Definitions

Travellers using 511, Alberta's Official Road Reports, will notice some changes in road condition descriptions. Canadian road authorities have worked together to develop a new and consistent vocabulary as part of 511 systems being implemented by jurisdictions throughout the country.

Here's what you'll see on the 511 Alberta maps:

No Report

Bare (Dry/Wet)

Partly Covered (Snow/Ice)

Covered (Snow/Ice)

Travel Not Recommended

Closed

Reduced Visibility

Closures - Major closure that may significantly impact travellers at the specified location.

Incidents - Unplanned major incidents that may significantly impact travel at the specified location.

Construction - Government of Alberta construction or maintenance work that may significantly impact travel at the specified location.

Over Dimensional Loads - The Over Dimensional Loads often involve vehicles carrying heavy and large materials that may slow down traffic activities.

Special Events - The Special Event type pertains to planned events, often involving people occupying the road. The subtypes of special events may include: Marathon, Parade, Protest, and Sporting Event

Here's what descriptions may look like:

No Report

A roadway with no report available does not indicate normal driving conditions; adverse driving conditions may be present.

Bare (Dry/Wet)

Road surfaces can be dry or wet, but are clear of snow or ice.

Partly Covered (Snow/Ice)

Road surfaces have snow / ice-covered or snow-packed sections. For example, there may be sections where drifting snow has covered parts of the lanes or where the road centre is bare.

Covered (Snow/Ice)

Road surfaces are completely covered (snow or ice) with little to no bare sections from one end to the other.

Travel Not Recommended

Travel is not recommended. Road conditions are unsuitable for non essential travel. Road may be impassable due to road surface conditions, extreme weather events or limited visibility.

Closed

Road is closed because road surfaces are impossible to travel due to continuous snow fall preventing snow removal or due to a collision.

Visibility

Visibility is good

Visibility is more than 500 metres over your entire route.

Visibility is poor

Visibility is poor when at certain locations, conditions may suddenly reduce visibility to less than 250 metres.

Visibility is fair

Visibility is fair when your range of vision is reduced between 250 and 500 metres.