Oregon Department of Transportation’s Transportation Operations Centers support this mission by providing a single, regional point of contact for 24x7 monitoring of transportation system operations and coordination of transportation related communications and services among internal and external customers.
TOCs operate together as part of a statewide system to meet the following objectives:
- Protect the safety of ODOT field crews by providing a check-in and monitoring location for staff involved in remote or dangerous tasks.
- Reduce the duration of incidents by assisting field crews with detection, verification, and implementation of incident response activities.
- Assist in minimizing response time by providing information to determine the correct tools needed to manage the incident.
- Provide information management and communication functions including dispatch to support maintenance and coordinate with other emergency services.
- Key entry points for data that is delivered to statewide systems such as and the Law Enforcement Data System when a vehicle is towed from the state highway right of way.
- Improve safety and mobility for travelers by providing accurate and up-to-date traveler information about incidents, events and weather hazards impacting the transportation system via systems like TripCheck and 511, the Road and Weather phone system.
- Support highway mobility by monitoring corridors for events that seriously affect travel time, and take action to notify ODOT staff and to notify the public through variable message signs and other devices that provide travel information.
- Maintain readiness by participating in regular training exercises and emergency operations drills and plans as developed and implemented through the Office of Maintenance.
- Document transportation and incident response activities for later retrieval to support research and litigation defense.
- Maintain contact information for all internal and external partners and key users of the system.
- Maintain good inter-agency and intra-agency coordination by providing communication services.
- Provide operational support to the field using intelligence gathering tools such as cameras, road and weather information systems, traffic flow metering and other ITS devices.