Passing Lane X Miles sign

[BigMattFromTexas]

I was on my way to get fireworks at one of the many stands in San Angelo, and on US 67 South I saw this strange sign it said "Passing Lane 2 Miles" has anyone else seen such sign? I'll put an illustration up after I make one, haha.
BigMatt

[myosh_tino]

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/signdel/specs/G69.pdf

This is/was a pretty common sign in California where 2-lane roads on an uphill grade gain an extra lane to allow slower moving traffic (i.e. big rigs) to move into the right lane to allow others to pass.  In general this sign is posted 1-2 miles from the start of the passing lane.

[corco]

Those are pretty common in Wyoming and Idaho. Those are always black on white. I know I saw a white on green one recently somewhere that made me kind of double take...I think it was either Nevada or Utah. They're nice signs if you're unfamiliar with the area because they tend to pop up when you're starting to get mad at the slowpoke in front of you and are debating passing on a moderately trafficked road.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Here's the illustration I made in paint:


BigMatt

[corco]

Yeah! That's the type I saw in either Nevada or Utah (come to think of it, it may have actually been Texas that I saw it...I was on US-67 around San Angelo, so it's possible) . Those are weird. The Idaho and Wyoming ones (and I'm pretty sure Washington too) look like that except smaller and black on white and may or may not sometimes have the word "ahead" on them.

[BigMattFromTexas]

Yeah! That's the type I saw in either Nevada or Utah (come to think of it, it may have actually been Texas that I saw it...I was on US-67 around San Angelo, so it's possible) . Those are weird. The Idaho and Wyoming ones (and I'm pretty sure Washington too) look like that except smaller and black on white and may or may not sometimes have the word "ahead" on them.

I was surprised to see a sign like that outside of San Angelo, cause last time I went out that way I didn't see it, hmm, maybe some elves put it up in the middle of the night, idk, I could have just missed it, I have a tiny attention span...
BigMatt

[Duke87]

Connecticut has something like that. If you can't read it, it says "SLOW VEHICLE LANE 500 FT"
Black on yellow, though, not white on green. These lanes are added to the right, hence "slow vehicle lane". Which side is the extra lane on US 67 added on?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

There have been some in Minnesota as well. I remember they used to be on MN 371 south of Brainerd before that section was widened to expressway/freeway standards. I remember some on US 2 as well.

[Bickendan]

Oregon has these. They're either black on white or black on yellow.

[KEK Inc.]

Oregon has these. They're either black on white or black on yellow.

I've never seen them on yellow signs.  Anyways, I see those all the time in the west coast, but they usually only give a mile warning, and I have only seen them on white signs.

[Eth]

I've seen these in Alabama, notably on one of the recently-bypassed two-lane stretches of US 431 in Russell County (now County Road 137).  The signs read "TRUCK LANE 500 FEET" (maybe 1000 or 1500, can't remember) and are black on white.  If memory serves, the lane there is added to the right, but then the left lane ends at the end of it.  Unfortunately, Street View does not appear to have gone down that particular road and the satellite imagery there is fairly low-res.

[myosh_tino]

Forgot to mention the California "PASSING LANE x MILES" is a white on green sign.

[joseph1723]

I've seen these before in Ontario, they are usually installed on sections of uphill roads and are sometimes called truck climbing lanes here. The signs used are a black on white forked arrow symbol with the text Xkm underneath. They are usually accompanied by a "KEEP RIGHT EXCEPT TO PASS" sign.

Picture of the passing lane sign:
 

[US71]

Route 37 in Missouri

[froggie]

There have been some in Minnesota as well. I remember they used to be on MN 371 south of Brainerd before that section was widened to expressway/freeway standards. I remember some on US 2 as well.

The Minnesota examples are black-on-white.

[xcellntbuy]

Many will be surprised to find that similar signs was posted in, of all places, flat Florida, specifically, US 1 between Key Largo and Florida City on the Overseas Highway.

Due to the extremely limited land to build a wide enough roadway for the entire 18-mile stretch, four lanes were only possible in certain sections.  As a result, "the 18-mile stretch" became Florida's worst travel death trap where accident rates were high coupled with south Florida's horrific driving habits.  Passing was done anywhere, anyway, anytime and so what if you cross over 3 or 4 lanes to do it.  Typically insane, get-the-hell-out-of-my-way south Florida drivers. 

