Frequently Asked Questions



Always putting safety first, never access 511 information while driving.  Please dial 911 to report an emergency situation.

Help


Signing up with 511WI
  1. Visit 511WI and select ‘Register’ from the menu options.
  2. Enter your name, email, and create a password. Click ‘Register’ when done.
  3. Verify your account by following the link that was sent to your email.
  4. If you registered with a phone number, you will also receive an SMS (text) with your confirmation code. Please note that this is only to confirm your mobile number for receiving text alerts and that you must first register your account before you can verify your phone number. You can verify your phone number here.
Creating & Saving a Customized Route
  1. Sign in to 511WI
  2. Enter your start and end locations by typing the addresses into the address fields. Alternatively, you may also right click on the map, select a location from the available options, and select whether the location will be the start or end of your trip. Once you have entered the route locations, click ‘Drive’.
  3. Review the routes generated and select the one that suits you best. If none of the routes provided are satisfactory, you can select the route on the map and drag it accordingly.
  4. When done, enter a name for your route and click ‘Save’. You will be presented with the option to create an alert for the route you just created.
Creating an Alert for your Route
  1. Sign in to 511WI
  2. In the Manage My Routes table, find the route that you previously saved that you would like to create an alert for and click ‘Create Alert’.
  3. You will be redirected to the alert creation page. Enter the required information for your route, select a delivery option (email or SMS), and click ‘Save’.
  4. You will now be notified of any future events that affect your route.
    1. Note, Routing may not include all road construction, traffic incident or weather event closures.
Always putting safety first, never access 511 information while driving.

Creating an Emergency Alert
  1. Sign in to 511WI
  2. In the Manage My Alerts table, select ‘Create Emergency Alert’.
  3. Fill the required fields and click ‘Save’.

Note: Emergency Alerts are any major incident in Wisconsin, whereas alerts you create are events that affect your saved routes.

Creating a Temporary Route

  1. Go to the 511 Wisconsin homepage.
  2. Click on the “My Routes” tab if it is not already highlighted.
  3. Insert your current location address  into section A and insert the desired travel location address into section B.
  4. Click on “Drive” if you have a personal vehicle or “Transit” if you are using public transportation.
  5. The route is now created.
    *Note that you may have multiple routes to choose from
Accessing the Traffic Camera Feature on the Map
  1. Check the “Cameras” box on the Map Legend.
  2. Click on any of the camera icons that appear on the map.
  3. View the traffic camera in real-time.
Searching for a Specific Traffic Camera
  1. Hover over the “Traffic” tab at the top of the homepage and click on “Camera List” in the drop down menu.
  2. Navigate the camera list with the search box or scroll down the camera list and click one of the highlighted streets.
  3. After clicking on the desired camera, it will then appear on the map *Note if you cannot find a camera on our list or in the search box we may not have
    one in that specific location.
Using the Map's New Weather Feature
  1. Check the “Weather Alerts” and/or “Weather Forecasts” box on the Map Legend.
  2. Click on any of the weather icons that appear on the map.
  3. View weather information or alerts in real-time.
Setting Map Preferences
  1. Sign in to 511WI.
  2. Simply select the information you would like displayed by default on the map.
  3. Click ‘Save’ when done.
Saving & Editing Cameras
  1. Sign in to 511WI
  2. Select the cameras checkbox in the map legend.
  3. Select a camera by clicking the camera icon and click ‘Add’.
  4. To view and edit your saved cameras, go to My Cameras.
  5. To enter a custom nickname for your saved camera, simply type your desired nickname into the camera nickname field.
Setting Default Map Open Location
  1. Sign in to 511WI
  2. From the Home Page, select the region you are interested in from the Regions Drop Down, located just to the right of "Log Off."
  3. Each time you come back to the 511WI site, you will be brought to this map location.
    • If you clear your browser's cookies, this process will have to be performed again.
    • If you do not log into your My 511WI account and change the region, you will be brought to the newly changed region each time you return to the 511WI site.  If you log back in to your My 511WI account, however, you will be brought back to the location chosen at the beginning of this process.
Roadwork / Trucker Information Map Layer Overlap
  1. When loading both the Roadwork and Trucker Information, the last layer selected will overlap the first.
    • For instance, if the Roadwork Layer was activated first, then the Trucker Information is activated second, the Trucker Layer will overlap the Roadwork layer and that data will not be available until the Trucker Information Layer is deactivated.
 

FAQ


What is 511WI?
511WI is a free website that provides traffic and route personalization information. Call 511 or visit 511WI.gov to get all the information you need to make smart traveling decisions, check traffic speeds or plan a trip. 511 will help improve your commute and keep you informed about travel conditions both before you leave the house and while you are on the road.

