Road Work Ahead Signs

[Georgia Guardrail]

Why do construction crews always take forever to take down orange road work ahead signs after a road project is completed?  There is a project in my vicinity (bridge replacement) that has been confirmed done for several months and the orange road work sign is still there.

[pderocco]

Steal it.

[GaryV]

There is a project in my vicinity (bridge replacement) that has been confirmed done for several months and the orange road work sign is still there.

Are they still enforcing a lower speed limit?

I hate it when they have signs 3, 2, 1 miles ahead warning of a lane closure, then when you get there, nothing.

[Rothman]

I'm finding this frustrating phenomenon becoming more frequent.  DOT EICs are slacking, I figure.

[hbelkins]

Why do construction crews always take forever to take down orange road work ahead signs after a road project is completed?  There is a project in my vicinity (bridge replacement) that has been confirmed done for several months and the orange road work sign is still there.

The project may not be officially closed out. They might be waiting for the "punch list" items to be checked off before they take the signs down.

[Bitmapped]

Why do construction crews always take forever to take down orange road work ahead signs after a road project is completed?  There is a project in my vicinity (bridge replacement) that has been confirmed done for several months and the orange road work sign is still there.

The project may not be officially closed out. They might be waiting for the "punch list" items to be checked off before they take the signs down.

This happens in WV. There was a dispute between WVDOH and the contractor that reconstructed I-79 from Exit 155 to the PA state line that dragged on for years. Road Work Ahead signed and Work Zone Speed Limit signage remained up from when the project started in late 2017 until late 2023 when the contractor finally fixed the superelevation on several sections to the state's satisfaction.

[fillup420]

these signs have been there for at least the 6 years i've lived in the area, and no road work has ever been occuring on that section of I-540, where this ramp leads to.

[GaryV]

I came across a pair of "overlapping" construction zones on I-75 in Michigan. The "Road Work Ahead" sign for the next zone was immediately followed by "End Road Work" for the previous section.

I understand why the zones are posted separately - because one might be on a different schedule than the other and could get done first. But can't they coordinate it so the signs don't overlap?

[CtrlAltDel]

Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone know when Road Construction Ahead signs started to be replaced with Road Work Ahead signs?

[Big John]

Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone know when Road Construction Ahead signs started to be replaced with Road Work Ahead signs?

early 1990s from the 1988 edition.

[CtrlAltDel]

Just out of idle curiosity, does anyone know when Road Construction Ahead signs started to be replaced with Road Work Ahead signs?

early 1990s from the 1988 edition.

Merci.

[epzik8]

Same problem exists with new traffic light signs in Maryland.

[wanderer2575]

More irritating to me than the "Road Work Ahead" signs are when signs indicating closures remain up and uncovered long after the ramp or road reopens.  A recent example in Detroit was a long-term closure of the ramp from wbd I-94 to both directions of I-96, and a number of signs indicating this and "Use Alternate Route" went up on other freeways.  It was some months after the ramp reopened before the signs were finally covered.

AND ANOTHER GRIPE, particularly on non-freeways:  When roadwork signs are put up in advance and covered, and then come time to uncover them the sign crews leave the covers on the ground, resulting in splotches of dead grass all over.  Would it have been a dealbreaker to throw the damn covers in the back of the truck and then bring them out again when the project is done and it's time to cover the signs again until they're removed?

[Amaury]

We have some remnant roadwork related signs still standing ourselves, at least near Ellensburg where I live. I don't remember what the projects were, but...

These ones are on eastbound Interstate 90, just past milepost 94: https://maps.app.goo.gl/MUd3L2DJvQAbg7hn9 They have been there since the previous capture in October 2022, but likely longer. They were not there in the November 2021 capture before that one. And likewise, the westbound counterparts, just past milepost 103: https://maps.app.goo.gl/8eJhnKPTZziByV2MA

This one is on eastbound Interstate 90, just past Exit 101 and milepost 101 at the end of the on-ramp: https://maps.app.goo.gl/YJ3EyZrr8w5dz9E79 Like the above, it has been there since the previous capture in October 2022, but likely longer. It was not there in the November 2021 capture before that one.

I actually find this one funny, which is related to the above. On westbound Interstate 90, there was a work zone that ended by milepost 102, as seen here in this June 2019 capture, where the speed limit goes back up to normal: https://maps.app.goo.gl/bJjRDqXv2JnoAhnA9 And, as seen by the orange stickers on the backs of the signs, they were temporary roadwork signs: https://maps.app.goo.gl/9cjiQQZvHEHUjNC89

They took those speed limit signs down, since the work zone speed of 60 MPH no longer applies, except for this lone one: https://maps.app.goo.gl/vqVvnsx5ua2dt3LD9 They even took the trucks one below it, but not the whole post for some reason. It's like this in the November 2021 and September 2022 captures.

Something caused the post to break, as seen in the July 2023 capture here: https://maps.app.goo.gl/FDhm4bkg297VFXP77 And now it's been "repaired" and is standing again as of sometime in April, confirmed by me. This is one sign that didn't need to be "repaired," as it was a temporary sign, as seen by the orange sticker on the back: https://maps.app.goo.gl/QAeeuY1pQEkca5dK9

I could kind of sort of understand if they took away the post with the signs on the right side of the freeway and left the one on the left side of the freeway, but they went to the trouble of taking off the Trucks 60 sign, but left the Speed Limit 70 sign rather than taking that whole post down, too? That has me really perplexed.

[PColumbus73]

Is there research into the effect of lingering construction signage in the absence of work and the effectiveness of signage?

If the bulk of construction work is complete and the remaining punch list items are minor, or they're waiting for stabilization, then I think signage could start coming down and the work zone can transition into mobile operations to fix minor issues. If there is a serious issue that needs to be fixed, then signage would go up again on the contractor's time and expense.

If signage has to stay up even though there is no activity, I get the impression that it would condition drivers to ignore the signage, contributing to work zone crashes.