KC Scout Shout!

A KDOT KC Scout project is scheduled to begin in early fall 2022 in Johnson and Wyandotte counties. The Intelligent Transportation Systems upgrades include fiber installation, CCTV cameras and cabinets, dynamic messaging signs and truck roll-over warning system. These improvements will be made at various locations on I-35, I-70, I-435 and I-635. Shoulder and single lane closures are anticipated in work areas. Gerstner Electric, of Fenton, Mo., is the primary contractor for the $5.3 million project, expected to be completed in the spring of 2024. 

When Marcus Slaughter and MoDOT’s General Services team created the JAWS innovation in 2018, they were well aware of what kind of impact it could have on the safety of their fellow co-workers. What they may not have anticipated, however, is that a mere five years later other agencies would be following suit - including those in Mexico.  JAWS, or Julie's Automated Waste Removal System, is an innovation created in honor of Julie Love. Love was a maintenance worker for MoDOT in 2004 when, tragically, she was struck by a motorist while attempting to remove debris from the roadway. JAWS is a truck equipped with a drop down skid plate allowing operators to safely and quickly remove debris in the roadway without getting out of their vehicle. According to Incident Management Coordinator Marcus Slaughter, an Operator Communication Manager from the Mexican Exterior Circuit reached out to him curious about the device.  "They reached out to me to express how much they liked the JAWS d...

Crashes, flat tires, fires, police activity, and more. There isn't much that the Traffic Management Center isn't involved in when it comes to roadway incidents. An example of this is the bridge fire at 18th Street and Interstate 70 that occurred earlier this year. Recently, Traffic Systems Supervisor Kelly Alvarez received a Noteworthy Award from MoDOT senior management regardin g  her efforts during this event. The fire damaged the bridge and closed the middle lane of I-70 during the repair process.  According to Alvarez, this particular incident was challenging and required a coordinated approach to handle and help resolve. Her role involved coordinating the team in the Traffic Management Center along with coordinating response requests from local and statewide leadership. "From the initial call to the eventual work zone put in place, there were many tasks that KC Scout operations had to handle including dispatching first responders (including MoDOT ...

In April, KC Scout was honored with the Best of ITS Heart land Product award at the ITS Heartland Conference in Lincoln, NE.  Submitted by Innovations and Training Coordinator Mary Bundridge, Traffic Systems Supervisor  Kelly Alvarez, and TMC Operations Manager Amy Holt, the award was presented to KC Scout for their Traffic Management Center (TMC) New Hire Training Program KC Scout's management team implemented a two week intensive course for new hires.  "The course starts with an introduction to ITS and incident management as a whole. It then provides basic systems training, processes, and expectations to the new hires," said Bundridge. According to Bundridge, the Advanced Traffic Management System training platform is utilized to provide hands-on scenario based learning exercises. Standard operating procedures, applications, and resources are reviewed one by one in a discussion format infused with examples from past TMC operations. When trainees transition to the T...

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) recently hosted a press conference at the MoDOT KC district office. The conference was held on May 5 and included five state Highway Patrols including Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, and Arkansas. This event included information from a traffic study recently conducted by NHTSA with the help of KC Scout resources.  "This Mother's Day, these five State Patrols are here to remind you to slow down. We hope drivers keep their mothers in mind and get to them safely by slowing down and moving over for emergency vehicles," Susan DeCourcy, NHTSA Regional Administrator said.  According to NHTSA, all 50 states have Move Over laws to protect law enforcement officers and other first responders stopped on our Nation's roads but  many drivers are unaware of these laws  and traffic-related incidents continue to be the number one cause of death among on-duty law enforcement officers. Prior to this event, NHTSA conducte...

In January, US. Representative Sharice Davids, Vice Chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, KDOT Secretary Julie Lorenz and KCK Mayor Garner welcomed U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg to the Kansas City metro. The visit featured a multi-stop tour with transportation on a Ride KC electric bus. Among other stops, Sec. Buttigieg and group toured area projects, including the U.S. 69 segment that will be part of the 69Express project, and hosted a news conference in front of the Rock Island and Cesar Chavez bridges.   This visit highlighted infrastructure improvements to be funded by the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, or Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, with emphasis on safety and sustainability. Since KC Scout is the bi-state ITS of the metro, the team has participated in the discussion on this project regarding KC Scout devices in the area. For more information about this project, visit www.69express.org  

As part of the first phase of expansion and improvement of U.S. 69 in Johnson County, noise walls have been approved along the corridor and the Environmental Assessment for the project has been completed. KC Scout’s services will not change in regards to providing traffic incident management services throughout construction and after completion of the project. Identified in a 2021 noise study, all 11 proposed walls received approval via survey from property owners and residents along the U.S. 69 corridor between 119 th St. and 151 st St. Evaluating the benefits and impacts of potential improvements to the U.S. 69 corridor, the Environmental Assessment took more than year to complete and was conducted by KDOT, the Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) and the City of Overland Park. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) concluded the 69Express project will have no significant environmental impact. More information on the recently approved noise walls and Environmental Assessment can ...