Travel Midwest Site News

• Tiling for better performance - the background map image is broken up into smaller sized tiles that can be individually cached.  The smaller images are optimized for quick transmission through content delivery networks.
• Clickable dynamic data - the mouse cursor icon changes shape to a hand pointer when it is hovered over a clickable dynamic map element such as a camera, dynamic message sign, weather station, travel time, event, or congestion link.  Clicking on one of these items brings up a pop-up centered near the item.  Pop-ups automatically refresh every minute to display the latest data.
• More detailed background map - the background map is maintained separately by OpenStreetMap and includes more detailed information such as building locations and names, park names, rail road lines, parking facilities, and more.
• Viewable beyond coverage area - the map covers geography outside the Gateway Traveler Information System coverage area instead of displaying a black background.
• Coverage area polygon - a shaded coverage area polygon is drawn over the map to display the boundary of the Gateway Traveler Information System coverage area.
• State and county boundaries - state and county boundaries are clearly marked (and labeled when zoomed in).
• Re-center button added to allow user to scroll away from current location and then center back on their location easily

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.