Kansas City Scout

KANSAS CITY SCOUT IS KANSAS CITY'S TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM...YOUR #1 SOURCE FOR REAL-TIME TRAFFIC INFORMATION

Monday, April 12, 2010

A Day in the Life of...




Posted by Nancy Powell, Traffic Management Center Supervisor






Those of us who work at KC Scout encounter the same road conditions as those we aim to serve. Friday, April 2nd's fierce thunderstorm came on with a fury and wrecked havoc throughout the metro area. I was enroute to the Traffic Management Center around 9:40 AM in my VW bug with the window open less than an inch and was startled when a fat rain drop bulls eyed my eye and dislodged my contact. Then I felt the wind roar up and thought my cloth roof was about to be shredded. I was crossing over I-470 at the time and gripped the wheel tighter as my little car shook violently. Within two minutes I was in the MoDOT parking lot and under siege by straight line winds and torrential rain.

During the next fifteen minutes, three semi tractor trailers would be tipped over like Matchbox trucks, tossed by an angry toddler. Power lines were knocked down throughout the city, police and fire dispatch radios were putting out call after call, maintenance crews were being dispatched on reports of road debris, and Scout's operators were managing it all with focus and efficiency. The views on the cameras mirrored the weather radar as the storm raged its way across our seven metro interstates.

It's on mornings like this that I take great pride in working for Scout. Our incident messaging and web alerts kept motorists informed. When things finally calmed down, I said, "well, that was a wild ride..." and operators at the consoles glanced up at me and smiled, as I stood there dripping wet, marveling at their competence. Some days are better than others. That Friday was exceptional!






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