Transportation Management CenterINFORM
At the core of INFORM is the transportation management center (TMC), which is located at DOT's Long Island Regional Headquarters in Hauppauge, New York. The prime source of information for INFORM comes from some 2,400 electronic sensors embedded in the roadways at half-mile intervals. When a vehicle moves over a sensor, it sends a signal to the TMC where computers continuously measure and analyze changing traffic conditions. The computers indicate traffic conditions throughout the system on large projection screens. Traffic information coordinators can immediately spot delays using data from computer monitors to determine the volume and speed of traffic on different sectors of the highways. Closed-circuit television (CCTV) is also used to verify conditions, i.e., speed, delay, congestion, incidents and accidents, etc. With that information, they can quickly transmit appropriate advisory messages to motorists via variable message signs (VMS). Traffic information coordinators advise the appropriate police and emergency organizations of traffic incidents in the INFORM corridor so they can respond promptly to problems. Coordinators also communicate directly with police, fire and highway repair crews to determine the causes and likely durations of traffic delays. The INFORM corridor currently contains two major freeway facilities, I-495 (Long Island Expressway), the Northern State Parkway/Grand Central Parkway, and a number of parallel and crossing arterial streets and freeways, for a total of 140 miles of controlled roadways. The corridor extends east from the Borough of Queens in New York City, through Nassau County and into Suffolk County. The system consists of electronic monitoring, communications, signing and control components, providing motorist information for warning and route diversion, ramp control, and signal control. The system, which became operational in the mid-1980s controls a corridor approximately 50 miles in length. Although CCTV monitoring was not incorporated in the initial design, significant coverage has been added in recent years. Features of INFORM include:
As of 2006, the INFORM system included:
Transportation Management Center
The new TMC combines the existing INFORM operations center with the new technologies proposed. This allows the system to be fine-tuned in a real-life environment while the early actions of the Southern State Parkway Corridor ATMS are being implemented. New software and hardware will be implemented to provide an advanced system of traffic data collection, traffic management and traveler information dissemination for the benefit of the traveling public. It is intended that the TMC and/or the command and control software in the integrated Southern State Parkway/INFORM Advanced Traffic Management Systems/Advanced Traveler Information Systems (ATMS/ATIS) will facilitate area-wide multi-agency transportation management, and include a number of state-of-the-art advancements in improved transportation management operations, making it a model for deployment in other areas. Advancements which will be emphasized are expected to include:
The functional and equipment requirements of the TMC are major factors in guiding the planning of its layout. The key space determining factors are:
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The INFORM (INformation FOR Motorists) system is one of the nation's largest and most advanced traffic information systems for motorists. It covers Long Island's 50-mile central corridor, consisting of the island's major east-west highways and their busiest north-south connecting routes. INFORM operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. 
A new transportation management center (TMC) is currently under construction to manage traffic and conduct evaluations and simulations. 