MassDOT Announces New Digital Traffic Displays For Route 128

Three new traffic displays, known as Real-Time Traffic Information Systems, will soon be placed along Route 128 northbound in Danvers to help drivers have a more manageable commute.

Real-Time Traffic Information Systems tell drivers how long their commute will take to a given location. The large signs have a digital display that estimate the number of minutes it will take a driver to reach a certain destination from that specific point. Previous display system only gave drivers the total number of miles to a destination.

On Monday, the Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation announced the expansion of Real-Time Traffic Information Systems, bringing a total of seven to the Gloucester/Peabody area, with three located in Danvers. All seven of the new display systems will be placed at different points along Route 128.

The expansion of this project is expected to last the remainder of 2016, as these new displays will be set up on a corridor-by-corridor basis. More displays will be set up along parts of Interstate 95 and Interstate 495 during the summer, and displays will be set up along Route 1 in the fall. It’s expected that displays will be placed along Interstate 90 and Interstate 91 before the year is over.

By the time the project is completed, the Real-Time Traffic Information Systems will cover more than 700 miles of Massachusetts’s roads. MassDOT estimates that over 2.2 million drivers will see these new signs each day.

Photo courtesy of Brian Sawyer via Flickr