Caltrans is preparing a project that will install an Automated Warning System on northbound Highway 99, allowing better monitoring of local traffic and weather conditions to benefit motorists and businesses.

Time-saving information will be relayed through a Changeable Message Sign (CMS) and Caltrans' QuickMap (http://quickmap.dot.ca.gov), which provides near real-time updates on traffic congestion, accidents and other factors that threaten to delay motorists.

The project is scheduled to start this week and finish in July.

Work on 99 will be performed from Kansas Avenue to Standiford Avenue/Beckwith Road. Work that will impact traffic will be done primarily at night, 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. The work will require lane closures and drivers should prepare for delays of 10 minutes.

Temporary railing will be placed on the right shoulder of the northbound freeway just north of Kansas Avenue. The majority of the work will be performed during the day, behind the protective railing.

The project will install electronic monitoring equipment along this 2.5-mile stretch of 99, enhancing a critical commercial corridor in the Valley. More than 140,000 vehicles, including 20,000 big rigs, travel Highway 99 in Stanislaus County on a typical day - compared to 91,000 vehicles in 2000 - a 54 percent increase in 17 years.

Caltrans will install a Changeable Message Sign (CMS) just north of Kansas Avenue, as well as several Traffic Monitoring Stations (TMS), a closed circuit television camera and a weather information system on northbound SR-99. The technology will help quickly identify traffic and weather-related issues, allowing Caltrans to provide automated updates that will save motorists time and money on their highway journey.

The monitoring stations include traffic loops that will be installed beneath the roadway, allowing Caltrans' Traffic Monitoring Center to remotely monitor the speed and volume of traffic. The changeable sign will automatically alert drivers to congested conditions ahead, and it can broadcast alternative routes and weather conditions, as well.

The camera will help identify roadway incidents, congestion and other incidents that could impact the flow of traffic.

Studebaker Brown Electric of North Highlands will perform the work for $491,000.

This work schedule is subject to change due to traffic incidences, weather and availability of equipment and materials.