The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) is moving forward with its Go Time driver information initiative by placing 132 automated roadway travel time signs across the state. MassDOT hopes to have the $17.5 million endeavor finished by the end of 2015.
The high-tech signage receives signals from Bluetooth-enabled devices to track how long it takes a vehicle to move between two points; estimated travel times are then displayed on the signs for motorists.
MassDOT kicked off the Go Time initiative in 2012 with the installation of 22 signs along I-93 on a two-year contract priced at $1.1 million. The initiative was spurred by federal legislation requiring states to provide real-time traffic information to the driving public.
To date, MassDOT says there are 66 signs in total across the state.
All of the current signs were always meant as temporary measures while the technology continued to develop. According to MassDOT, the new signage will function the same way but will match the standard green federal highway signs.
MassDOT installed the first permanent signs last week on Route 6 in Cape Cod. By the time the project is completed at the end of next year, the new signs will cover 678 miles of highway in Massachusetts.
