The Georgia Department of Transportation says the statewide program is the first of its kind in the nation.
A successful program that provides aide to stranded motorists and helps manage traffic during accident investigations in metro Atlanta is about to have a statewide counterpart.
The Georgia Department of Transportation announced, Tuesday, that it would begin operation of Coordinated Highway Assistance & Maintenance Program (CHAMP) a distinct but similar program to Atlanta's Highway Emergency Response Operation (HERO).
HERO already patrols 310 miles of metro Atlanta's freeways on 31 routes every day during peak hours. It also responds to incidents 24 hours a day through sponsorship of State Farm. CHAMP will expand similar services to most of the state's interstates.
Ultimately, the service will have 51 branded CHAMP trucks that will patrol 16 different routes seven days a week and 16 hours a day. They will also be on-call for the other 8 hours. Portions of I-24 and I-59 are excluded from this service.
“Ensuring the safety of our roadways for motorists and first responders is our primary goal. With
that in mind, we are excited to launch CHAMP in order to expand our patrol and assistance
services across the state,” said Georgia DOT Commissioner Russell R. McMurry.
State traffic engineer Andrew Heath explained that CHAMP will differ from HERO in that it specifically addresses highway maintenance.
"CHAMP operators are Georgia DOT's eyes on the road," he said. "By proactively responding to maintenance issues as well as addressing incident clearance and motorist assistance they will make Georgia highways safer."
The state plans to implement CHAMP in two-week intervals across the state through May and will employee 48 full-time operators and 18 full-time dispatchers. The first phase was launched Tuesday for northeast Georgia. The next rollout is scheduled for Feb. 21 in east central Georgia.
Motorists can report a crash, infrastructure damage or debris on interstates and state routes by calling 511 and providing the nearest exit or milepost.
The program is made possible through the Transportation Funding Act of 2015.
