How I Normalized 30+ Different 511 Traffic APIs Into One REST Endpoint

Every US state and Canadian province runs its own 511 traveler information system. They all serve the same kind of data — traffic incidents, cameras, road conditions, message signs — but every single one does it differently. I spent the past year building Road511 , a unified API that normalizes data from 57 jurisdictions into one consistent REST endpoint. Here's what I learned about wrangling 30+ incompatible APIs into a single schema. The Problem Let's say you want traffic camera feeds for a route from New York to Chicago. You'll need to integrate: New York — ibi511 REST API with custom JSON Pennsylvania — ASP.NET map layer markers Ohio — OHGO Public API with api-key param auth Indiana — CARS platform REST microservices Illinois — Travel Midwest POST endpoints with bbox body Five states, five completely different APIs. Different authentication, different response formats, different field names for the same data. And that's just cameras — add events, road conditions, and message signs,