Cars are being sold with built-in traffic congestion warning and road map systems. Before the engine is warm, a driver can decide the best route to use to avoid congestion. The center provides improved communications between highway agencies and constant surveillance of freeways. Since the construction of the Traffic Management Center, the response times to problems on the freeways, including traffic accidents or debris, have decreased. The faster a source of congestion is removed, the faster traffic will return to a normal flow.
Information is an increasingly powerful tool.
Many motorists, and even law enforcement and highway officials, use the Internet to monitor congestion and possible traffic problems. Using this information, many people know to use alternate routes, or even delay their travel. Other information on the Website includes project fact sheets, road conditions and general information about Caltrans. Caltrans has formed an Advanced Planning department that studies and explores ideas to fulfill our mission, to plan, improve, manage and maintain a safe highway system. We believe that the future of I-5, as well as many interstates and state highways, will be a balanced approach to the movement of people and products throughout the region.