Long Distance Construction Warnings

[nwi_navigator_1181]

There have been times where the DOT would place warnings about major construction projects more than 100 miles away in another part of the state...or even in another state altogether. Are there any examples that you have come across in your travels?

Examples here: on I-65 Northbound approaching Indianapolis, there was a warning about I-80/94 when they started the Borman Reconstruction in 2004. It read, "I-80/94 Northwest Indiana: Construction Ahead, Expect Long Delays." Again, this was located south of Indianapolis.

Also on I-65 northbound, three years later, there were signs that read, "I-65 at I-80/94: Construction 15/30 miles ahead; Expect Long Delays." These same signs were placed on the eastbound Tri-State Tollway in Illinois, and at the westbound Ohio Turnpike near the state line. When construction on the I-65 mainline and Northwest Connector portion of the project was completed, the I-65 shield was removed.

Thanks in advance for your responses!

[agentsteel53]

on I-5 south, I once got on at CA-152 and the first VMS, within a couple miles of the intersection, noted construction at CA-58, with CA-46 being recommended as a bypass.

the distance from 152 to 58 is about 144 miles.  the distance from 152 to 46 is about 123.

I am not sure how much farther than CA-152 these messages went up.  Maybe all the way to Sacramento, where traffic could choose between 5 and 99?

[golden eagle]

There were warnings about construction on the 405 in Los Angeles as far up as the Bay Area during the "Carmaggedon" project a few months ago.

[Truvelo]

Over here there are routinely notices posted of construction in areas 100 miles away. Such long distances allow alternative routes to be taken. It's no use announcing it 10 miles in advance by which time the obvious detours have passed.

[Takumi]

I remember construction warnings for the Springfield Interchange with bypass options as far south as Caroline County, a good 75 miles south of the Capital Beltway.

[1995hoo]

If you're willing to accept warnings stemming from 9-11, I remember driving to the Red Bank area of New Jersey on September 14, 2001, and some of the VMS units at the Delaware Memorial Bridge had notices about there being limited access to New York City and that people needed to turn on the radio and plan ahead. Other VMS units warned that the Holland Tunnel was closed.

[vdeane]

The exits 39-40 reconstruction on the Thruway had some pretty long range warning signs; I don't remember how far though.

I-81 in southern Jefferson county has a work zone 22 miles long for what is apparently a resurfacing project.  This section of I-81 seems to have been getting a lot of work done since work started on I-781, I assume so that military vehicles could pass under the bridges.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

If you're willing to accept warnings stemming from 9-11, I remember driving to the Red Bank area of New Jersey on September 14, 2001, and some of the VMS units at the Delaware Memorial Bridge had notices about there being limited access to New York City and that people needed to turn on the radio and plan ahead. Other VMS units warned that the Holland Tunnel was closed.

All examples are welcome. I'm not surprised that they would have warning signs deflecting drivers away from NYC and DC just days after the fact; it makes good sense.

Two more in my area that just came to mind: during the 2008 portion of the Borman Reconstruction, I-65 was closed from March to the day before Thanksgiving, from I-80/94 to 15th Avenue. Almost 35 miles away in Michigan City, a portable dynamic message board was placed on I-94 Westbound, stating that drivers should "consider using U.S. 421 South -" the next exit from that point - to get to Indianapolis. It was the best alternate route and well away from the area; drivers could travel on U.S. 421 south all the way to the capital, or gain direct access to I-65 in about 80 miles (while U.S. 421 doesn't run into I-65, the physical road does...as Indiana 43).

In 2003, the I-65/70 multiplex was closed for about 6 weeks during the Hyperfix project. Traffic in both directions was warned about 50 miles outside of the city to take I-465 to get through.

Also, I remember in 2008 that a dynamic message board was placed at I-94 eastbound just past I-65. The board stated, "I-94 East Closed at Mile 92 in Michigan." This was because an emergency correction had to be done during an overhead bridge replacement at Battle Creek, necessitating the week-long closure.

[bulkyorled]

The closest I ever got to anything like this was on I-210 here in CA and they mentioned the north CA14 was closed at the 138 for construction which is about a 70 mile drive from the point I was at. Not to mention 210 doesnt meet up with 14 ever. I cant imagine who thought we needed to know this far away

[tdindy88]

When the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed (there was construction after all) the message board signs around Indianapolis for months averted traffic to use an alternate way around Louisville, such as I-74 and I-75 for traffic bound for Lexington and Atlanta. Kind of made me wonder if they should have just put up a sign so that the message board signs could be used for other things, or just left off.

[roadfro]

I remember heading into northern California from Reno one weekend when there was a major construction closure on I-80 in/near the Bay Area. Every westbound DMS sign on I-80 advertised of the closure and provided a website for more info.

[sp_redelectric]

I've seen ODOT (Oregon) place warnings on the VMS signs near Troutdale on I-84 for construction or other alerts as far east as Pendleton, some 160 miles east.

But I've never seen any VMSes on I-5 in Portland for anything north of the Columbia River, and I can't recall ever seeing a message on the VMS signs for I-5 southbound.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky has been posting warnings about the I-75 problems in Tennessee on its overhead VMSes. They've used the one in Madison County between exits 95 and 90 for this purpose.

The VMS on I-64 westbound at Winchester (near Exit 96) had a wide load restriction posted for construction near mile marker 20 for awhile last year.

[ibagli]

Around 2005, there was a sign on I-77 south of I-70 warning of work on one of the tunnels. The closer tunnel is 230 miles from I-70, although I don't remember quite how far south the sign was. I remember it as being in Ohio, but I'm not sure about that either.

