Integration and Interoperability in the Design of the Illinois 511 System

Illinois is preparing to deploy 511. This paper discusses the concept determined to best meet the needs and capabilities of the Illinois DOT (IDOT) and our partners through a statewide 511 service. Illinois 511 will be deployed initially based on the significant amount of existing real-time data available through systems currently operated by IDOT and our partners. Depending on the specific area of the state this will include travel times, congestion by highway segment, construction, road closures, road weather information, winter road conditions, incidents, special events, and transit information with the possibility of additional information provided by our contractor. The Illinois 511 system will be a hybrid in several ways. The key data will be provided through public infrastructure and systems. The 511 system itself including telephony and interactive voice response is expected to be outsourced. The 511 system is intended to be integrated with other IDOT traveler information including internet services. The paper focuses on an innovative aspect of the proposed Illinois 511 system - its use of the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee (GCM) Gateway Traveler Information System to transfer real-time traffic data between Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin, combined with the use of more typical call transfer methods to interface with other neighboring 511 systems.