Posted: 10/2/2011 11:19:07 PM EDT
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What is the deal with the crossing gates on the ramps getting onto the interstate? I have seen them and have been wondering what the heck they have them there for? Just to shut down a ramp in case of a bad accident? If so then that is kind of a waste of equipment as they are probably not used often.
Anyone? |
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I've seen these popping up over the last few years, so here's my take:
Never before have I ever seen or heard of our highways being closed to due "snow emergencies". You either drive in the weather or you don't. You either make it through or you end up another idiot in the ditch. Also, in the event of a HAZMAT spill or something similar (pile-up comes to mind), I would think they would post LE at certain on-ramps to prevent traffic from getting on that stretch. I doubt they would just drop the gates if they were really determined to keep people off the road. With the current trends today regarding terrorism, threats to freedom stemming from our own government, and the decline of government services due to cutbacks, I can definitely see a use for these gates in the near future. Should the powers that be decree that movement be restriced for "safety" reasons on certain sections of highway, simply drop the gates, and route traffic the way they want it to go. I could also see a scenario where the .gov doesn't have the funds to plow/maintain highways anymore, and secures them from further use for a while......oh, and they're not going to risk having to fish your sorry ass out of the ditch either, so down go the gates. Flame away if you think it's tin-foil, but I personally can't see a valid or legitimate reason to have these posted at every ramp. We didn't need them before, why the need now? And why haven't they been utilized yet? |
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I've seen these popping up over the last few years, so here's my take: Never before have I ever seen or heard of our highways being closed to due "snow emergencies". You either drive in the weather or you don't. You either make it through or you end up another idiot in the ditch.......Flame away if you think it's tin-foil, but I personally can't see a valid or legitimate reason to have these posted at every ramp. We didn't need them before, why the need now? And why haven't they been utilized yet? Tin-foil hattery... 
Here in WI highways have been closed due to winter weather LONG before 9/11. |
| Not sure what they look like, as there's no such thing up north. But it sounds like traffic flow control gates that have been in use on Chicago's expressways for decades. Their use is to slow down the traffic entering the expressways during peak rush hours. The gates go up & down, only allowing one vehicle per so many seconds to enter the on ramp, and this keeps the traffic flowing by limiting the amount of vehicles that enter the "flow". |
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They're to shut down the road in case of bad weather. A partial result of the fiasco around Rock/Dane county a few years ago, where people were trapped on the interstate for ~8 hours in a blizzard. IIRC, someone suggested shutting down the road, and DOT said, "We don't shut down roads." And then ended up with a hell of a lot of egg on their face.
Edit: Except for Murooka. Any gates they install by him are to herd him to the FEMA camps.
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Quoted: Also, in the event of a HAZMAT spill or something similar (pile-up comes to mind), I would think they would post LE at certain on-ramps to prevent traffic from getting on that stretch. I doubt they would just drop the gates if they were really determined to keep people off the road. The department I used to work for we had ~20ish some miles of interstate, two cops, and 5 on/off ramps (10 total if you count both east and westbound) that math just doesn't work out. We've been asking for them for years, and DOT is apparently finally listening. If you go out west they have those gates everywhere. It's a brilliant. Weather gets too crappy you just drop the gates and don't let people on the interstate. Fewer accidents, and far less wasted resources pulling people out of the ditch in the middle of a snowstorm. |
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Also, in the event of a HAZMAT spill or something similar (pile-up comes to mind), I would think they would post LE at certain on-ramps to prevent traffic from getting on that stretch. I doubt they would just drop the gates if they were really determined to keep people off the road. The department I used to work for we had ~20ish some miles of interstate, two cops, and 5 on/off ramps (10 total if you count both east and westbound) that math just doesn't work out. We've been asking for them for years, and DOT is apparently finally listening. If you go out west they have those gates everywhere. It's a brilliant. Weather gets too crappy you just drop the gates and don't let people on the interstate. Fewer accidents, and far less wasted resources pulling people out of the ditch in the middle of a snowstorm. So instead of the highway the people end up having to use side roads to get home or to where they have to go? Is that really any safer? |
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Quoted:So instead of the highway the people end up having to use side roads to get home or to where they have to go? Is that really any safer?
The point is to keep you off of the roads so that you will eventually get home instead of earning a Darwin award and becoming an organ donor. |
| They put some in by us too. We (the local fire departments) were trained to use them as well. Like already said, they can be for weather, accidents, fire, HAZMAT, anything we might need to close the interstate down for. We've also gotten fixed message boards and DOT cameras when they did the local bridge projects and installed the gates. |
| Well for those that haven't seen them or have no idea. these things are almost identical to the normal RR crossing gates. You would think that if they wanted to shut the road down they would put something up a tad more sturdy though, those RR arms get broke very easily. |
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I've seen them in use in Eau Claire on I94 during an accident.
