RELEASE: CONTACT:

IMMEDIATE Lou Hatter (540) 829-7537 Louis.Hatter@VDOT.Virginia.gov Odile Brooking 540-829-7394

CULP-068 Aug. 14, 2006

VDOT LAUNCHES SAFETY SERVICE PATROLS ON I-64 AND ROUTE 29 IN ALBEMARLE COUNTY

NOTE TO EDITORS: A news media briefing to announce the Safety Service Patrol will be held at 10 a.m. August 15 at VDOT’s Charlottesville Residency office, 701 VDOT Way, off Route 250 just east of Pantops Mountain.

CULPEPER – August 14 will bring added service from the Virginia Department of Transportation to motorists along Interstate 64 in Albemarle County. The successful VDOT Safety Service Patrol program that monitors portions of interstate highways in Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads, Roanoke and on I-81 at the Rockbridge County Maury River and Buffalo Creek bridge projects will add Albemarle County to its service area.

The service on I-64 will extend from exit 107 at Crozet east to exit 124 at Charlottesville. The patrollers will also monitor Route 29 from the I-64 interchange north to the Barracks Road exit. The patrol will be available to provide coverage during University of Virginia sports events, concerts and other high-traffic occasions, and can also be deployed to other areas within the region to cover emergencies.

The Safety Service Patrol will operate on I-64 and Route 29 Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. URS Corp. of Salem, Va. will provide the service under a three-year contract worth $128,544 annually in Albemarle County.

Patrol duties will include roadside assistance for motorists who are stopped along the shoulder or who call VDOT for assistance. Aid includes calling a tow truck, providing fuel or directions, phoning for other help, simple repairs like changing a flat tire, and traffic management at crash scenes. VDOT’s Northwest Regional Operations Center located at the Staunton District complex will oversee the Safety Service Patrol operations in Albemarle County.

A recent study by VDOT’s Virginia Transportation Research Council shows that in Northern Virginia 75 percent of Safety Service Patrol recorded incidents are cleared within 15 minutes and approximately 23 percent from 15 to 90 minutes after occurrence. The support of Northern
Virginia’s Safety Service Patrol reduced the average incident duration by approximately 17 percent.

The Safety Service Patrol also works closely with the Virginia State Police on incident response and traffic monitoring. Sgt. Frank Pyanoe of the state police’s Staunton office said of the program, “The VDOT Safety Service Patrol is a very effective program, providing Virginia State Troopers with advanced information on incident location, needed resources and traffic impacts. It can greatly enhance a trooper’s response time, especially during peak travel hours.”

In the near future the Safety Service Patrol will extend its reach into Augusta County, covering I-81 from the Rockingham County line to mile marker 213 in Greenville. It will also expand coverage on I-64 from Afton Mountain west to the I-81 junction.

The expansion of VDOT’s Safety Service Patrol comes as VDOT launched 88 new traffic cameras along the interstate system in June. In the VDOT Staunton district 34 cameras are now on-line covering portions of I-81, I-64 and I-66. The VDOT Hampton Roads area launched 54 new cameras.

The traffic cameras, electronic message boards, road weather information system, highway advisory radios, 511 phone and Web site, Highway Helpline and VDOT’s Web site at www.VirginiaDOT.org are all services provided by VDOT that allow motorists to make informed travel decisions based on real-time traffic and weather information.

Traffic alerts and traveler information can be obtained by calling the Highway Helpline at 1-800-367-ROAD or by dialing 511. In areas where 511 is unavailable, dial 1-800-578-4111. TTY users can call 711 to obtain these services. Traffic alerts and traveler information also are available at 511Virginia.org and on the VDOT Web site at www.VirginiaDOT.org.

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