Any roads closed due to COVID-19?

[deathtopumpkins]

US 158 and US 64 are closed at the Dare County border.  No one in or out.  Checkpoints included.  These are by far the most extreme measures I've heard of anywhere in North America.

What about US-264? (However, that is only on the mainland part of Dare County and meets US-64 before crossing over to Kill Devil Hills).
Two things I am assuming (unless the US-158 checkpoints are past the Corolla turnoff):
1. Corolla residents are stuck as they're not in Dare County, but the only road connecting to it goes through Dare County.
2. Residents in southern mainland Currituck County (along US-158) currently have a much longer drive to do shopping as instead of being able to go to Walmart/Home Depot/Food Lion/Walgreens just after 158 crosses into Dare County and before (or at in the case of Walgreens) the Corolla turnoff, they would have to go all the way to either Elizabeth City or into Virginia to do selective shopping (there is a Food Lion in Grandy)
I'm assuming residents or those that live in a different county but work in Dare County (and vice versa) are allowed through.

The checkpoint on US 158 is right where the Wright Memorial Bridge touches down in Kitty Hawk.

It's not "no one in or out", it's just restricted to Dare County residents, employees, and non-resident property owners. Only really excludes tourists. Corolla residents are allowed through.

[hbelkins]

Put the southernmost section of the Blue Ridge Parkway, and I would presume Newfound Gap Road, on the list. (Link)

Which is odd, because they're encouraging and allowing outdoor recreation and drives. Some communities here are doing "bear hunts" where families are being urged to drive around and spot stuffed animals in windows of residences, offices, and businesses.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Key West is going into lockdown with non-residents banned, so I assume US 1 will be closed to non-residents possibly with some kind of staffed checkpoint.

Monroe County usually gives you a resident card or essential personnel badge.  I had to get one a couple years back when I ran security at a place in Key West in prep for a hurricane.  It's really easy to turn people around at Florida City at the split between US 1 and Card Sound Road.

This appears to indeed be the plan. Checkpoints will be established  on US 1 at MM 112.5 as well as on FL 905.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article241462451.html

[Max Rockatansky]

Key West is going into lockdown with non-residents banned, so I assume US 1 will be closed to non-residents possibly with some kind of staffed checkpoint.

Monroe County usually gives you a resident card or essential personnel badge.  I had to get one a couple years back when I ran security at a place in Key West in prep for a hurricane.  It's really easy to turn people around at Florida City at the split between US 1 and Card Sound Road.

This appears to indeed be the plan. Checkpoints will be established  on US 1 at MM 112.5 as well as on FL 905.

https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article241462451.html

Heh...I still have my hurricane card somewhere in the garage and wouldn't mind camping on parts of former FL 4A.  Too bad I'm 2,400 miles away at the moment. 

[ftballfan]

The two counties mentioned (Monroe FL and Dare NC) have plenty of experience setting up checkpoints, mostly for hurricanes.

Washington DC has shut down most roads south of Constitution Ave and west of 14th St, including the Arlington Memorial Bridge, during daylight hours in order to keep people from congregating near the cherry blossom trees. However, I think more roads in Washington DC close during government shutdowns than right now

[Mergingtraffic]

Some rest areas and service plazas in PA were closed. But then truckers need places to eat and sleep as well so I think they reopened them.

[kphoger]

Right now Washington's governor is using road usage statistics to support the supposition that we're not being socially distant enough.  If you go for a drive and don't get out of your car near others, what's the harm?

How many people do that, though?  Most people are driving to get somewhere, not to see the road.  Unless some people have started driving for the sake of seeing something that isn't their house, it's pretty much just us.

Anyone who's going to work at an essential business (allowed), to the grocery store (allowed), to get a drive-through meal (allowed), to go to a park for exercise (allowed), to fill up with gas after having done all of those other allowed activities (allowed)...........

[webny99]

Right now Washington's governor is using road usage statistics to support the supposition that we're not being socially distant enough.  If you go for a drive and don't get out of your car near others, what's the harm?

