CHESAPEAKE, Va. —Hampton Roads Planning District Commission joined forces with the mobile navigation application Waze to alert residents when roadways are flooding.
To make traveling safer and more efficient, HRPDC has placed sensors in seven localities to track flooding. The Waze app will then update drivers' routes every five minutes so they can make quick decisions about alternate routes.
Whitney Katchmark, the principal of water resources engineering at HRPDC says a small icon on the app will alert drivers to reroute.
"We have installed 20 sensors that detect when a road is flooded and that data is sent to Waze. So, you don't have to sign up for anything," Katchmark said. "If you use Waze and choose that as your navigation tool, then if a road is flooded that has a sensor a little icon will pop up, tell you that there is a hazard, and route you around it."
Below are the locations and addresses of sensors across Hampton Roads:
- Portsmouth
- Virginia Beach
- Hampton
- Newport News
- Chesapeake
- Norfolk
- Poquoson
| Site Location |
| South Street (by Chisholm Cir) |
| London Blvd (by Ruth Brown Way) |
| Rodman Ave (between Western Branch Blvd and King St) |
| Clifford St |
| Sandbridge Rd (Lotus Pond) |
| Princess Anne Rd (at West Neck Creek) |
| Virginia Beach Blvd (east of Dukes Ln) |
| Shore Drive |
| Charlton Dr (St # is 106 for the culvert) |
| North 5th Street by creek |
| 202 Buxton Ave. |
| Battlefield Blvd, Great Bridge |
| Cedar Road |
| Mt. Pleasant (Butts Station) |
| Dock Landing Road |
| Monticello Ave (@ E 9th St intersection, Fort Tar Ln) |
| Hampton Blvd (at Lexan Ave intersection) |
| Llewellyn Ave (halfway btwn Delaware Ave and Connecticut Ave; Near Haven Creek Boat Ramp) |
| West Olney (at Boush St intersection) |
| Poquoson Ave (@ N. Lawson Road) |
If you would like to know more information about roadway sensors in your area, click here.
