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As part of its effort to provide more valuable and concise real-time traveler information to the motoring public, the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) announces the availability of the Travel Midwest Alerts System (TMAS). The TMAS is a free service which provides email notifications for up to date traffic information on user-selected trips along the expressways in the Travel Midwest coverage area.  The TMAS replaces the less comprehensive Illinois Traffic Alert System (ITAS) legacy product that was initially deployed in 2006.

The TMAS provides users the capability to select one or more trips using the Travel Midwest Trip Report and then create an account to receive traffic information along that trip. The email format, the days and times on which the user receives alerts, and the type of traffic information for each trip are customizable. The user can also give a period during which alerts will not be sent (e.g., for a vacation) and a speed threshold so that alerts are sent only when the speed is below that value. Once a user has created an Alerts System account, trips and their alert preferences can be added, modified, or deleted at any time. The customized trip option provides a valuable enhancement for both regular commuters and the discretionary traveler.

For more detail on defining trips and registering for email alerts, see the Travel Midwest Trips and Alerts Help page.

To complement the travelmidwest.com website, we also offer the free companion Travel Midwest mobile app for iOS and Android devices. The mobile app incorporates many of the aspects of the travelmidwest.com website, as well as additional features suited to mobile devices. The mobile app includes:

• Map presets, a layers-based, movable - and now pinch-zoomable - map, notices, messages, and clickable travel times and incident icons that are available on the travelmidwest.com website
• A Current Location selection that positions your map centered at your actual location, and a Follow Me feature that tracks your location in real-time as you travel, keeping you abreast of road conditions ahead

More features will be coming in future releases, such as reports and camera images. The mobile app is available for iOS and Android devices and can be found here:

iOS	Android