Kandrive: There's a hack for that

One of KDOT’s year-round customer service products to help drivers plan their travel is KanDrive.org, which automatically and continuously updates closures, construction and traffic-impacting incidents on interstates, highways and Kansas routes.  But during the winter, with a flurry of information coming from various sources and rapidly changing conditions, drivers often forget KanDrive is still the most accurate and timely source for road condition information.

“KanDrive is KDOT’s traveler information gateway for Kansas and surrounding states,” said Kevin Hennes, KDOT Applications Developer. “It provides an interactive map of Kansas roads, work zones and the ability to view highway cameras to see surface-related road conditions in real time on computer and mobile devices.”

While road condition updates are often posted on KDOT’s social media pages, they are not updated around the clock. KanDrive is the official source of highway travel information in Kansas and it has the most current and complete source of road condition information available. The application is fed by several electronic sources from across the state and it updates in real time.

“Please do not tweet, email or message KDOT when you need timely information on road closures, we cannot answer calls or emails around the clock, even during storms,” said Laurie Arellano, KDOT Communications Director.  “By the time we are able to respond to your message, conditions may have changed significantly.”

Drivers can check KanDrive anytime from a computer or a phone and get the same information, although they may look different.  For those who rely primarily on their mobile devices, take a tour of the mobile-friendly version in this blog to find the quickest way to get road condition information.

Use your device to get to the Internet and type in KanDrive.org to arrive at the home screen.

Select view the roads.  KanDrive has four options to show  road conditions: Seasonal, partially covered, completely covered and closed.  Road condition information on this page is a broader picture of weather conditions in the state.

Seasonal means the roads are normal for that time of year.  Patchy slick spots after a frost are seasonal, lightly blowing snow following a snowfall is also seasonal, as are wet roads following rain. 

Partially covered means there are large patches of road covered by snow which will require drivers to slow down. 

Completely covered means roadway surfaces are not visible due to heavy snow. 

Closed roads means that the road conditions no longer safe for travel and it is against the law to go around road closure gate signs.

Now, for more localized travel information, click the back arrow in the top left corner.

On this page you’ll access more specific information about the highway or interstate you’re concerned about.  Select any of the options for more specific information to get local conditions.

Or select cameras and signs to see what conditions look like in real time.

Hennes says it’s important during changing weather conditions to check conditions frequently before planning to travel.

“It is always best to know before you go.”