KC Scout Adds New Cameras, Message Boards on Kansas Roadways

LEE'S SUMMIT – Kansas City Scout has added four new cameras and three new dynamic message boards along key routes in Kansas this week.

Drivers will see new cameras at:

• I-35 southbound at US-69 Flyover
• I-435 eastbound just East of Antioch
• I-435 eastbound at Lee Blvd
• I-435 southbound at Midland Dr.
• K-10 eastbound before Cedar Creek Pkwy

Dynamic Message Boards are now active at:

• K-10 westbound before Woodland
• I-70 westbound at 65th St
• I-70 eastbound at Kaw Dr.

Citizens can access all cameras and message boards at www.kcscout.net OR on our free APP on Apple: https://apple.co/2NwiGWw and Android: http://bit.ly/2Koi7ws.

Cameras and DMS boards are part of an overall system that KC Scout uses to help motorists scout the best route to a destination. It also supports traffic management. If drivers see a crash notice on a DMS board, they can make alternative travel choices and reduce congestion on major routes. By checking our website or APP before hitting the road, motorists can choose the best route to avoid travel delays and frustration.

These are just a few of the tools a traffic management center uses to help promote positive traffic choices and ease congestion. Traffic calming solutions like ramp meters, or traffic incident management with the support of Emergency Response Operators are also key to moving traffic and keeping the interstates flowing.

About KC Scout

KC Scout is Kansas City's bi-state traffic management system, jointly operated and funded by the Kansas and Missouri Departments of Transportation, designed to lessen traffic jams by improving rush-hour speeds, increasing safety by decreasing the number of rush-hour accidents and improving emergency response to traffic situations by clearing incidents quickly and safely. Scout manages traffic on thousands of miles of continuous freeways in the greater Kansas City metropolitan area, as well as in Kansas and Missouri.

Learn more about KC Scout at http://www.kcscout.net. Follow KC Scout on twitter at twitter.com/kansascityscout, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KansasCityScout.

KC Scout Joins the WAZE Connected Citizen Program to Further Motorist Awareness and Safety

LEE'S SUMMIT – KC Scout works with several organizations to promote incident awareness and share information on road safety with our metro motorists. From police, fire, rescue and towing partners to Missouri and Kansas Departments of Transportation, HERE and Google, KC Scout is a willing partner with groups who want to see every motorist get home safe.

Recently they have partnered with WAZE as part of the Connected Citizen Program. This program allows users to alert fellow motorists of crashes, construction, road hazards or road closures they may not be anticipating. WAZE also relies on partners like KC Scout to input data to create a more comprehensive picture of potential traffic delays.

Scout staff has been testing the ability to input planned construction projects into this system over the past month. This week they are officially announcing their role in the program with MoDOT's planned closures along I-435 near the Three Trails Crossing this weekend. The closures will have signification impacts on traffic. Get the details here: https://bit.ly/2EwcgWv.

"KC Scout offers some pretty comprehensive tools for motorists to scout their routes for traffic impacts. From our website, road-side signs, real-time-traffic cameras to our APP, we offer some great options to plan your travel," said KC Scout Traffic Center Manager Randy Johnson. "But we also recognize that not all motorists use our tools, so we work with partners like WAZE to reach as many drivers as possible with info. Our ultimate goal is safety and to make sure we all get home safe. Whether they use our APP or WAZE, our objectives are the same."

Learn more about the tools KC Scout provides motorist here: http://www.kcscout.net. Also learn more about the Connected Citizens Program here: https://bit.ly/2EwcgWv

KC Scout is Kansas City's bi-state traffic management system, designed to lessen traffic jams by improving rush-hour speeds, increasing safety by decreasing the number of rush-hour accidents and improving emergency response to traffic situations by clearing incidents quickly and safely. Scout manages traffic on more than a thousand miles of continuous freeway across Kansas and Missouri.

Learn more about KC Scout at http://www.kcscout.net. Follow KC Scout on twitter at twitter.com/kansascityscout, or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/KansasCityScout.

MEDIA ADVISORY: KC Scout Staff available for I-35 ramp meter interviews starting at 6am Tomorrow

#KSI35RampMeters

After months of installation and testing, KC Scout will activate the ramp meters along I-35 TOMORROW morning for rush hour. KC Scout operators will be monitoring the northbound ramp meters during the morning hours from the Traffic Management Center.

KC Scout staff will be available for interviews starting at 6 am on Wednesday, Aug. 9, at the Scout Traffic Management Center in Lee's Summit, Missouri. The KC Scout contact person is Mark Sommerhauser at 816-607-2243 and karsten.sommerhauser@modot.mo.gov.

For live shots from an actual ramp meter location, the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) recommends the bottom of the northbound off-ramp from I-35 onto 7th Street Trafficway. There is a flat area behind guardrail to the east of the off-ramp where media trucks should be able to take video without interfering with the ramp meter operations at the on-ramp from 7th Street Trafficway onto northbound I-35.

KDOT anticipates that the 7th Street Trafficway on-ramp to northbound I-35 should begin working just after 7 a.m. on Wednesday. See the Google Maps link of the area mentioned above at 7th Street Trafficway and I-35: Google Maps Ramp Meter Location. KDOT and KC Scout staff will not be available at this location because we want to be minimally disruptive to morning rush hour traffic.

For more information about the project, visit kcscout.net/rampmetering. You may also contact K. Mark Sommerhauser, KC Scout Transportation Project Manager, at 816-607-2243 and karsten.sommerhauser@modot.mo.gov or Michele Sewart, KC Scout Senior Communications Specialist, at 816-607-2027 or michele.sewart@modot.mo.gov. Follow the project on Facebook at I-35 Ramp Meters and use the #KSI35RampMeters hashtag.