The Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) in the US has introduced 511 travel information service to provide travellers with reliable, on-demand route-specific information.

The service complements MDOT’s existing traffic resources such as MDOTtraffic.com and its mobile smartphone applications.

A part of the department’s efforts to provide consistent and reliable traveller information, the 511 service marks the state’s first voice recognition travel information service.

"Mississippi 511 offers travellers easy access to information."

The service uses an interactive voice response system with speech recognition as the primary interface with callers, enabling hands free operation.

It has also been customised to address the needs of the local travelling public, provide guidance to tourists, and act as a resource to travellers during evacuations and other emergencies.

It provides information on incident and accident information, road construction and maintenance projects, road closures, road diversions and major delays, weather warnings and alerts, emergency alerts, tourism information, public transportation, welcome centres and rest areas, and travel times.

MDOT executive director Melinda McGrath said: "Mississippi 511 offers travellers easy access to information valuable for both pre-trip planning and en route decision making.

"Motorists can dial 511, find out about current road conditions along their route and determine whether conditions are suitable for continued travel or seek an alternate route."

Mississippi 511 is a free service, and is available 24/7 for all Interstates, and select US highways and State Routes, including US Highways 49, 49W, 49E, 61, 45, 45 ALT, 90, 98, 84, 82, 78 and State Routes 25, 6 and 302.