Work is nearly complete on an $11.5 million "smart road" system along two of Indiana's busiest stretches of highway. It is designed to work in conjunction with similar automated traffic setups in the Gary-Chicago-Milwaukee corridor along Interstate 94.

The automated traffic management system, expected to be up and running by September, will monitor traffic along the Borman Expressway and I-65 near Gary and Chicago. The system includes message signs, cameras, sensors and television monitors all linked to computers and pagers.

Overhead message boards will alert drivers to problems ahead so they can make an effort to avoid the congestion and take alternate routes. Sensors detect irregularities in traffic flow and send an alarm back to the command center.

Traffic updates will be available online at www.trafficwise.org. Construction on similar systems also is under way in Indianapolis and Evansville, IN.