The county’s real-time highway travel advisory radio station, 1620 AM, is disbanding next week after nearly 20 years of broadcasting, officials announced.
The Lake County Division of Transportation’s (LCDOT) real-time PASSAGE Highway Travel Advisory Radio Station, WQBR256 operating on 1620 AM, will be decommissioned on Wednesday.
LCDOT operates and maintains five radio towers, which are nearing the end of their service life.
The transportation division said an analysis of existing technology and “careful consideration” by the traffic department led to the decision to decommission the existing towers and LCDOT no longer broadcasting on 1620 AM.
1620 AM communicates real-time traffic information directly to Lake County motorists.
Broadcast information includes the location of delays due to crashes, construction and traffic congestion to help motorists plan their commute.
Lake County will save approximately $400,000 by decommissioning the radio towers in place of constructing new radio towers or updating the existing ones.
“It’s a bittersweet moment for us because the radio station was an essential part of Lake County PASSAGE when it opened in 2006,” Assistant County Engineer Jon Nelson said.
While the highway advisory radio station is going away, LCDOT said it will maintain its focus on providing up-to-date information on the Lake County PASSAGE website and app.
Lake County PASSAGE, available on Apple and Android devices and at lakecountypassage.com, provides real-time travel information in Lake County.
The public can view snapshots from intersection cameras and snowplows, see road construction zones and closures and sign up for notifications to receive alerts for designated roadways.
LCDOT said usage of Lake County PASSAGE continues to grow, especially during extreme weather events and construction season.
In January, PASSAGE had more than 90,000 website and app sessions and 263,000 email notifications sent.
LCDOT added a new feature to the website and app that allows people to listen to the latest traffic info “radio-style.”