http://www.democratandchronicle.com/...utes/78677122/
Have you been wondering what the new signs appearing along local roadways that read "Emergency Detour F" or "Emergency Detour E" mean to you and why they're being installed?
Well, wonder no more.
The New York state Thruway Authority has been installing the signs as part of an initiative to let motorists know how to get around the Thruway in the event of road closures due to extreme weather or other emergency situations.
The detours, which offer routes to bypass the entire Thruway system, divert traffic back onto state and local roadways and were developed in conjunction with state and local partners, according to the Thruway Authority.
Signs designating the detours were installed recently in the greater Rochester area, as well as in the Syracuse and Buffalo regions.
"Our goal is to quickly direct traffic to an alternate route when road conditions necessitate it," said Shane Mahar, agency spokesman.
Detour Route E bypasses the Thruway from Exit 45 at Rochester/Victor to Interstate 490 to Exit 51, Buffalo-Route 33-Airport. For westbound traffic, the route diverts drivers from the Thruway to Interstate 490 west, to Route 33 west in Bergen, Genesee County, and from there to Route 5 west, Route 77 south, Route 33 west again and back to the Thruway at Exit 51. Detour Route F is the same route, but in reverse order headed eastbound.
The Thruway Authority didn't mention any particular incident leading to creation of the new detour routes, but in November 2014 during significant storms near Buffalo hundreds of motorists were stranded when a 132-mile stretch of the highway was closed.