After many years of debate, this section of the Overseas Highway has been widened to four lanes, I believe for its entire length, the Jewfish Key Bridge completely scrapped and the entire roadway substantially elevated with a Jersey barrier installed down the middle.  All of this was under construction in April 2007, the last time I drove down to the Florida Keys.

[florida]

Many will be surprised to find that similar signs was posted in, of all places, flat Florida...

I want to think FL 40 is posted with them too, through the Ocala National Forest.

[SSOWorld]

Here's an example from Wisconsin it says "Passing Lane Ahead 1/2 Mile"  Michigan has almost the same.  At the start - WI uses "Slower Traffic Keep Right" and MI uses "Keep Right Except to Pass"

[US71]

Here's an example from Wisconsin it says "Passing Lane Ahead 1/2 Mile"  Michigan has almost the same.  At the start - WI uses "Slower Traffic Keep Right" and MI uses "Keep Right Except to Pass"

That's just a blur

[deathtopumpkins]

Only one of these I've seen (excepting CT) was on US-17 in South Carolina, south of Charleston, which had brief stretches of divided highway a couple times.

[roadfro]

Corco, I doubt you saw one of these in Nevada. There's very few rural highways that have more than two lanes or passing lanes, even in uphill stretches. The sign is also not present in the NDOT sign supplement, which shows layouts of typical Nevada signs not seen in the MUTCD.

http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/traffops/signtech/signdel/specs/G69.pdf

This is/was a pretty common sign in California where 2-lane roads on an uphill grade gain an extra lane to allow slower moving traffic (i.e. big rigs) to move into the right lane to allow others to pass.  In general this sign is posted 1-2 miles from the start of the passing lane.

It's still in use on the northern two-lane section of US 395. There's a passing lane area about six miles north of Hallelujah Junction, and another one around the CR A26 turnoff to Herlong. White on green signs with a two-mile notice, another with "Ahead" about 1000 feet before the added lane develops on the right--I believe a "Slower Traffic Keep Right" sign is used near the start of the passing area.

Along these same lines, there are "DIVIDED ROAD XX MI AHEAD" signs on US 395 southbound approaching SR 70/Hallelujah Junction. These are bigger white-on-green guide signs posted 3 and 1-1/2 miles in advance of the divided highway.

[myosh_tino]

It's still in use on the northern two-lane section of US 395. There's a passing lane area about six miles north of Hallelujah Junction, and another one around the CR A26 turnoff to Herlong. White on green signs with a two-mile notice, another with "Ahead" about 1000 feet before the added lane develops on the right--I believe a "Slower Traffic Keep Right" sign is used near the start of the passing area.

Along these same lines, there are "DIVIDED ROAD XX MI AHEAD" signs on US 395 southbound approaching SR 70/Hallelujah Junction. These are bigger white-on-green guide signs posted 3 and 1-1/2 miles in advance of the divided highway.

I'm sure most of the people here know there's a difference between "Passing Lane" and "Divided Highway" but I'll clarify anyways.  

The Divided Road/Highway signs that you mention are posted before a 2-lane highway widens into a 4-lane highway with some sort of center divider.  This divider can be simply 2 sets of double yellow lines up to a physical barrier that separates the two directions of travel.

The Passing Lane signs are posted when a 2-lane highway gains a third lane (i.e. 1 lane south, 2 lanes north) where slower traffic should go to allow others to pass.  In general, the directions of travel are separated by a double yellow line although I have seen instances where 2 sets of double yellow lines are used.  In general, passing lanes are added when the road has a significant uphill grade.  A relatively new set of passing lanes were built on CA-152 west of the CA-156 junction near Casa de Fruta.

There is also something called a "Truck Lane" or "Truck Climbing Lane" but they are found on freeways (I-15 between Baker and Primm and I-5 between Grapevine and Ft. Tejon come to mind) and are usually separated from the regular lanes by a solid white line.

[corco]

If I saw it in Nevada, it would have had to have been on 93 just north of Majors Junction. The more I think about it though, the more I'm thinking I saw it in Texas, which would make sense since it was the same sign that BigMatt posted.

[BigMattFromTexas]

I passed by that sign again last night when we were going to shoot fireworks , and I realized I made it wrong the first time. So here's the correct version:

BigMatt

[agentsteel53]

I'm sure most of the people here know there's a difference between "Passing Lane" and "Divided Highway" but I'll clarify anyways.  

then there's a sign called 'pass with care', which means 'we can't be bothered adding extra lanes - either stay stuck behind this yokel doing 42 in 60, or contemplate getting your brains scraped off the concrete'.