Editing Highway Emergency Response Operators (section)

== History ==
The program began in Atlanta in 1994 as the city prepared for the [[1996 Olympics]] and has since been expanded with GDOT's 511 Navigator [[Intelligent Transportation System]] program.

While previously being sponsored by [[State Farm]] which began in 2009, funding for the HERO program has been provided by Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) Fund under the guidance of the Atlanta Regional Commission's (ARC) Incident Management Taskforce. The Taskforce members include the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), GDOT, traffic reporters, emergency and first-response agencies and the private sector.<ref>{{cite web|title=HERO Funding|url=http://www.dot.ga.gov/DS/Travel/HEROs#tab-4}}</ref>

In February 2017, GDOT expanded it to east Georgia with the '''Coordinated Highway Assistance & Maintenance Program''' ('''CHAMP'''), which performs all of the HERO functions, in addition to monitoring for any maintenance needs along rural state roads.  It began at first by covering I-20 east from metro Atlanta to the state line including [[I-520]] around [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], and the middle of [[Interstate 16|I-16]] around [[Dublin, Georgia|Dublin]].  The CHAMP program expanded statewide in May 2017.<ref>{{cite news |title=New GDOT Highway Assistance freeway patrol service begins in east central Georgia |url=https://www.augustachronicle.com/newstimes/news/2017-02-26/new-gdot-highway-assistance-freeway-patrol-service-begins-in-east-central-georgia |access-date=31 May 2021 |publisher=Augusta Chronicle |date=February 27, 2017}}</ref>