UPDATE: Friday, February 21st, 2014
The “bad weather” season in California has been bad for a different reason this year – extreme drought. Fortunately, Northern California has received some relief in the past several weeks in the form of rain and snow. As is always the case during changing conditions, travelers need to remind themselves that information is key to decision making and safety when navigating rural areas in bad weather. Caltrans District 2 staff, Ian Turnbull and Joe Baltazar, were interviewed on February 6th by the “Action News Now” (KHSL-12, KNVN-24 Chico/Redding) team for such a reminder, and the broadcast was seen across Northern California and Southern Oregon, and on the Internet. In this interview, Ian Turnbull, Chief of the Office of ITS Engineering and Support in Caltrans District 2, highlighted and referred viewers to the Western States One-Stop-Shop (OSS). As Ian mentions in his interview, OSS includes nearly all relevant traveler information such as camera images, sign messages, chain control indications, incidents, weather forecasts, a route-planner, and “you name it”.