N.J. targets traffic woes with new center, 511 line

WOODBRIDGE, N.J. - New Jersey's frazzled drivers are getting some help.

Besides showing off a new $29 million traffic management center designed to keep traffic moving, state officials yesterday unveiled a Web site and telephone system to help commuters navigate the Garden State's jammed roads and save money on ever-increasing gasoline.

"This is a terrific step forward," Gov. Corzine said as he toured the traffic center.

A recent Rutgers University study found that New Jersey's highways were the nation's most congested and that its residents had the third-longest commuting times in the nation.

The services designed to ease such woes include:

A new Web site,

» READ MORE: www.NJ511.info

, that offers maps and displays traffic incidents to give motorists real-time conditions on state and interstate highways, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike. The site highlights incidents, construction, weather and special events, and includes traffic cameras.

A 511 telephone number that provides information on traffic, weather and construction. Users can request updated information on highways and geographic areas.

And, starting this summer, a personalized traveler service that will send real-time road updates and alerts to motorists' cell phones and e-mails. The free service will allow motorists to sign up to receive alerts about traffic and construction affecting their daily commutes.

The new $29 million traffic center is located between the turnpike and parkway.

The 26,000-square-foot complex features a video wall 18 feet long by 50 feet wide, enabling real-time displays of highways throughout the state from 420 traffic cameras.

State officials hope the center will provide better information to motorists and improve responses to crashes, snowstorms and other traffic problems.

It will be staffed round-the-clock with personnel from the Transportation Department, Turnpike Authority and State Police. From the center, they can access highway message signs, traffic signals, highway radio advisories, and other travel and weather information systems.

"We can't build our way out of the congestion problem," Transportation Commissioner Kris Kolluri said. "What we have to do is put technology tools in place."

The state is looking, though, to spend $42 billion in the next decade on transportation improvements. However, Corzine's plan to pay for that work by significantly increasing highway tolls lacks legislative and public support, and the governor is weighing alternatives.