Why did the website change?
WisDOT launched 511wi.gov in 2008 as part of a greater goal to reduce congestion and improve highway safety. Website traffic has grown steadily with more than 2.5 million visits in 2016 alone. Travelers and the freight community rely on 511 Wisconsin, especially during special events, construction and winter seasons. Due to its importance and high demand, the 511 Wisconsin website now offers a more modern website experience with customer-focused features and a new design suited for mobile devices, tablets, and laptops.

What happened to my old account?
As part of the transition, 511wi.gov members will have to re-enroll on the new website. Simply put, the extensive design and programming changes made mass transfer of member data infeasible. However, re-enrollment is simple. Please see “How do I create a new account?” below. 

What are the new features?
Many of the previous features are still available. The new site includes updated and innovative traffic technology. Some of the new features on the website include:
 

What are the new features?
Weather Events and Forecasts Users can see the weather forecast in designated areas and if there are major weather incidents occurring that might disrupt traffic.
Personalized Travel Time Routes Users can create and save their own personalized travel routes with the arrival times and factors affecting travel time including: traffic and weather incidents, delays, construction and more.
Route-Specific Information The mapping tool provides customizable routes with traveling directions, arrival time and traffic information.
Inclusion of Park and Rides, Weigh Stations and Rest Areas One of the additional features on the map tool-thanks to customer feedback-is the opportunity to mark park and rides, weigh stations and rest areas along personalized routes.
Dynamic Routing The routing system will allow users to determine multiple routes to their destination including public transit with ticket information.
Driving and Transit Trip Planning Regardless if users take public transportation or drive their own vehicles, the mapping tool can now plan either mode of transportation based off of real-time information and personal routes.
Personalized Camera Snapshots This tool can view traffic in real time, and includes a customizable camera option that can save feeds for personal routes and appears any time the map tool is in use.
Additional Speed Data Tracks traffic data across more Wisconsin highways than ever before brining additional information to user’s and their traveling experience.
Content Management Account holders now have more opportunities to customize and manage their personalized content through their new 511 Wisconsin accounts.
Newly Designed Mobile Site The new website design provides a mobile-friendly site that will maintain all of the user’s traffic information on-the-go or in the comfort of their own home.  Log into www.511wi.gov from a smartphone or tablet.  WisDOT reminds you to know before you go or leave it in the hands of your passengers.
Enhanced Trucker Information The new trucker information tab provides links and access to important freight-related information such as permits and other additional resources.
News Section The news section will provide users information on traffic incidents, construction and other traffic related news that could impact travel.
Twitter Feed 511 Wisconsin’s Twitter is now an additional traffic news feed that keeps users alerted on need-to-know traffic information across the state.

 

What information can I get from 511?
511 provides information about live traffic, weather and cameras. 511 can give you traffic reports for specific highways.

 

When can I use 511?
You can get up-to-the-minute traffic info in the palm of your hand, you can call 511 or visit 511WI 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  Always putting safety first, never access 511 information while driving.

Can I access 511WI from my smartphone?
Yes, the 511WI website is responsive and provides an optimal viewing experience across all devices including PC, tablet, or smartphone. Users are also able save the 511WI website as a shortcut on your homescreen.  Always putting safety first, never access 511 information while driving.

How can I save the website as a shortcut on my smartphone homescreen?
Open Safari/Chrome browser, go to 511WI site. Tap the browser's menu button and tap "Add to Home screen".  Always putting safety first, never access 511 information while driving.

How is 511 information different from a regular traffic report on the radio?
With 511, you will receive considerably more route-specific information than you hear on the news, and you can access the information on-demand, whenever you need it.

How often is the information updated?
Some traffic information, such as incidents and message signs, are updated every minute.  Roadwork is updated every 10 minutes and other information, such as Winter Road Conditions, are updated less frequently.

How accessible is 511 for someone who has a vision, speech or hearing impairment?
511WI is designed to meet the accessibility policies of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

How can I make the site look bigger on my screen?
Simply hold down the control key while pressing the plus (+) key. This will enlarge the site. To make it smaller, hold down the control key while pressing the minus (-) key.  

How do I give feedback on the website?
You can provide your comments through the Contact Us link, which is located at the bottom of every page on the website.

What is a Waze Report?
WisDOT has partnered with Waze through their Waze for Cities program to publish Waze reported information on the 511WI website. This program is a free data exchange between Waze and government entities and private road owners and operators.

Waze is the world’s largest community-based traffic and navigation app. Waze gathers crowdsourced real-time traffic data and road information from its users. Waze incidents, standstill traffic jams and weather hazard data identified by the Waze app are now available to view on 511WI. This information is provided in addition to official information reported by WisDOT to better help people plan their travel in Wisconsin.