Re: When It’s Faster to Go the OPPOSITE Direction of the “TO” Sign

[nwi_navigator_1181]

Digging into the forum archives, I read upon the topic of distant interstate trailblazers. In that discussion, we talked about instances where it's quicker to get to the highway noted by the "TO' sign by going the opposite direction.

Examples in that thread: in Wickliffe, Kentucky, the intersection of US 51 and 60 has a "TO I-24"  sign (coming from Cairo, IL), directing drivers to turn left onto US 60 east . However, it's actually quicker to turn right on US 51 south and use KY Routes 121 ad 286 to get to Paducah and I-24.

In one example I stated, there's a (rather random) Indiana Toll Road trailblazer in southeastern Crown Point (near the intersection of Indiana 55 and US 231) telling drivers to turn left toward downtown Crown Point, with no further signage to guide them. In actuality, it's easier to turn right on US 231 south to get to I-65, which would get drivers to the Toll Road more easily and quickly (and likely would get you to where you'd end up if you somehow figured out to use US 41 to the Toll Road from that sign).

Are there any other examples like the ones above? Let's talk about it. Thank you in advance for your responses.

[ftballfan]

In Disney World, heading south from the Magic Kingdom, there are signs telling traffic bound for I-4 to keep left (straight) at the Epcot turnoff. However, to get to I-4 east, it is MUCH quicker to take the Epcot turnoff as Epcot Center Dr continues to I-4 and eventually FL 417 toward the airport

[webny99]

Auburn, NY, and Canandaigua, NY, both have situations where you take different routes to get to the NYS Thruway depending on which direction you want to go. Take this, for example. You're on NY 5/US 20 West, so you would assume if you're headed for the Thruway it would be the westbound Thruway. In which case, following that sign would cost you around 10 miles / 8 minutes vs. the preferred route (going straight here).

Canandaigua's approach is a bit better, but is basically useless on this particular assembly thanks to the faded directional banners... lol!

In terms of examples that are pure toss-ups and depend on the exact stoplight timing, here's one at the southernmost Eastview Mall exit in Victor, NY. I usually do follow the "TO" banner and turn right, only because there's fewer stoplights, but it's easy enough to make a case for turning left.

[coatimundi]

A couple of instances near me, on 101 in the Salinas Valley.

• At the Main Street exit in Salinas, there's a "TO 183" sign in both directions. However, traveling south, if you had taken the last exit at Laurel, then gone south on Davis, you'd get there a lot quicker.
• Not a "To" but rather a lack of it. In Soledad, 146 officially starts at the town's southern interchange. Coming southbound, you have to take a long trumpet ramp and then make a left turn at a light to follow it. However, if you leave the freeway at the northern interchange ("Front Street"), you get right to it after two stop signs. What's weirder is that there are no signs for Pinnacles National Park if you go that way, even though the other way is full of them.

[dlsterner]

I wish I remember the details, but (if I recall correctly) around Newark, Delaware, signage to I-95 would point you not in the quickest way to I-95, but would route you in order to force you to go through the tool booths.

Going the other way was not only quicker, but was also a shunpike route (which of course Delaware would try to discourage).

[NWI_Irish96]

Digging into the forum archives, I read upon the topic of distant interstate trailblazers. In that discussion, we talked about instances where it’s quicker to get to the highway noted by the “TO’ sign by going the opposite direction.

Examples in that thread: in Wickliffe, Kentucky, the intersection of US 51 and 60 has a “TO I-24” sign (coming from Cairo, IL), directing drivers to turn left onto US 60 east . However, it’s actually quicker to turn right on US 51 south and use KY Routes 121 ad 286 to get to Paducah and I-24.

In one example I stated, there’s a (rather random) Indiana Toll Road trailblazer in southeastern Crown Point (near the intersection of Indiana 55 and US 231) telling drivers to turn left toward downtown Crown Point, with no further signage to guide them. In actuality, it’s easier to turn right on US 231 south to get to I-65, which would get drivers to the Toll Road more easily and quickly (and likely would get you to where you’d end up if you somehow figured out to use US 41 to the Toll Road from that sign).

Are there any other examples like the ones above? Let’s talk about it. Thank you in advance for your responses.

When was I-65 finished in NWI compared to the Toll Road?  If the Toll Road was finished first, is it possible that the sign (which appears to be really old) is from that time frame when it may have actually been the fastest route to follow 55 north?

[Max Rockatansky]

From Jensen Avenue westbound there is shields directing traffic "TO CA 99."   If you're heading to CA 99 northbound it is way faster to turn north onto Golden State Boulevard (Old US 99) and avoid all the backups on Jensen approaching the freeway on ramp. 

