Hello, Ironman! Chattanooga keeps traffic flowing with the Road Closures solution

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As the first city in Tennessee to share road closure data with the Esri Community Maps road closure live feed, Chattanooga, Tennessee, has established itself as a leader in data sharing and smart city innovation. The city has set a new standard for collaboration and transparency, paving the way for other municipalities to follow.

But it hasn’t always been this way. Before adopting Esri’s Road Closures solution and joining the Esri Community Maps program, the city faced significant challenges in managing road closure information and communicating it to the public. Most construction and events were planned well in advance, but getting that information out to drivers was always a hurdle.

Complex need

These hurdles became especially apparent during large-scale events, when timely and accurate information was critical for public safety and mobility. The city’s previous method relied on posting a static road closure map on its website, which most people, even city staff, were not likely to check before traveling.

One of the city’s largest events is its annual full-distance Ironman triathlon. Every September, the event brings thousands of athletes, spectators, and support teams to Chattanooga, presenting a complex logistical challenge. “With this year’s Ironman fast approaching, we wanted a better way to coordinate major road closures, detours, and increased traffic,” says Brendan Cleary, the city’s GIS Manager. “Adopting the Road Closures solution before this year’s Ironman helped ensure that residents and visitors were able to travel around the city safely and efficiently.”

Simple solution

The Road Closures solution provides the capabilities that organizations need to create and maintain a road closure inventory. It also allows organizations to share their road closure data with popular consumer mapping apps, which means that up-to-date information is available to the public in real time from the mobile devices they use every day.

Adopting the Road Closures solution enabled Chattanooga to modernize its approach. The city’s GIS team has taken proactive ownership of entering and updating road closure data. They integrate traffic control plans, construction activities, and event schedules, ensuring that information is authoritative, up to date, and accessible.

As for the September 2025 Ironman, the city closely monitored real-time traffic impacts alongside official road closures and found that major changes in traffic patterns did not have a significant effect on driving time. By sharing critical road closure information, Chattanooga had helped drivers reduce Ironman-related delays and find faster routes through the city.

Increased transparency

Of course, road concerns are a constant challenge for any municipality and are not limited to large events. In fact, the city’s GIS team manages a high volume of closures for construction projects and smaller events every day. Since March, they have updated the city’s online Road Closures map with information about more than 800 closures, ensuring that residents always have access to the most accurate, up-to-date information, whether it’s for a major event or routine maintenance. As an Esri Community Maps member, Chattanooga also regularly shares this authoritative road data with consumer mapping applications, which means that anyone using these platforms has instant access to real-time road information as they drive through the city, even when there isn’t a large event to navigate.

A model for smart-city collaboration

Chattanooga is committed to knowledge-sharing to help accelerate smart-city adoption across the region. The city’s GIS team has actively partnered with both larger neighboring cities and various mid-sized communities to share their specific deployment and operational workflows. This cooperative approach helps save other municipalities the significant amount of time and resources typically needed for development. And, through these partnerships, Chattanooga has established itself as a practical, scalable model for communities seeking to move from static communication methods to public real-time data.

The city’s success with the Road Closure solution and the Esri Community Maps program demonstrates the power of innovation and community commitment. By embracing new technology and collaborative strategies, Chattanooga has set a powerful example for others. Its efforts not only improved daily life for residents and visitors but also inspired neighboring communities to pursue similar smart city initiatives.

Learn how to manage and share your data

What worked for Chattanooga can work for your city, too. For more information about how you can use the Road Closures solution to transform the process of managing and sharing your road closure data, visit Share Your Road Closures with the World.