If they're for weather, then I don't care about them. The way I see it, is if it's bad enough to close the interstate, and I'm out in it trying to be somewhere else, then I'm both A) in dire enough need to travel that I'm going to go around the gate and B) capable of doing so (since I got that far already.) |
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Quoted:So instead of the highway the people end up having to use side roads to get home or to where they have to go? Is that really any safer?
The point is to keep you off of the roads so that you will eventually get home instead of earning a Darwin award and becoming an organ donor. Some of us are MANDATED by the state to respond due to our jobs, others have to get home from work or elsewhere, closing the highway is a foolish thing to do. |
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...Some of us are MANDATED by the state to respond due to our jobs, others have to get home from work or elsewhere, closing the highway is a foolish thing to do. You had best have a large tired 4wd vehicle and live close to work then...  Seriously, it is not that difficult to plan ahead so that you do not have to travel during the worst of conditions.
If the highways are not closed then LEO have to put their lives at risk responding to the inevitable Darwin Award candidates having accidents... Unfortunately you have to pay for their stupidity... |
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Quoted: Quoted: ...Some of us are MANDATED by the state to respond due to our jobs, others have to get home from work or elsewhere, closing the highway is a foolish thing to do. You had best have a large tired 4wd vehicle and live close to work then... Seriously, it is not that difficult to plan ahead so that you do not have to travel during the worst of conditions. If the highways are not closed then LEO have to put their lives at risk responding to the inevitable Darwin Award candidates having accidents... Unfortunately you have to pay for their stupidity... I don't necessarily care about having to respond to the crashes. That's a given, and part of the job. However, if you guys had ANY idea the amount of people from out of state/out of town that don't know enough to stop for the night when we're getting record snowfalls you would be astounded. In my opinion that's what those gates are trying to prevent. Get the people that are just trying to "pass through" off the road and keep them off. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted:So instead of the highway the people end up having to use side roads to get home or to where they have to go? Is that really any safer? The point is to keep you off of the roads so that you will eventually get home instead of earning a Darwin award and becoming an organ donor. Some of us are MANDATED by the state to respond due to our jobs, others have to get home from work or elsewhere, closing the highway is a foolish thing to do. If When it gets bad enough that they stop plowing the interstate and close the gates due to 8' snow drifts, I don't think you are making it into work unless it is by snowmobile. |
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Quoted:So instead of the highway the people end up having to use side roads to get home or to where they have to go? Is that really any safer?
The point is to keep you off of the roads so that you will eventually get home instead of earning a Darwin award and becoming an organ donor. Some of us are MANDATED by the state to respond due to our jobs, others have to get home from work or elsewhere, closing the highway is a foolish thing to do. And when the Freeway is at a standstill because of a crash or incident further up, wouldn't you appreciate the gates preventing you from getting on in the first place and being a part of the traffic backup? Some of us are mandated to deal with the situation that is there, and we really get tired of all the extra traffic that just can't follow simple directions in the first place. The gates are there for very good reasons, and get used for times that make sense. The State Patrol and DOT hate to close freeways, and when they do, they are DAMN good reasons to stay off. |
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So after reading all the responses, some of which I assume come from DOT workers (or at least those who work on the highway), what part exactly about my assessment of these gates have I been wrong about?
Though I have to admit I've never seen them used, I'm obviously wrong about them not having been used in the past. Perhaps I'm just too much of a freedom orientated individual when I want the govt. to butt-out of my ability to move about freely. And I know I'm a cold hearted bastard when I say let those who deserve Darwin awards collect them. <––––––-Not a fan of herd mentality or being herded in general. Nanny states suck. |
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So after reading all the responses, some of which I assume come from DOT workers (or at least those who work on the highway), what part exactly about my assessment of these gates have I been wrong about? Though I have to admit I've never seen them used, I'm obviously wrong about them not having been used in the past. Perhaps I'm just too much of a freedom orientated individual when I want the govt. to butt-out of my ability to move about freely. And I know I'm a cold hearted bastard when I say let those who deserve Darwin awards collect them. <––––––-Not a fan of herd mentality or being herded in general. Nanny states suck. You want to move about freely? Fine. Take State highways. Take County Highways. You don't have the right to continue to endanger rescue workers, maintenance workers, and other workers that either are dealing with incidents on the freeway or have reached a point where it's too dangerous for them to either remain there (Plowing, etc...) or they repeatedly need to risk their own lives to try and reach those that don't have the common sense to know when to get off the road. If you would research into the gates, you'll find that DOT or WSP does not take closing a Freeway lightly. Even one lane closed during a traffic crash is forced open as soon as possible. You need to get off your high horse on this one, because you're making a mountain out of a molehill. It's not a conspiracy to limit your freedom. Take off the tinfoil. |
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So after reading all the responses, some of which I assume come from DOT workers (or at least those who work on the highway), what part exactly about my assessment of these gates have I been wrong about? Though I have to admit I've never seen them used, I'm obviously wrong about them not having been used in the past. Perhaps I'm just too much of a freedom orientated individual when I want the govt. to butt-out of my ability to move about freely. And I know I'm a cold hearted bastard when I say let those who deserve Darwin awards collect them. <––––––-Not a fan of herd mentality or being herded in general. Nanny states suck. You want to move about freely? Fine. Take State highways. Take County Highways. You don't have the right to continue to endanger rescue workers, maintenance workers, and other workers that either are dealing with incidents on the freeway or have reached a point where it's too dangerous for them to either remain there (Plowing, etc...) or they repeatedly need to risk their own lives to try and reach those that don't have the common sense to know when to get off the road. If you would research into the gates, you'll find that DOT or WSP does not take closing a Freeway lightly. Even one lane closed during a traffic crash is forced open as soon as possible. You need to get off your high horse on this one, because you're making a mountain out of a molehill. It's not a conspiracy to limit your freedom. Take off the tinfoil. Oh, so now I'm a danger to highway workers? That's rich. Along with my "right" to endanger them, as you've insinuated. You must have me confused with clueless or reckless drivers, for I am neither. Your overgeneralizaion indicates that perhaps you should think about dismounting your horse. Amazing how many in this forum seem to think too much freedom and mistrust of the government is dangerous thinking. Moo. 
