ITD upgrades 511 app

WALLACE — The Idaho Transportation Department has made some much-needed upgrades to their popular 511 Traveler Services system, which should make winter traveling easier for locals.

After several weekends with wild winter weather and more forecasted for this weekend, drivers can use the improvements to the 511 system to more efficiently track driving conditions and give them the weather forecast on highway routes.

Tony Ernest, the manager of the 511.Idaho.gov platform, said drivers can now track the weather forecast on highway routes that experience changing weather conditions, especially during the winter months.

“I’ve been trying to get useful weather information to the public,” Ernest said. “The weather forecast information is really important from a planning standpoint for a traveler.”

Previously the National Weather Service office in Pocatello had supplied the information for the system, which made the real-time weather updates less accurate at times, but that issue has been seemingly resolved.

In Shoshone County, emergency manager Dan Martinsen recently met with representatives from ITD who were able to demonstrate the upgrades.

“At our last Local Emergency Planning Committee meeting just last week, we had a couple of folks from ITD present to the group some of their capabilities related to emergency shut downs (on roads). Now we have the same emphasis from our National Weather Service folks in Spokane, so the system is getting its updates from Spokane not just Pocatello,” Martinsen said. “It’s my understanding that the system works great, especially great for I-90 travel, as the road and weather conditions can change dramatically from Coeur d’Alene to Pinehurst to Mullan.”

There may be multiple weather forecasts for a highway, depending on its length.

Weather forecasts are available for 16 individual sections of Interstate 84, for example. Idaho 1, in North Idaho, is covered by one weather forecast.

The weather forecast option represents a new, innovative technology that is funded by the transportation department and developed for Idaho.

The department is the first one to offer weather forecast information in this format, and it is active on all 511 versions and the smartphone app.

To view weather forecasts, click on a highway on the 511 map. The weather forecast will appear right below the description of the current road conditions.

During the summer months, when weather conditions don’t change as rapidly in Idaho, forecast information may not be available.