Beginning Friday, April 4, one lane will be closed both southbound and northbound for the entire length of the Edens Expressway (I-94) from Lake-Cook Road to the Kennedy Junction (I-90/94).

Reports Help

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Overview

The GCM Travel site provides you with a number of reports to help you make your travel decision. Each report is described below. The layout of each of the reports is very similar. On the left side, detailed information is organized by state and then by road name. On the right, a menu list lets you pick the road or roads you want to display. If any symbols or icons are used in the detail, a legend is provided on the right to indicate the meaning of the symbols.

When the reports are initially selected for display, the roads that are displayed on the right are chosen from your Default Locations selected on the MyTravel page. If you do not have any defaults selected, then initially the left side will not display any detail information.

Roads to display can be selected from the menu on the right. The menu is organized by state, and then alphabetically by road name. Only major roads can be selected by name. Other roads in the states which have information available can be shown by selecting the "Others" options.

Most roads have both a numeric designation (e.g., I-55 or Interstate 55) and a common name designation (e.g., Stevenson Expressway). In most cases, both designations are provided in the list. Please choose the one you are most comfortable with. Because the names and numeric designations overlap, particular items of information may be repeated under different headings on the left.

In some cases, the GCM Travel system cannot determine the proper location for a data item correctly. When this occurs, the item will potentially be designated as an "Others". If the state can be determined, it will be under the appropriate state (e.g., "Wisconsin Others"). If not, it will be shown under "Corridor Others".

Travel Times Reports

The items on the Travel Times Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Travel Times report. This report gives approximate travel times along major roads between various exits.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time the information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Legend - Shows the meanings of symbols used in the report.
  4. Menu - Lists the road names the user can click on to change the roads displayed in the report.
  5. Road Name - The name of the road for this section of the report. All entries below this name pertain to this road until the "End of Reports" entry. Organized by state, then alphabetically by roadname, then by direction of travel on the road.
  6. Congestion Status - A general measure of the congestion for the location associated with this entry.
  7. From - The start of the section for which travel time information is provided. Usually an exit from an expressway or a major cross road.
  8. To - The end of the section for which the travel time information is provided.
  9. Travel Time - Time in minutes calculated by the GCM Travel site for travel on the road between the From and To streets. This value is an approximation based on current traffic conditions.
  10. Distance - Distance in miles along the road between the From and To streets.
  11. Speed - Average speed in miles per hour along the roadway. This is an average approximation based on current traffic conditions. Speed will in all likelihood not be constant along the entire length of the road.

Congestion Reports

The items on the Congestion Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Congestion report. This report shows where congested areas are along the road.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time the information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Legend - Shows the meanings of symbols used in the report.
  4. Menu - Lists the road names the user can click on to change the roads displayed in the report.
  5. Road Name - The name of the road for this section of the report. All entries below this name pertain to this road until the "End of Reports" entry. Organized by state, then alphabetically by roadname, then by direction of travel on the road.
  6. Congestion Status - A general measure of the congestion for the location associated with this entry.
  7. From - The start of the section for which this level of congestion is detected. Will usually be a major cross street, overpass, or other exit from the roadway.
  8. To - The end of the section for which this level of congestion is detected.

Incident Reports

The items on the Incident Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Incident report. This report shows the location of traffic-related incidents which have been reported to the GCM Travel site.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time the information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Road Name - The name of the road for this section of the report. All entries below this name pertain to this road until the "End of Reports" entry. Organized by state, then alphabetically by roadname, then by direction of travel on the road.
  4. Incident - Describes the type of incident which has occurred (e.g., accident, hazard on road, disabled vehicle, etc.).
  5. At - The location of the incident on the road. Usually an intersection or a nearby cross road. For "Others" reports, will also include the road on which the incident occurred.
  6. Impact - How the incident is affecting the roadway, what lanes are blocked, etc. Because this information is often not known by the GCM Travel site, this column will often say "Unknown".
  7. Status - The current status of the incident. New implies the incident has just been reported. Currently most reporting sites do not report status changes to the GCM Travel site.
  8. Start Time - Estimated time that the incident occurred.
  9. End Time - Estimated time that the incident will be cleared and traffic conditions will return to normal. As this value is difficult to estimate, please be aware this is only an approximation.
  10. Source - Reporting agency that reported the incident to the GCM Travel site.

