Agency installs ‘wrong way’ overhead signs along stretch of I-17
Nov 21, 2017, 1:16 PM
(Arizona Department of Transportation Photo)
PHOENIX — Signs warning drivers they’re going the wrong way have been installed along a nearly 15-mile stretch of Interstate 17 in Phoenix.
In a Tuesday email, the Arizona Department of Transportation said the signs were put up on bridges and other structures between the Loop 101 and Interstate 10 exchanges.
ADOT installed 26 of the bright red signs, which are 8 feet by 5 feet, facing oncoming traffic on the freeway. They were mounted above the left lanes because wrong-way drivers typically drive in those the most.
The same stretch of I-17 will soon be monitored by a wrong-way driver detection system.
The system will use cameras placed one mile apart to spot people driving on the wrong side of the freeway. When a driver is spotted, the system will issue warning signs for other drivers and alert law enforcement.
The system was expected to undergo testing and be operational next year.
Crews have also added larger, lowered wrong way signs, red reflectors, white arrows to indicate the correct travel direction and signs that flash when a wrong-way driver is detected.
Wrong-way drivers have become a major issue on Valley freeways. More than 740 had been reported by July.
The Arizona Department of Public Safety said a majority of wrong-way drivers were impaired.