TRANSACTIONS NEWSLETTER ONLINE

June/July 2005

In the News

Travel Times Displayed

Travel-time sign Overhead freeway signs on Interstate 80 in the East Bay now show drivers the amount of time it will take them to reach downtown San Francisco, San Francisco International Airport, Oakland International Airport, the Carquinez Bridge, Fairfield or Novato. It’s part of a pilot program devised by Caltrans, MTC and the California Center for Innovative Transportation to create smart corridors where motorists can gauge the amount of time they will spend behind the wheel.

For the past year, motorists have been able to access driving times on selected freeways via the 511 traveler information phone line and the companion Web site, www.511.org. The changeable message sign pilot program launched in May gives motorists another convenient avenue for accessing real-time traffic data. For the test phase, overhead signs have been activated at two Berkeley locations: University Avenue (for eastbound I-80) and Ashby Avenue (for westbound I-80).

The system reads FasTrak® transponders mounted on vehicle windshields. When traffic passes
between two distinct points, the average travel time between the points can be calculated and posted on the overhead signs for the benefit of other drivers.

The westbound sign at Ashby Avenue provides motorists with real-time travel times to downtown San Francisco at 5th Street or the airports. The eastbound sign provides travel times to Fairfield, Novato or the Carquinez Bridge.

Travel time information will be displayed every weekday between 5 a.m. and 9 p.m.; however, travel times can be superseded by messages about freeway incidents or Amber Alerts.
— John Goodwin

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