With winter weather in the forecast for much of Missouri this weekend, the Missouri Department of Transportation has several tools to keep travel safer.

Located at modot.org, the Traveler Information Map gives drivers an up-to-the-minute view of road conditions for major Missouri highways. Conditions for major routes across the state are color-coded to give visitors the information they need at a glance. Green means clear, blue is partly covered, purple is covered and a red snowflake means the road is impassable.

The map can display road conditions for major Missouri cities, counties, MoDOT districts and other travel destinations. Individual routes can also be selected. A text report and links to road condition maps for surrounding states are also available on the Traveler Information Map page.

Also, MoDOT's toll-free customer service line is available 24/7 at 1-888-ASK-MODOT.

Additional information on winter weather, such as which roads get plowed first, clearing your driveway, and winter weather driving tips, is available here. Remember -- in ice and snow, take it slow!

Editor's note: You can also serve your online readers by linking directly to our map from your own Web sites by placing a link that lands here: http://maps.modot.mo.gov/travelerinformation.