported to the Travel Midwest site, including the most recent image from each camera.

The items on the Camera Snapshot Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Location List - the location list on the Camera Report gives only those locations with cameras
Location Name - the name of the expressway for this table
Thumbnail - a thumbnail of the most recent image available from the camera; click on the thumbnail to view a larger image together with reference views from the camera.
Location - the location of the camera
Image Age - the age of the most recent image available from the camera

Special Event Report

The Special Event Report shows the location of events that have been reported to the Travel Midwest site which may affect traffic. The Special Event Report has the same format as the Construction Report.

Detector Report

The Detector Report shows the readings from vehicle detectors that are reported to the Travel Midwest site.

The items on the Detector Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Status Legend - the meanings of the status symbols used in the report
Location List - the locations the user can click on to select the tables displayed in the report
Location Name - the name of the expressway or county for this table
Status - The operational status of the detector (does not represent the traffic conditions at the detector)
Nearest Cross Street - the nearest cross street to the detector, with an offset from the cross street in miles (positive values are in the direction of travel)
Speed - the calculated speed of traffic passing within the range of the detector (can be affected by weather conditions and other factors and may not be completely accurate)
Occupancy - the percentage of time that the detector registers a vehicle within its detection range (higher percentages mean more vehicles are on the roadway or that vehicles are spending more time in the detection area)
Volume - the number of vehicles per hour per lane (detection ranges may include multiple lanes)
Source - the agency that reported the detector data to the Travel Midwest site

Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) Report

The Dynamic Message Sign Report shows the text being displayed on dynamic message signs in the region that are reported to the Travel Midwest site.

The items on the Dynamic Message Sign Report are as follows:

Updated Time - the date and time the information in the report was last received, which does not indicate the last update of all information on the report
Report Links - links to other reports for the report location being displayed
Status Legend - the meanings of the status symbols used in the report
Location List - the locations the user can click on to select the tables displayed in the report
Location Name - the name of the expressway or county for this table
Message - the text currently displayed on the sign
Location - a nearby cross road for an expressway report, the road on which the sign is located and a nearby cross road for a county report
Status - the operational status of the message sign
Source - the agency that reported the message sign data to the Travel Midwest site

The Chicago Quick Traffic Report

The items on this report are as follows:

Report time - the oldest date of any data shown on the report
Expressway - the expressway for which travel time information is being reported
Travel time - the travel time for the given expressway in minutes; click on the travel time for more detailed information
Speed - the average speed for the given expressway in miles per hour

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Thu Sep 02 10:30:56 CDT 2010