5-1-1 Traffic Reports End Today In St. Louis

Drivers in the St. Louis region who are used to taking out cell phones to punch in 5-1-1 to check for traffic delays before starting a trip will have to find an alternative source, beginning Feb. 1.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) service for the St. Louis area ends Jan. 31.

For the past five years, MoDOT 5-1-1 has been provided by Navteq, a computer mapping and traffic reporting service owned by the Finnish company Nokia.

The contract between MoDOT and Navteq expired last June, but the service continued on a month-to-month basis.

In December, Navteq announced it was discontinuing its traffic reporting service and closing regional offices across the country.

An editor with the St. Louis Navteq office told Patch that MoDOT wants to restore the 5-1-1 service in the future, and expand it on a statewide basis.

In St. Louis, Navteq’s main office was at Tesson Ferry and I-270 with a desk at the MoDOT Traffic Management Center at I-64 and Highway 141. 

The company also provided producers and on-air talent for St. Louis television stations. 

The employees working at TV stations began working for a new company spun off from Navteq in November.

The St. Louis office closed Tuesday, Jan. 31.