News release

New Road Reporting System

Transportation and Public Works (to Oct. 2007)

Drivers across Nova Scotia will be better informed about road conditions thanks to a high-tech, road-reporting system recently installed by the Department of Transportation and Public Works.

Visitors to the website www.gov.ns.ca/tran/winter/roadconditions.asp can click on a map of roads and counties for an instant update of driving conditions. Quick links to the department's provincewide network of 40 highway webcams allow users to view conditions before heading out on the road. The system is bilingual and user-friendly.

"This is one of the most sophisticated road condition information systems currently in use in Canada," said Angus MacIsaac, Minister of Transportation and Public Works. "It gives highway users the most up-to-date information possible in French and English."

Major roads are colour-coded on the website to indicate the condition, and site visitors can click on specific roads or counties for more details. Media outlets will also be able to gather timely reports and pass them on to the public.

"Two big advantages of this system are the speed and frequency with which it can be updated," said Paul Richard, manager of maintenance and operations. "We will still report the usual three times a day at 6 a.m., noon, and 4 p.m., but now we can also report at any other time that winter road conditions change significantly."

To update the system, Transportation and Public Works snowplow drivers and road-patrol staff radio road-condition reports to department base offices. Base staff then use a map-based, check-box system to enter the data and, within minutes, the public road-condition map is updated.

"This site is another valuable tool drivers can use to make our highways safer," said Mr. MacIsaac. "Combined with our webcams and weather reports, drivers now have a better idea of what they're facing before they head out on the road."

The system was developed by Telenium Inc., a Canadian company based in Winnipeg. A telephone system that gives audio reports when highway numbers are entered will be activated at a later date.