The Department for Transport (DfT) has announced a £10m investment in Street Manager - a digital planning service to make 'consistent, accurate data on street works available to motorists'.
The service, which has been in development for several years, should help drivers plan journeys better to avoid roadworks and is designed to replace the old Electronic Transfer of Notifications (EToN) system.
Government officials called the EToN system 'costly and ineffective' after appointing Kainos (Kainos.com) and cxpartners (cxpartners.co.uk) to carry out a 'discovery phase' on a new solution.
'The technical analysis has shown that EToN is “Ecosystem” that consists of many distributed / interconnected IT systems. And that it lacks standardisation, cohesion and transparency - with limited ability to change or evolve, or adopt the use of new and modern technologies without significant collaborative effort (and cost). There was a consensus that a change is needed,' the DfT said.
A key addition to the new system is the generation of 'real-time data and will be free for technology companies and app developers to use'.
The idea is that apps and providers, such as Waze and Google maps, would create new products to help drivers avoid jams.
'It could see the latest data being shared via satnavs and app "push" notifications to help motorists choose a new route,' DfT officials said.
Roads minister Jesse Norman said: 'Street Manager is just one of a number of actions we are taking so that local authorities and utility companies can better plan and manage their roadworks.
'The data opened up by this new digital service should enable motorists to plan their journeys better, so they can avoid works and get to their destinations more easily.'
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