511 sets record for calls

Iowa D-O-T officials say more Iowans called 5-1-1 during the foul winter weather of January than ever before to get up-to-the-minute road condition reports. Mike Jackson, project manager for the 5-1-1 service, says a record was set back in December too, a record that was quickly shattered.Call volume in December of 2003 hit a new high of 78-thousand, but the volume more than tripled in January to 225-thousand. By punching the three digits, callers can access a variety of information on road conditions, which Jackson says is very valuable to motorists during the season of snow and ice.Jackson says Iowans can get the road reports from the service around-the-clock by dialing 5-1-1 or by logging on to either of two websites, “511ia.org” or “iowaroadconditions.org”. He says the phone line and websites offer more than just -winter- road data — it’s a year-round service.Once the weather clears up, the hotline is a clearinghouse for road construction projects. The service also offers information about vehicle width and height restrictions for commercial vehicle operators, National Weather Service forecasts and alerts, major traffic incidents and Amber Alerts.