The traffic version of Willard Scott and Al Roker will be coming soon to the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway. Motorists on the state’s two biggest highways will be provided high-tech traffic “forecasts” to alert them about potential bottlenecks before they happen. Using complex computer models that have been said to predict traffic flows with up to 93 percent accuracy, the Turnpike Authority plans to put its new “Traffic Prediction Tool” into use early next year.

Drivers would see the forecasts on existing highway message signs or via e-mail or text. Motorists get real-time alerts now, but the traffic forecast has the ability to predict congestion before it happens, based on traffic patterns detected by transponders and road sensors, as well as historical traffic patterns.

The highway agency has already run live models of the forecasts, with encouraging results.

“We’ve found that on the Turnpike, we can forecast 10 minutes in advance with 90 percent accuracy,” said Brian Gorman, the authority’s director of technology. “On the Parkway, we’ve been able to forecast 10 minutes out with 93 percent accuracy.”

The technology is already in use in Singapore and Stockholm. Read more in Star Ledger.