Iowa’s 511 communications network expands to Twitter

Starting off the year on the right foot might mean exploring technology to enhance your safety as you travel. The Iowa Department of Transportation (DOT) has been developing its 511 website for more than a decade. The latest development pushes road information directly to you via Twitter or text message.

For Twitter users, the Iowa DOT has enabled a variety of targeted Twitter feeds. Information on the Twitter feeds comes from same data displayed on the the 511 Traveler Information website, but is formatted to be delivered to your computer or Web-enabled phone.

The Iowa DOT has Twitter feeds for:

• Six metro areas (Cedar Falls/Waterloo, Cedar Rapids/Iowa City, Council Bluffs,         Des Moines, Quad Cities and Sioux City)
• Each of the state's 99 counties
• All traffic alerts
• Breaking news - alerts that scroll at the top of the Iowa DOT's 511 website

Signing up for the Twitter feeds is quick and easy.

• Log on to www.511ia.org.
• Click on the Twitter icon.
• Choose which Twitter feeds you would like to follow.

In addition to the tweets, Twitter users can also choose to have traveler information sent directly to their mobile phones in the form of a text message.

Only active events are displayed on Twitter. Once an event, such as a traffic incident, has been cleared, it will be automatically removed. If you have received the information via text message, the text will be crossed out if the event has been cleared.

An example of a Tweet from the 511 Quad Cities metro might be:

I-80 WB: Ramp blocked at Exit 295A - US 61; Brady Street (Davenport). bit.ly/vslUUC