How many people do that, though?  Most people are driving to get somewhere, not to see the road.  Unless some people have started driving for the sake of seeing something that isn't their house, it's pretty much just us.

Anyone who's going to work at an essential business (allowed), to the grocery store (allowed), to get a drive-through meal (allowed), to go to a park for exercise (allowed), to fill up with gas after having done all of those other allowed activities (allowed)...........

I think the point was that us roadgeeks are the only ones that would drive somewhere just for the sake of it, not that we would be the only ones on the road (which clearly isn't the case due to the reasons you just outlined).

[TheHighwayMan3561]

"Going for a drive"  is also expressly permitted in some jurisdictions as a sanity activity. However, I'm not sure if it can be pursued as a secondary violation if you get stopped for speeding/seat belt/whatever and you're far from home or have no particular destination.

[Max Rockatansky]

"Going for a drive"  is also expressly permitted in some jurisdictions as a sanity activity. However, I'm not sure if it can be pursued as a secondary violation if you get stopped for speeding/seat belt/whatever and you're far from home or have no particular destination.

Caltrans District 6 is actually promoting going for a drive as a way to stave off cabin fever.

[RobbieL2415]

"Going for a drive"  is also expressly permitted in some jurisdictions as a sanity activity. However, I'm not sure if it can be pursued as a secondary violation if you get stopped for speeding/seat belt/whatever and you're far from home or have no particular destination.

This is what I'm getting at.  Unless a state declares martial law and suspends habeus corpus then there's no way to enforce it.

[bandit957]

This is what I'm getting at.  Unless a state declares martial law and suspends habeus corpus then there's no way to enforce it.

Half the states have martial law now.

[RobbieL2415]

This is what I'm getting at.  Unless a state declares martial law and suspends habeus corpus then there's no way to enforce it.

Half the states have martial law now.

No they're not.  Martial would imply the military is being used as law enforcement.

[JoePCool14]

This is what I'm getting at.  Unless a state declares martial law and suspends habeus corpus then there's no way to enforce it.

Half the states have martial law now.

No they're not.  Martial would imply the military is being used as law enforcement.

It's martial law without the military in some parts. Martial law lite essentially. Starting to feel that way from what I've heard from Chicago.

[Max Rockatansky]

This is what I'm getting at.  Unless a state declares martial law and suspends habeus corpus then there's no way to enforce it.

Half the states have martial law now.

No they're not.  Martial would imply the military is being used as law enforcement.

It's martial law without the military in some parts. Martial law lite essentially. Starting to feel that way from what I've heard from Chicago.

Martial Law by definition requires use of the military to enforce order.  If anything the way it was phrased in California as "Social Encouragement"  seems to be the real enforcement people seem to be going with.  You can see examples of it on social media platforms where people who go out and do stuff (okay or not) are usually hammered in the comments. 

[texaskdog]

Right now Washington's governor is using road usage statistics to support the supposition that we're not being socially distant enough.  If you go for a drive and don't get out of your car near others, what's the harm?

How many people do that, though?  Most people are driving to get somewhere, not to see the road.  Unless some people have started driving for the sake of seeing something that isn't their house, it's pretty much just us.

The original intent was not to gather in groups of 10 or more.  Some people interpret this into not leaving your house, which is unacceptable.

[Bruce]

WSDOT is delaying work on clearing snow over SR 20 and some other closed pass routes, so I guess that counts.

The original intent was not to gather in groups of 10 or more.  Some people interpret this into not leaving your house, which is unacceptable.

You should not be leaving your home unless it's for essential work, grocery shopping (kept to a bare minimum in terms of frequency and number of stores), and exercise while practicing social distancing. Doing otherwise puts the entire community in danger.

[Max Rockatansky]

WSDOT is delaying work on clearing snow over SR 20 and some other closed pass routes, so I guess that counts.

