MDOT (Michigan Dept. of Transportation) virtual gadgets can help you get around Michigan – literally. They can help you search maps by keyword, get around county by county, get around traffic bottlenecks, help control your vehicle travel costs, find service stations for the disabled, purchase crash reports and even report potholes. We even found an online tool for filing a claim for damage/s caused by a pothole. Note: Some of these virtual tools are jointly developed/administered by MDOT, MI.gov and other Michigan agencies.
Some of these tools are cool and some are even good management devices to help you run your vehicle travel like a business. One very cool tool is MDOT’s MIDrive interactive map tool. This appears to be a real time interactive map that can show you traffic incidents, lane closures, bridge heights and most unexpected delays and other obstacles to smooth travelling on Michigan’s roadways. Unfortunately, the application/tool does appear to have an automatic timeout feature – which may not be very helpful. Also, this tool would apparently be perfect for a mobile app – which it needs to be.
A similar but more advanced map appears to be MAP MICHIGAN jointly provided by the Center for Geographic Information. This interactive mapping tool offers alternative views of Michigan such as topographic maps and aerial photographic views. The traveler may also find points of interest by keyword and other searches. Of interest to the amateur or professional geographer, cartographer, geologist and many others.
Or you can get around county by county using the Michigan Dept. of Technology, Management and Budget Base Map by County. By clicking on the interactive county regions on the map, you will be linked to a detailed map of your target county. If you need only know the distance and estimated travel time to your destination city, MDOT has a City to City Distance Calculator virtual tool.
What are the gas prices likely to be in your travels? Use the variety of tools listed on the Gasoline Prices tool (shared by the US Dept. of Energy). Even more details of the cost of your travel can be estimated by the very cool Cost to Commute dashboard tool.
And – Joy! – pothole season will soon be here. You can help get trunk line potholes repaired by using the MDOT Report a Pothole tool. Did you know can file a claim for certain pothole damage (by providing lots of information)? Then use the How to File a Damage Claim tool.
