Milwaukee City Wire

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation upgraded its winter road conditions system last week to track weather conditions on over 10,000 miles of roadways. 

On Monday, Jan. 31, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation unveiled a new system design to track the weather conditions of roadways across the state, allowing more frequent reporting to assist drivers across the state, according to NBC 15. 

“We’re proud to find new ways to leverage technology to improve service and give the public a more clear and accurate idea of how to prepare for the drive ahead," said Craig Thompson, secretary of the Wisconsin DOT, according to NBC 15.

Data reports in the system will be generated twice each hour from the Maintenance Decision Support System used by the DOT and county highway departments to cover road conditions throughout the state. The DOT's previous system from 2013 only managed road conditions manually with field reports a few times each day. Spanning over 14,000 miles of roadways in Wisconsin, the new system has significantly increased coverage from the previous system’s 3,700 miles as well, according to NBC 15. 

"NEW 511wi.gov: System upgrades add reporting on more than 10,000 miles of roadway and more frequent updates to winter road conditions to help you travel safely. #KnowBeforeYouGo," 511 Wisconsin said in a tweet.

The system relies heavily on atmospheric and road weather sensors along roadways and at airports to report accurate data in real-time. In winter weather conditions, snowplows will be equipped with Geographic Information Systems and the National Weather Service to accurately assess conditions for road treatment, according to NBC 15.

The full road conditions system is available online at 511wi.gov.