MEMPHIS, TN – Navigating traffic jams can be tricky when you're traveling on the road, but you can go online to avoid those headaches. The departments of transportation in Tennessee and Arkansas have websites -- and even twitter accounts -- to keep drivers in the know.
Drivers in Tennessee can log on to the Department of Transportation’s website to watch cameras placed along major highways.
“They can go to the SmartWay online system itself and actually look at the cameras live themselves,” explained Nichole Lawrence, a spokesperson for the department. "The cameras work by giving us live feed. There's 85 mile of interstate system that they are randomly placed at here in Shelby County and West Memphis Arkansas."
She said the 115 cameras also help drivers avoid construction zones.
"At the TDOT SmartWay website, you can actually click on either the cameras or construction zones, and little orange barrels will pop up and you can click and have updates of all the construction activity going on as well,” Lawrence said.
Drivers can find help in other places too. In Crittenden County, they can turn to a website and there's another website for other locations in Arkansas (see related links attached to this story).
The Tennessee Department of Transportation also offers updates on Twitter.
Drivers said they like the access to information.
"Anything that can show me that before I go there you know ‘hey, it’s clear,’ I’m going to go that way,” said Steve Jordan, who lives in Memphis. “But if it shows me that it's busy, I don't want to go, I don't think anybody wants to go!"
"It’s great to just get online see how the road conditions are and move on,” said Eric Stehouwer, who moved to Memphis from Kalamazoo three months ago. “We do that all the time back home in Michigan when it's snowing."