[Gulol]

Obscure, but if you're going west on WY 387 coming into Midwest, WY and going to Casper (or points South), it's faster to turn onto WY 259 and take that down to I-25 versus following the suggested right turn and continuing on WY 387.  You do get to I-25 quicker if you stay on WY 387 but overall, you backtrack some and lose a few minutes

[PHLBOS]

On the days I drive home from work in Philadelphia (parking garage at 2nd & Lombard) to access I-95 southbound at Market St.  A couple of TO 95 trailblazer signs along the way are facing & pointing in the opposite direction I'm heading.

Example 1: Along southbound Front St. prior to the Dock St. intersection. 

While following such & making a left at Dock St. will eventually get one onto either direction of I-95 via Columbus Blvd.; to access I-95 southbound, it is actually easier and faster using northbound Front St. to the entrance ramp at Market St.  The only caveat being that if one drives a truck that's longer than 30 feet; such is not allowed per this sign just prior to the Market St. entrance ramp.  Additionally, there are no TO SOUTH 95 trailblazer signs posted along northbound Front St.; not even one just prior to the intersection.

Example 2: Further north along southbound Front St. just beyond Walnut St.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

When was I-65 finished in NWI compared to the Toll Road?  If the Toll Road was finished first, is it possible that the sign (which appears to be really old) is from that time frame when it may have actually been the fastest route to follow 55 north?

Good point. I looked up some history on the Indiana Toll Road and I-65 to see, and it shows that the Toll Road made it to Northwest Indiana (1965) three years before the Gary-Merrillville segment of I-65 opened (summer of 1968). So there's a high likelihood that this sign predates I-65, and Indiana 55 was the go-to route.

Also, I saw some maps from years past, and what's interesting is that Indiana 55 was actually part of Grant Street and went to the Toll Road before being truncated to Ridge Road some time later. Once I-65 was completed though, it was easily the superior route.

A non-interstate example: in Hobart, Indiana 51 and Indiana 130 share a short concurrency with each other from US 6 southward for about a mile before splitting; Indiana 130 heads southeast toward Valparaiso, while Indiana 51 winds through downtown Hobart and heads south and west. At the split, southbound traffic is directed to use Indiana 51 to get to US 30, which isn't wrong.

However, interests in points east of Valparaiso (Wanatah, Plymouth, Warsaw, etc.) are better served by staying on Indiana 130, going through downtown Valpo, and using Sturdy Road (where Indiana 130 used to continue before its recent truncation) to get to US 30. At that point, Sturdy Road and Indiana 51 are 10 miles apart.

[texaskdog]

On the Sprinkle Cut Off in Austin where it hits Sprinkle Road (see "Barr Mansion" in Austin for location) the sign says "to 290" to the right, when in fact it is much faster to go left, due to upgrades on Springdale.  I have no earthly idea how there is any fast way to 290 by going to the right.

[GaryV]

As you are heading wb on 3 Mile Rd in Sault Ste Marie, MI, you come to this faded out guidance sign to get to I-75: https://www.google.com/maps/@46.4630364,-84.3522482,3a,89.2y,314.35h,93.78t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shDIOA-TB2KoK5Wi3SfBewA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en

It says to turn right (north) on M-129.  Yes, that would eventually get you there, after you turn onto sb Bus I-75 - and then go through a roundabout with 3 Mile Rd.  It would have have been much faster to continue straight on 3 Mile.

I know this isn't quite the same as "opposite" direction, but it is the same principle.

Incidentally I can't tell from this Street View, but there's at least one faded TO I-75 sign along 3 Mile that includes "Michigan" on the shield.

[formulanone]

Obscure, but if you're going west on WY 387 coming into Midwest, WY and going to Casper (or points South), it's faster to turn onto WY 259 and take that down to I-25 versus following the suggested right turn and continuing on WY 387.  You do get to I-25 quicker if you stay on WY 387 but overall, you backtrack some and lose a few minutes

Heh, just found myself down that way in January; every vehicle I saw at Midwest turned south from 387 onto 259, then I-25. Google Maps confirmed it before and during the trip.

[kalvado]

Tangential situation: TO northbound and TO southbound show different directions and lead to different interstate exits.Totally logical as location is half way between two exits.
https://www.google.com/maps/@42.9486236,-73.7896474,3a,75y,299.06h,81.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1skgl0RGFD9SQAPNa3uG2N_Q!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[paulthemapguy]

Just wanted to note that these "TO" markers are mainly for full-size tractor-trailers.  They aren't established to show the best route for passenger cars; they're established to point out a route truckers can take without encountering problems, such as weight restrictions, width restrictions, height restrictions, or tight turns.

