Rochester Area Bridge Replacements

[cockroachking]

It's really annoying that they're using a "stay in lane" setup through the whole zone, though.  It's roughly a mile between the shifts - is there seriously a need to block passing for so long?

Because that's what the Standard Sheets (specifically 619-502) call for, and not all designers use their engineering judgement to modify that part on a project-by-project basis. I would personally support broken lines for anything >1/4 mile between shifting tapers, and it would be nice to have a note in the Standard Sheet calling out something similar.

(personal opinion)

[webny99]

Exit 2B on I-590 SB closed for the construction season yesterday, with an easy posted detour via Exit 2A. SB signage has also been patched over to reflect that the right lane will become an exit only lane for Exit 2A, which is great news as it removes the potential traffic concern that the lane reduction would occur before Exit 2A and add to the backups during morning rush hour.

But with SB mirroring the NB configuration with three lanes maintained north of Exit 2, the biggest traffic concern will be how Exit 2A itself holds up to the added traffic. NYSDOT added a second left turn lane last summer, which will help, but how it works in practice remains to be seen.

[vdeane]

Is it just me, or does the 45 zone for the I-590 project start way in advance?  It seems like NY has been signing a lot of work zone speed reductions right on top of the work zone (as in, right at the lane shift, with the reduced speed warning being so close that it's almost as if they're trying to make people get tickets from the speed cameras when they're around; granted, most of those are Thruway, but the I-490 bridges work zone does this too), but this one starts three quarters of a mile away, such that traffic heading SB to Elmwood Ave has to slow down for a stretch even though such traffic doesn't even enter the work zone at all!

[webny99]

Is it just me, or does the 45 zone for the I-590 project start way in advance?  It seems like NY has been signing a lot of work zone speed reductions right on top of the work zone (as in, right at the lane shift, with the reduced speed warning being so close that it's almost as if they're trying to make people get tickets from the speed cameras when they're around; granted, most of those are Thruway, but the I-490 bridges work zone does this too), but this one starts three quarters of a mile away, such that traffic heading SB to Elmwood Ave has to slow down for a stretch even though such traffic doesn't even enter the work zone at all!

Yes, the SB 45 mph zone does start very far in advance, but the NB drop is much closer to the work zone. Ironically, the NB lane shifts are much sharper, so dropping the limit in advance would have been more helpful on that side...

Overall though, the work zone setup is functioning as well as could be expected. SB is basically congestion-proof due to the high volume of traffic exiting at Exits 2-3, and NB is slow in the afternoon but usually contained to the Exit 1 merge.

The bigger ripple-effects actually seem to be north of I-490 - the work zone effectively prevents the usual backups approaching Exit 5, but that being free-flowing seems to make the I-490 merges even worse. It doesn't help that NY 286 is also under construction with EB reduced to one lane, causing backups almost onto the mainline, and traffic using Blossom Rd as an alternate makes the Exit 6 weave worse than usual.