Getting the 411 on Kansas road conditions soon could be as easy as dialing 511.

The Kansas Department of Transportation plans to launch its statewide travel information service next month.

By punching three buttons — 511 — on a wireless or land-line phone, callers will get free access to information about road repairs, detours and weather conditions.

While the state’s existing hot line — (800) 578-ROAD — leaves callers listening to a recording that lasts for minutes, highway officials say the new system is designed to save callers time, money and headaches by allowing them to glean only the details they want.

Want to know if Kansas Highway 10 is down to one lane between Lawrence and Eudora? Just ask.

The new system will be able to recognize voice prompts and direct callers to the information they’re seeking, without wasting time reviewing delays or detours for roads that aren’t on the traveler’s itinerary.

“You won’t have to listen to two or three minutes to find out the one thing you want,” said Krista Roberts, a KDOT spokesperson. “It will let you pick a specific segment of a specific route, so you can hone in on a much more finite area when you’re traveling. And that’s what you want. You don’t want to hear about the entire northeastern part of Kansas. You want to hear about the part of Kansas you’re traveling on.”

KDOT has been working on the new system since the Federal Communications Commission established the 511 network in July 2000. State transportation departments and large metropolitan areas can use the number to provide public information about their roads.

KDOT originally planned to have its system running a year ago, but officials spent the past 12 months ironing out technical problems, particularly with voice-recognition software, Roberts said. Now KDOT officials are working to ensure the system will have technical support around the clock.

Kansas Road Conditions

Information will be updated every 15 minutes, Roberts said, but updates will increase in the future, as KDOT cameras will be able to feed details about traffic delays into the system by the second.

“It goes well beyond what we can offer right now,” Roberts said. “That’s part of the reason we’re excited about getting it out there and letting people try it.”

Kansas’ neighbors have been using it for years. Nebraska was the first state to enact a statewide 511 system, in October 2001.

The Nebraska Department of Roads system averages about 27,000 calls per month. This year’s tallies ranged from 6,858 in September, when the weather was relatively calm, to 67,865 in February — with a spike of 13,513 on Feb. 15, when a snowstorm hit the state.

Jaimie Huber, Nebraska’s 511 system manager, said weather conditions drove the system’s use, along with the number of vehicles hitting the road.

But what might be an expected spike during Saturdays in the fall — when University of Nebraska football games bring hordes of red to Lincoln — don’t always materialize.

“If you go to a Husker football game, there are certain things that don’t stop you,” Huber said. “And snow is one of them.”

The Nebraska Department of Roads spends about $15,000 a month on its system, which is operated by Meridian Environmental Technology Inc., the same company that will handle the 511 system for Kansas.