With that said, this "TO I-55" marker in Joliet directs truckers to I-55 via US30, while a faster method exists:  jumping south to I-80 and taking that to I-55.  That faster method requires a tight left turn at the intersection ahead, however, which might present a problem for semis.

[sparker]

A couple of instances near me, on 101 in the Salinas Valley.

• At the Main Street exit in Salinas, there's a "TO 183" sign in both directions. However, traveling south, if you had taken the last exit at Laurel, then gone south on Davis, you'd get there a lot quicker.
• Not a "To" but rather a lack of it. In Soledad, 146 officially starts at the town's southern interchange. Coming southbound, you have to take a long trumpet ramp and then make a left turn at a light to follow it. However, if you leave the freeway at the northern interchange ("Front Street"), you get right to it after two stop signs. What's weirder is that there are no signs for Pinnacles National Park if you go that way, even though the other way is full of them.

Fortunately for NB 101 traffic, the Market St. exit is signed "TO CA 183" and has been since the '90's; this alleviates the situation where there was no direct exit to SB Main St. (actual CA 183) from NB 101.  Re CA 146:  the south half of the Soledad "business loop" from US 101 was retained as CA 146 (LRN 120 before that) when the bypass freeway was built so the RR underpass would remain under state maintenance -- thus all Caltrans-posted signage to the Pinnacles is along that route, even though it's certainly the "long way around" for SB 101 traffic.   

[pianocello]

There are a handful of "TO US 30" signs along westbound Mortensen Pkwy/Rd in Ames, IA upon leaving Jack Trice Stadium. The first is here, in which case the obvious way to reach 30 is to make the first available U-turn and head down University Blvd. However, the sign is especially useful on ISU football game days, when all traffic from the west side of the stadium is funneled in this corridor past these signs, and U-turns are blocked. The signs don't make much sense the other 358 days out of the year.

[theline]

When was I-65 finished in NWI compared to the Toll Road?  If the Toll Road was finished first, is it possible that the sign (which appears to be really old) is from that time frame when it may have actually been the fastest route to follow 55 north?

Good point. I looked up some history on the Indiana Toll Road and I-65 to see, and it shows that the Toll Road made it to Northwest Indiana (1965) three years before the Gary-Merrillville segment of I-65 opened (summer of 1968). So there's a high likelihood that this sign predates I-65, and Indiana 55 was the go-to route.

Also, I saw some maps from years past, and what's interesting is that Indiana 55 was actually part of Grant Street and went to the Toll Road before being truncated to Ridge Road some time later. Once I-65 was completed though, it was easily the superior route.

A non-interstate example: in Hobart, Indiana 51 and Indiana 130 share a short concurrency with each other from US 6 southward for about a mile before splitting; Indiana 130 heads southeast toward Valparaiso, while Indiana 51 winds through downtown Hobart and heads south and west. At the split, southbound traffic is directed to use Indiana 51 to get to US 30, which isn't wrong.

However, interests in points east of Valparaiso (Wanatah, Plymouth, Warsaw, etc.) are better served by staying on Indiana 130, going through downtown Valpo, and using Sturdy Road (where Indiana 130 used to continue before its recent truncation) to get to US 30. At that point, Sturdy Road and Indiana 51 are 10 miles apart.

You should check your source on ITR history. It opened in 3 steps, all in 1956. Thus SR-55 was the preferred route from Crown Point to the Toll Road for many years. About 30 years ago, I recall seeing a trailblazer on 55 where it terminated at Ridge Road, directing me to turn right on Ridge. It struck me as odd at the time, since I was unsure how that helped me to get to the Toll Road. Now that I know the 55 used to extend north on Grant, it's clear to me now.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

You should check your source on ITR history. It opened in 3 steps, all in 1956. Thus SR-55 was the preferred route from Crown Point to the Toll Road for many years. About 30 years ago, I recall seeing a trailblazer on 55 where it terminated at Ridge Road, directing me to turn right on Ridge. It struck me as odd at the time, since I was unsure how that helped me to get to the Toll Road. Now that I know the 55 used to extend north on Grant, it's clear to me now.

I did misread. The Toll Road did indeed predate the last nine miles of I-65 by 12 years. What happened in 1965 was the interstate realignment (I-80/90/94/294 to their current configurations) in Lake Station, and I goofed on that. Thank you for pointing this out.