Message Boards and Roadwork Communication

Drivers need to understand a work zone before they reach it. Changeable message signs and arrow boards do that job when they carry the right message at the right distance.

A work zone works only if approaching drivers know what to do. Message boards give crews a way to tell them, from a lane shift ahead to a hard closure a mile out. Two tools cover most of that communication: arrow boards and changeable message signs.

Arrow boards

An arrow board points traffic away from a closed lane. They come in 15-lamp and 25-lamp panels, with the larger board readable from farther back and in brighter daylight. The arrow board is a directive tool: it tells drivers which way to move, not why.

Changeable message signs

A changeable message sign, also called a CMS, shows text that the crew sets for the situation. That flexibility lets you explain the reason for a slowdown, warn of a merge, or post a detour. Where an arrow board only points, a CMS can spell out the specifics.

• Use arrow boards to redirect traffic out of a closed lane
• Use a CMS for context: reason, distance, and expected delay
• Place boards far enough upstream that drivers can react before the taper
• Keep messages short so they read at speed