Long Distance Construction Warnings

[Takumi]

Last year on VA 33 I saw construction warnings for its bridge over the Mattaponi River in West Point about 10-15 miles each direction from the area, one on its concurrency with I-64 in western New Kent County and another where it meets US 17.

[deathtopumpkins]

Last year on VA 33 I saw construction warnings for its bridge over the Mattaponi River in West Point about 10-15 miles each direction from the area, one on its concurrency with I-64 in western New Kent County and another where it meets US 17.

That seems to be the norm with York/Mattaponi/Pamunky River crossings. When the Coleman Bridge on 17 was being rebuilt years ago, VDOT put up signs advising motorists to take 33 through West Point, and used both VMSes and "Coleman Connector" shields, many of which are still posted along both 17 and I-64.

[sp_redelectric]

Currently on I-5 in Wilsonville, OR (near the rest area south of town) at MP 280 is a VMS sign for delays on Oregon 58 at MP 56.

Oregon 58 is located at MP 188 so just from the sign to the exit off of I-5 is 92 miles.  Then the actual construction is another 56 miles off of I-5.

The first available detour route would be Oregon 22, at Exit 253 - still 27 miles south of the VMS, followed by U.S. 20 at Exit 233 (47 miles south) and Oregon 34 at Exit 228 (52 miles south).

However, if you get to Oregon 58 and can't take the exit, the next available route is either Oregon 62 or 140 in Medford - Exit 30, quite the distance from Eugene (158 miles south).

[KEK Inc.]

Conversely, there's also states that don't have an "End Road Work" sign, or worse...  a no "End Double Fine Zone"

I swear, in 2009 when ODOT (Oregon) was upgrading many of the bridges along the Rogue River and Umpqua River corridor of I-5, the entire Southern half of the state was a double-fine speed zone.

[jeffandnicole]

In a long distance cross-mode transportation related warning sign, I've seen signs on I-295 in South Jersey warning drivers about delays on NJ Transit's Northeast Corridor trains going into NYC, about 60 - 70 miles away.

[cenlaroads]

This isn't a construction warning, but in November 2007 there was a natural gas fire near Ramah, LA, that forced the closure of I-10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge.  Just a couple of miles south of Ruston, LA, there was an electronic sign on US 167 warning drivers of the road closure and advising them to take US 190.  Lafayette, where drivers would have entered I-10, is over 180 miles from Ruston.  I don't know whether there were any such signs farther north.

[roadman]

Not a construction project, but during the Democratic National Convention in Boston in 2004 (when the Dems shut down I-93 and two of the MBTA's rapid transit lines (Orange and Green Lines) through the heart of Downtown Boston because the convention organizers decided to convert a sports arena (Fleet Center - now TD Garden) to a convention center for less than a week - apparently the then-brand new convention center that had just opened on the other end of town wasn't good enough for the national media), MassHighway had static signs advising of the nightly closures posted on I-93 south in Hooksett, NH, on I-95 south in Portsmouth, NH, and on I-95 north south of Providence RI.

[roadman]

This isn't a construction warning, but in November 2007 there was a natural gas fire near Ramah, LA, that forced the closure of I-10 between Lafayette and Baton Rouge.  Just a couple of miles south of Ruston, LA, there was an electronic sign on US 167 warning drivers of the road closure and advising them to take US 190.  Lafayette, where drivers would have entered I-10, is over 180 miles from Ruston.  I don't know whether there were any such signs farther north.

Reminds me of the time several years ago when there was a serious wreck on I-84 west of Hartford CT that completely closed the road for about four hours.  At one point, MassHighway posted messages on the then-new I-95 overhead VMS boards in Reading and Waltham advising drivers to use alternate routes.

[PHLBOS]

Reminds me of the time several years ago when there was a serious wreck on I-84 west of Hartford CT that completely closed the road for about four hours.  At one point, MassHighway posted messages on the then-new I-95 overhead VMS boards in Reading and Waltham advising drivers to use alternate routes.

Several years back, there was a Garth Brooks concert held in NYC's Central Park.  During the day of the concert, a VMS along I-95 Northbound near the Philadelphia International Airport warned motorists of Heavy Traffic Heading to New York City (concert goers).

[doorknob60]

When they closed the US 97 Columbia River bridge in Biggs a few years back, I saw signs as far away as at least Madras, if not in Bend. Biggs is 136 mi from Bend and 93 mi from Madras. It does make sense though, since it could alter your route significantly (like taking US 197 through Maupin rather than US 97)

[codyg1985]

When the Sherman Minton Bridge was closed (there was construction after all) the message board signs around Indianapolis for months averted traffic to use an alternate way around Louisville, such as I-74 and I-75 for traffic bound for Lexington and Atlanta. Kind of made me wonder if they should have just put up a sign so that the message board signs could be used for other things, or just left off.

I heard (but didn't get to verify) that VMSs in St. Louis, MO warned motorists of the I-64 Sherman Menton Bridge closure in Louisville, some 260 miles away.

[thenetwork]

When they were rebuilding sections of I-75 between Toledo and Detroit in the 80s & 90s, M-DOT would physically install their own construction warning signs on Northbound I-75 approaching I-475/US-23 in Ohio alerting drivers to use US-23 into Michigan to avoid the possible delays.

Depending on where the construction was that year, it could be anywhere from 20 to 70 miles away.

[CentralCAroadgeek]

So going down 101 in the Santa Clara Valley earlier, I saw a VMS southbound saying that you have to expect delays on LA freeways on Sept. 29-30. What's going on down there?

[doorknob60]

So going down 101 in the Santa Clara Valley earlier, I saw a VMS southbound saying that you have to expect delays on LA freeways on Sept. 29-30. What's going on down there?

Carmageddon 2 (closure of the 405)

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2012/08/carmageddon-2-warning-signs.html

[Kniwt]

It's a weather closure, not construction, but the I-5 Grapevine is currently closed, and the VMS's are displaying the warning on Highway 99 in Lodi, about 270 miles away.