U.S. transportation network under more scrutiny

The government says it is keeping better track of the U.S. transportation network since the Sept. 11 attacks, with the goal to quickly pinpoint an attack and determine how best to handle it, reported the Associated Press. Federal officials implemented new communications and mapping systems, incorporated intelligence in their planning and practiced working together in event of a crisis, said the AP. A new high-tech communications center was built last year for the U.S. Department of Transportation which includes a first-alert system allowing workers to send voice messages to hundreds of state and local officials within an hour. The new center also gives officials access to mapping information about highways, airfields and pipelines to easily coordinate evacuations or emergency supply dispersal. Another important change since Sept. 11 is that transportation agencies have access to intelligence information from a CIA-approved facility located adjacent to the new communications center. The facility allows transportation officials to exchange classified information as an event unfolds, said the AP.