Examples here: on I-65 Northbound approaching Indianapolis, there was a warning about I-80/94 when they started the Borman Reconstruction in 2004. It read, "I-80/94 Northwest Indiana: Construction Ahead, Expect Long Delays." Again, this was located south of Indianapolis.

I also remember going past one on I-70 east of Indianapolis.

[jwolfer]

Over here there are routinely notices posted of construction in areas 100 miles away. Such long distances allow alternative routes to be taken. It's no use announcing it 10 miles in advance by which time the obvious detours have passed.

Sadly, most non-road geeks would be oblivious until they hit the back up. ... you see people swithc lanes at the last minute for an exit that has a ton of advance warning

[cpzilliacus]

I remember construction warnings for the Springfield Interchange with bypass options as far south as Caroline County, a good 75 miles south of the Capital Beltway.

For some of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge reconstruction work, there were warning signs as far north as Delaware and Pennsylvania, and as far south as North Carolina - warning drivers to use alternate routes (the closest reasonable ones were U.S. 301 via the Gov. Nice Bridge and I-495 via the American Legion Bridge, though  further away I suppose U.S. 13 via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and U.S. 17 to I-66 to I-81 might have been reasonable for some).

[deathtopumpkins]

I've seen New Hampshire and Massachusetts reciprocate construction advisories, i.e. the I-93 reconstruction project in New Hampshire being warned of in Massachusetts, and I've seen some pretty decently far in-advance VMSes for night work along MA 128. Also, there VMSes along northbound 128 from Lexington to Burlington warned of lane closures on US 3 near Lowell - not that far, but still notable due to the density of the region and the fact that it's on a different road.

[Takumi]

U.S. 17 to I-66 to I-81 might have been reasonable for some).

We actually used that route during a trip to Hershey, PA to bypass the construction. We went through Baltimore on the way back, so we saw the construction delays in full swing, on a Friday afternoon. It took us much longer to get from DC to Fredericksburg than the rest of the way, a longer distance.

[cpzilliacus]

U.S. 17 to I-66 to I-81 might have been reasonable for some).

We actually used that route during a trip to Hershey, PA to bypass the construction. We went through Baltimore on the way back, so we saw the construction delays in full swing, on a Friday afternoon. It took us much longer to get from DC to Fredericksburg than the rest of the way, a longer distance.

D.C. (or perhaps, being more specific, Springfield, Va.) to Fredericksburg on almost any Friday afternoon is a brutal ride. 

It can sometimes be bad as far south as the I-95/I-295 interchange in Henrico County, Va.

[mightyace]

TNDOT did have long distance notifications when I-40 was being worked and closed on in Knoxville.

Also, such signs are put up around the time of the Bonaroo festival.

While not construction, VMSes on I-40 East near the I-81 junction had traffic warning on Bristol race weekend this year.

[KEVIN_224]

The only example I can think of is advisories along I-95 for the Pawtuxet River Bridge construction in Pawtucket, RI. Heading south on I-95 from greater Boston and Canton, you'll see a large sign warning truckers at roughly the I-495 Exits in the Foxborough/Mansfield, MA area.

[PHLBOS]

In the Greater Philly area, VMS messages advising trucks NOT to use PA 291/Platt Bridge (due to construction) exist as far as just east of the Valley Forge toll plaza on the I-76/Schuylkill Expressway (about 20 miles from the PA 291 exit) and as far south as I-95 just north of the PA-DE border (about 13 miles from the PA 291 exit).

Greater Boston area
Back in the mid-80s when the Southeast Expressway (I-93) underwent a major overhaul, Big Orange Signboards stating I-93/SOUTHEAST EXPRESSWAY UNDER CONSTRUCTION SEEK ALTERANTE ROUTES were posted on all major highways about a mile or two prior to their interchanges w/MA 128. 

MA 128 itself, had a similar sign shortly before its interchange w/US 1/I-95 North; this predated the existence of the I-95/MA 128 interchange (Exit 45/29) in Peabody.

[hobsini2]

I always thought Wisconsin did it right. During the Marquette interchange recon, there was a sign posted at the state line on 94.

Also I remember as a kid when 90/94 from Beloit to Portage was under construction for any real stretch of distance, they used to warn you at a minimum of 9 miles prior with the next interval being 6, 3, 2, and 1. Quite frequently they would use the wrong shield for the exits.  I remember seeing US 11 for Wis 11 and Wis 14 for US 14.

[mtantillo]

I remember construction warnings for the Springfield Interchange with bypass options as far south as Caroline County, a good 75 miles south of the Capital Beltway.

For some of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge reconstruction work, there were warning signs as far north as Delaware and Pennsylvania, and as far south as North Carolina - warning drivers to use alternate routes (the closest reasonable ones were U.S. 301 via the Gov. Nice Bridge and I-495 via the American Legion Bridge, though  further away I suppose U.S. 13 via the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel and U.S. 17 to I-66 to I-81 might have been reasonable for some).

I saw signs for the Wilson Bridge construction (specifically the weekend they shifted northbound traffic onto the new span) in Greensboro, NC.  A good alternate that not only bypasses the Wilson Bridge but also all of I-95 in VA is to head north on US 29 or US 220. 

[US71]

AHTD has VMS's in the Conway-Little Rock, AR  area advising of construction between Hazen & Brinkley along I-40. The advance warning is 70-80 miles.


There is a VMS on WB I--44 near Halltown< MO advising MO 96 is closed at Carthage: a distance of around 30-35 miles.