AUGUSTA — In partnership with the other northern New England states, the Maine Department of Transportation launched an updated New England 511 website Oct 19. This new site includes improved features to help drivers navigate daily commutes or weekend trips through Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont.

The New England 511 website provides real-time road and weather conditions, links to live cameras, construction alerts, traffic warnings, and more. Users will now be able to select precise points (such as the beginning and end of a daily commute) and sign up to receive email and/or text alerts when anything impacts travel along that route.

The New England 511 website address (https://newengland511.org) will remain the same, but because of the extensive changes, every current user will have to create a new account to continue to receive notifications by email and/or text message. MyTrips notifications generated by the old website will stop on October 23rd.

Here is what New England 511 users can expect from the new website:

• The updated website is mobile-friendly; it is optimized for cell phone and tablet users.
• The new base map uses Google Maps, which provides users updated maps with much greater detail and information.
• Users can plan precise routes and sign up to receive email and/or text alerts about changes impacting those routes
• An improved layer showing traffic speeds and displays exactly where traffic is delayed.
• Waze users have the option of accessing a map layer that uses Waze data.

The New England 511 website is the result of a partnership involving the Maine Department of Transportation, the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, and the Vermont Agency of Transportation. Staff at all three organizations update the New England 511 system with real time travel information 24 hours a day to help keep travelers informed and safe.