Use Exit nn

[lepidopteran]

Harvey's Hamburgers and Hat Factory

USE EXIT 65

What does it mean when a BGS, usually on the side rather than overhead, tells you to "USE" Exit n to get to a popular destination, rather than just say "NEXT RIGHT" for example?  My theory is that you're told to "use" a particular exit when there are other ways of getting there, but this one is the most desirable.  So in the above example, Exit 62 will get you to Harvey's, but it will take you through too many traffic signals, while Exit 68 might send you backtracking in a residential neighborhood (and folks wrote to the state highway department that tourists were making too many driveway U-turns and asking "How do I get to Harvey's"?)

[jeffandnicole]

If the sign was located prior to Exit 62, it's probably stating there is a better way to get there, whether it be Exit 65 is a wider or more direct roadway, or Exit 62 has limitations that may prohibit certain traffic or a large amount of traffic from using the roadway.

If the sign is just before Exit 65, then there probably isn't any hidden meaning, and the sign is just specifically saying Use Exit 65 to get to the Hamburger & Hat Factory.

[vdeane]

Usually a common destination as well as the best exit to use to get there.  I-81 north in NY has "Fort Drum - use exit 48A" ("use exit 48A" being green-out over the older "use exit 48").

[briantroutman]

My theory is that you're told to "use" a particular exit when there are other ways of getting there, but this one is the most desirable.

I think you're right for the most part. In my experience, "USE" is typically used when the best exit choice is unclear or counterintuitive. For example, if you're driving east to Fairvale State College and see signs for "EXIT 33 - Fairvale", you'd probably assume that you should exit there. But let's say the college is actually on the east side of town on SR 42 (Exit 37)–which has a control city of Anytown and doesn't mention "Fairvale" anywhere on its guide signs. So in the sequence of guide signs leading up to Exit 33, you might see a sign that says "Fairvale State College - USE EXIT 37".

[roadman]

"USE EXIT XX" is also common when the recommended exit is before an exit that has been reconfigured or removed, thus making access from that exit impossible.

A local example of this is the "To 1 North Use Exit 28" sign on I-93 south in Somerville MA.  Between 1973 and early 2008 1988, there was a direct access ramp from I-93 south to US 1 north in Charlestown (Exit 27).  As this ramp was removed in early 2008 1990 as part of the preliminary construction for the Big Dig, it was necessary to inform drivers that they had to get off at the previous exit for US 1.

[NE2]

Between 1973 and early 2008, there was a direct access ramp from I-93 south to US 1 north in Charlestown (Exit 27).  As this ramp was removed in early 2008 as part of the preliminary construction for the Big Dig, it was necessary to inform drivers that they had to get off at the previous exit for US 1.

This ramp was removed in about 1990 as part of the Central Artery North Area project. The reverse ramp from US 1 south to I-93 north did survive until the Big Dig.

Here's a 1988 video I just found that shows it closed (with the recently-built but closed HOV lane blocking access):

[roadman]

NE2 is correct on the date for the US 1 ramp closure.  My brain said 1988, but my hands typed 2008.  Original post has been corrected.