The original intent was not to gather in groups of 10 or more.  Some people interpret this into not leaving your house, which is unacceptable.

You should not be leaving your home unless it's for essential work, grocery shopping (kept to a bare minimum in terms of frequency and number of stores), and exercise while practicing social distancing. Doing otherwise puts the entire community in danger.

Kind of case and point example of what I was referring to in my previous post about "Social Encouragement"  being as a quasi-enforcement methodology for Stay-at-home orders. 

When does work on reopening the North Cascades Highway usually start anyways?  I know there has been a couple years when it hasn't closed at all given low snow totals.  I drove it once in early 2015 and there was barely even snow at 5,000 feet above sea level. 

[bandit957]

I only leave the home when poo.

[RobbieL2415]

WSDOT is delaying work on clearing snow over SR 20 and some other closed pass routes, so I guess that counts.

The original intent was not to gather in groups of 10 or more.  Some people interpret this into not leaving your house, which is unacceptable.

You should not be leaving your home unless it's for essential work, grocery shopping (kept to a bare minimum in terms of frequency and number of stores), and exercise while practicing social distancing. Doing otherwise puts the entire community in danger.

Not if you're by yourself driving for the sake of driving.  No state has really taken up that issue.

[Max Rockatansky]

WSDOT is delaying work on clearing snow over SR 20 and some other closed pass routes, so I guess that counts.

The original intent was not to gather in groups of 10 or more.  Some people interpret this into not leaving your house, which is unacceptable.

You should not be leaving your home unless it's for essential work, grocery shopping (kept to a bare minimum in terms of frequency and number of stores), and exercise while practicing social distancing. Doing otherwise puts the entire community in danger.

Not if you're by yourself driving for the sake of driving.  No state has really taken up that issue.

I've seen people take issue with it plenty (I mean literally people and not government officials) on road related Facebook pages.  Amusingly Caltrans District 6 recommended going for a drive as a way to stave off boredom on their Facebook page. 

https://www.facebook.com/593909824019105/posts/2897747980301933/?d=n

The irony for me is that I didn't have anything really planned until Late April.  All these people telling others not to do things (including driving) has only made me think about it more and given me ideas that I probably wouldn't have thought of otherwise.  If I happen to find myself in a one-lane Forest Service Road in the short term it's probably because I was reminded about it on a Facebook group.  I can always guarantee total isolation (far beyond social) on a nice remote roadway that nobody really knows about. 

[webny99]

I only leave the home when poo.

Well, I hope your local stores have TP in stock for you 

[Max Rockatansky]

I only leave the home when poo.

Well, I hope your local stores have TP in stock 

They should bring back splintered TP so people have a poor man's option that won't fly off the shelf in emergency situations. 

[vdeane]

You should not be leaving your home unless it's for essential work, grocery shopping (kept to a bare minimum in terms of frequency and number of stores), and exercise while practicing social distancing. Doing otherwise puts the entire community in danger.

If they want people to keep frequency and number of stores to a minimum, they're going to have to bring back ration coupons in order to keep the shelves from being picked clean.  While I was able to do a lot more of my grocery shopping at Hannaford this week than in the prior two, it still wasn't everything.  That would also enable the stores to close later (since there wouldn't be as much to restock), enabling greater social distancing.

[kphoger]

Well, I hope your local stores have TP in stock for you 

We joked with people that we would bring packages of TP back from Mexico last week, because there was no shortage of it there.  I'm sure we would have, too, if only we'd had any spare room in the vehicle.  But, no, we had seven people in a seven-passenger vehicle, plus luggage and supplies (albeit with a rooftop cargo box).

At a Valero gas station on the west side of Wichita Falls (TX) on the way back, I even did a double-take when I saw a lady walking out of the convenience store with two bags of TP rolls.  I came really close to going back in and buying some.

Our family is still flush with TP, having stocked up right before it started disappearing from the shelves.  But I'm sure there are plenty of people we know who aren't so fortunate.