DriveBC MCP Server

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that provides AI assistants with access to real-time BC highway conditions, road closures, and weather alerts via the Open511-DriveBC API.

Features

• Highway Conditions: Get current conditions for specific BC highways
• Regional Overview: View all events within a BC region
• Road Closures: List active closures and restrictions
• Weather Alerts: Access weather-related incidents and warnings
• Smart Caching: 5-minute cache to reduce API load while keeping data fresh
• Type-Safe: Full TypeScript implementation with proper types

Installation

npm install
npm run build

Usage

Running the Server

npm start

The server runs on stdio transport and is designed to be used with MCP-compatible AI clients like Claude Desktop.

Development Mode

npm run dev

Configuration

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your Claude Desktop configuration file:

macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json Linux: ~/.config/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drivebc": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/drivebc_mcp/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

After adding the configuration, restart Claude Desktop.

LM Studio

LM Studio supports MCP as of version 0.3.17. Add the following to your LM Studio MCP configuration:

macOS/Linux: ~/.lmstudio/mcp.json Windows: %USERPROFILE%/.lmstudio/mcp.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "drivebc": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/path/to/drivebc_mcp/build/index.js"]
    }
  }
}

After adding the configuration, restart LM Studio.

Available Tools

1. get_highway_conditions

Get current conditions, incidents, and closures for a specific BC highway.

Parameters:

• highway (required): Highway number or name (e.g., "Highway 1", "99", "1")
• severity (optional): Filter by severity level (MINOR, MODERATE, MAJOR, UNKNOWN)
• includeScheduled (optional): Include scheduled construction (default: true)

Example:

Check Highway 1 conditions

2. get_regional_conditions

Get road conditions and events for a specific BC region.

Parameters:

• region (required): BC region name (Lower Mainland, Vancouver Island, Thompson Okanagan, Kootenay Rockies, Cariboo, Northern BC)
• eventType (optional): Filter by event type (CONSTRUCTION, INCIDENT, WEATHER_CONDITION, ROAD_CONDITION, SPECIAL_EVENT)
• limit (optional): Maximum events to return (default: 50, max: 500)

Example:

Show road conditions in the Lower Mainland

3. get_road_closures

List all current road closures and major restrictions.

Parameters:

• region (optional): Filter by BC region
• highway (optional): Filter by specific highway
• severityMinimum (optional): Minimum severity to include (MINOR, MODERATE, MAJOR; default: MODERATE)

Example:

Are there any road closures on Highway 1?

4. get_weather_alerts

Get active weather alerts and road condition warnings.

Parameters:

• region (optional): Filter by BC region
• alertType (optional): Type of alert (WEATHER_CONDITION, ROAD_CONDITION, INCIDENT)
• severityMinimum (optional): Minimum severity level (default: MINOR)

Example:

Show weather alerts for Northern BC

Data Source

This server uses the Open511-DriveBC API which provides:

• Real-time road events and incidents
• Road closures and construction updates
• Weather conditions and alerts
• Travel advisories

The API is public and requires no authentication.

Caching

The server implements a 5-minute cache to:

• Reduce load on the DriveBC API
• Improve response times
• Maintain reasonably fresh data

Cache hits and misses are logged to stderr for monitoring.

Project Structure

drivebc_mcp/
├── src/
│   ├── index.ts                    # MCP server entry point
│   ├── tools/
│   │   ├── highway-conditions.ts   # Highway-specific queries
│   │   ├── regional-conditions.ts  # Regional overview
│   │   ├── road-closures.ts        # Closures and restrictions
│   │   └── weather-alerts.ts       # Weather and incidents
│   ├── api/
│   │   ├── client.ts               # API client with caching
│   │   ├── types.ts                # TypeScript type definitions
│   │   └── constants.ts            # BC regions and highways
│   ├── cache/
│   │   └── manager.ts              # Cache implementation
│   └── utils/
│       └── formatters.ts           # Response formatting
├── package.json
├── tsconfig.json
└── README.md

Development

Type Checking

npm run type-check

Building

npm run build

BC Regions

The server supports the following BC regions:

• Lower Mainland
• Vancouver Island
• Thompson Okanagan
• Kootenay Rockies
• Cariboo
• Northern BC

License

MIT