Highway hotline map

The Highway Hotline has officially launched its upgraded Internet map that allows motorists to see road conditions from four cameras and to customize the information they want.

"We want motorists to have as much information as possible," Highways and Infrastructure Minister Jim Reiter said. "We're also piloting the use of these cameras for the first time with the Highway Hotline."

The upgraded map shows the locations of national and provincial parks, border crossings, ferry crossings, road construction, weather activity and four highways cameras. Motorists can choose to see the information they wish by clicking the appropriate box in the upper-right area of the map. Road information is available by clicking a segment of highway.

Drivers can also click the icons (pictures) on the map to get more information about a specific park, border crossing, ferry, construction activity or view real-time images from a highway camera. The four camera locations are: one along Highway 2 near Weyakwin between La Ronge and Prince Albert; two along Highway 11 between Saskatoon and Regina with one south of Dundurn (Blackstrap) and another at Davidson; and one along Highway 3 near Paradise Hill northeast of Lloydminster.

"These four road cameras were originally installed to give our maintenance crews a look at the road, but it made sense to see if they could also be used as part of the Highway Hotline map," Reiter said. "We're now offering the public the same view, so if it's snowing, for example, the cameras see the road and motorists can decide whether or not to travel. We wanted to offer this additional service to motorists this winter, even though the interface of the cameras with the Highway Hotline is still a pilot initiative."

The new map can be found at http://hotline.gov.sk.ca/map/en.html or by clicking the first link labeled "Road Conditions - Highway Hotline (Map Report - High Bandwidth)" at www.highways.gov.sk.ca/road-conditions. The conventional (existing) interactive map for low bandwidth users can also still be accessed at www.highways.gov.sk.ca/road-conditions.

The Highway Hotline road information service is provided by the Ministry of Highways and Infrastructure and can also be accessed via telephone or wireless device as follows: Regina and area at 306-787-7623; Saskatoon and area at 306-933-8333; on the SaskTel cellular network at *ROAD; toll-free across Canada at 1-888-335-7623; and at http://mhotline.gov.sk.ca/.