Construction Reports

The items on the Construction Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Construction report. This report shows the location of construction and other maintenance work on major roadways which has been reported to the GCM Travel site.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time the information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Road Name - The name of the road for this section of the report. All entries below this name pertain to this road until the "End of Reports" entry. Organized by state, then alphabetically by roadname, then by direction of travel on the road.
  4. Information - Description of the activity which is occuring (if provided). Amplifying information about the location (if provided) or detour information (if provided).
  5. Location - Location of the construction activity on the road. Provided either as a point value (at a particualar location) or as a section (from a location to another location) depending on the extent of the construction activity. Locations are specified by crossing street.
  6. Impact - Describes the effect on the roadway from the construction. Will report if lanes are closed, shifted, etc.
  7. Start Time - Scheduled time the construction will begin. Includes the date and time of day. Construction activities may begin earlier or later depending on other conditions.
  8. End Time - Scheduled time the construction will be completed and road conditions returned to normal. Please be advised that this is an estimate based on schedules provided to the GCM Travel site by government agencies.
  9. Source - The agency which reported the construction activity to the GCM Travel site.

Detector Reports

The items on the Detector Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Detector report. This report shows the readings from vehicle detectors that are reported to the GCM Travel site.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time the information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Legend - Shows the meanings of symbols used in the report.
  4. Menu - Lists the road names the user can click on to change the roads displayed in the report.
  5. Road Name - The name of the road for this section of the report. All entries below this name pertain to this road until the "End of Reports" entry. Organized by state, then alphabetically by roadname, then by direction of travel on the road.
  6. Status - The operational status of the detector (whether it is in working order or not). Note that this does not represent the traffic conditions at the detector.
  7. Nearest Cross Street - Nearest cross street to the detector. Offsets from the cross street (in miles) are provided within parenthesis. Positive values are in the direction of travel, negative values are opposite the direction of travel for the offset.
  8. Speed - Calculated speed of traffic passing within the range of the detector. These values can be affected by weather conditions and other factors and may not be completely accurate.
  9. Occupancy - The percentage of time that the detector registers a vehicle within its detection range. Higher percentages mean more vehicles are on the roadway or that vehicles are spending more time in the detection area.
  10. Volume - The number of vehicles detected in units of number of vehicles per hour per lane (detection ranges may include multiple lanes). Higher values indicate more vehicles on the roadway.

Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) Reports

The items on the Dynamic Message Sign Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Dynamic Message Sign (DMS) report. This report shows the text being displayed on message signs in the corridor that are reported to the GCM Travel site.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time the information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Menu - Lists the road names the user can click on to change the roads displayed in the report.
  4. Road Name - The name of the road for this section of the report. All entries below this name pertain to this road until the "End of Reports" entry. Organized by state, then alphabetically by roadname, then by direction of travel on the road.
  5. Status - The operational status of the message sign. Does not provide any information about traffic conditions.
  6. Location - The location of the message sign, usually by nearest cross street.
  7. Message Sign - Current text being shown on the sign.

Camera Reports

The items on the Camera Snapshot Report are as follows:

  1. Title - Shows you are looking at the Camera Snapshot report. This report shows information about video cameras in the corridor that are reported to the GCM Travel site, including the most recent image from each camera.
  2. Updated Time - Shows the date and time information in the report was last received. This does not reflect the last update of all information on the report, but the GCM Travel system is designed to expire any information it deems to be too old to be of use.
  3. Menu - Lists the road names the user can click on to change the roads for which cameras are displayed in the report.
  4. Location - The location of the camera.
  5. Description - A description of the roadway views available to the camera.
  6. Image Age - The age of the most recent image available from the camera.
  7. Thumbnail - A thumbnail of the most recent image available from the camera. You may click on the thumbnail to view a larger image together with reference views from the camera.

The Chicago Quick Traffic Report

The items on this report are as follows:

  1. Report time - This is the oldest date of any data shown on the report.
  2. Expressway/road - Click on the icon to get more detailed information on the expressway.
  3. Route - This is the route for which travel time information is being reported.
  4. Travel time - This is the travel time for the given route in minutes. Click on the travel time to get more detailed information.

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Wed May 14 01:42:10 CDT 2008