(WAVY) — After decades of providing traffic updates, VDOT Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) will air the final broadcast on Saturday. While all eight other VDOT districts already retired their radio systems, the Hampton Roads District continued to extend the broadcasts life for as long as possible.
According to VDOT, the radio broadcast initially launched in the early 1970s and later upgraded to the current system in the late 1990s. Officials with VDOT said the aging technology supporting the system had become increasingly difficult to maintain or replace.
“This isn’t about ending a service; it’s about improving how we reach drivers,” said VDOT Hampton Roads District Engineer Mike Davis. “The Highway Advisory Radio has done its job for decades, but the technology has reached the end of its useful life. Retiring it now allows us to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars by focusing our resources on modern communication tools that provide faster, more reliable information to more drivers while continuing that same mission to keep travelers informed.”…