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Oh, so now I'm a danger to highway workers? That's rich. Along with my "right" to endanger them, as you've insinuated. You must have me confused with clueless or reckless drivers, for I am neither. Your overgeneralizaion indicates that perhaps you should think about dismounting your horse. Amazing how many in this forum seem to think too much freedom and mistrust of the government is dangerous thinking. Moo. The driver's that aren't reckless in those situations are not the ones saying that they can make it. The truly experienced drivers know when it is not safe to be on that stretch of road, stay off it and find another route, or recognize conditions are such that travel is not wise and are home or parked. They also don't care to be around other drivers whose skills are unknown. Or go around to another ramp to avoid the issue that closed them at that section in the first place. Those that bark loudly about being able to travel, that they can make it, usually are whimpering pretty good when rescue crews or tow trucks come. What I hate is that common sense isn't common, and those personnel are risking their lives for someone else's lack of it, ignorance, ego, and machismo. When the gates are shut and the freeways are shut down, it is a safety issue, and one not taken lightly at all. Basically, you don't know what you don't know. The overgeneralization is on you from the tin foil that it's to limit your freedom and travel. Seriously, if I needed to travel under the conditions you hint, the Interstate system is the last place I'd drive. Look on a map, and if you really have to get someplace, there are a ton of roads that parallel the Interstates you could also travel that won't be affected quite the same. A good way to put it visually is to look back to an old episode of I Love Lucy when she was working in the candy factory on a line. Things were going fine and she was keeping pace. Then something happened, and she was trying to catch up and deal with those, but the line kept coming, faster and faster and more and more were falling off. That's your Interstate during a crash or other incidnt, and it's really nice to be able to shut the line down in a section when it's that bad to get it cleared out and safe for everyone. But according to you, that's an infirngement of your rights. I got news for you...World doesn't revolve around YOUR individual right to travel. Meaning you aren't going to be let through, merely because YOU'RE the one being inconvenienced. Liberty does not equal Convenience. |
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Moo. http://i54.tinypic.com/2mqvv4h.jpg "That's what your mother said last night!" lol...j/k. As for the rest of the argument, don't you know that big brother knows best? How dare you question him.... Are Volunteer Fire Departments considered to be Big Brother now? Because they generally are the ones requesting the Interstates to get shut down. And the DOT and State Patrol are the ones hurrying them up to get it re-opened. Just saying.... |
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Liberty does not equal Convenience. Liberty does mean the right to make your own decision, determinations, and if done poorly, means the right to suffer the consequences. I don't have an issue with closing a highway for an accident, where further travel puts lives at risk. I do have issue with closing a road due to a perceived threat. Then again, I have no problem with letting idiots freeze to death on the side of the road because they were moronic enough to think that their honda civic would plow through 5 foot drifts. People need to be held accountable for their actions. |
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Liberty does not equal Convenience. Liberty does mean the right to make your own decision, determinations, and if done poorly, means the right to suffer the consequences. I don't have an issue with closing a highway for an accident, where further travel puts lives at risk. I do have issue with closing a road due to a perceived threat. Then again, I have no problem with letting idiots freeze to death on the side of the road because they were moronic enough to think that their honda civic would plow through 5 foot drifts. People need to be held accountable for their actions. I would love to have more people held accountable for their actions. However, what happens all too often is that Someone's actions does not affect JUST them. You may be the one affected from their decision. And no matter what happens, the Hwy Crews and Emergency Personnel have the sense of Duty when it comes to responding. Those are also the ones affected. They don't get the choice to just sit back and let someone suffer consequences. The gates are not installed or meant for perceived threats. They are shut down ONLY when something has happened. Like the snowplows are also getting stuck and can't make it. Which means no one will make it. Yup, time to close that stretch of road. Seriously, the State absolutely hates to shut down any lanes of a Interstate. Once shut down, there is lots of pressure to get it re-opened. Someone puts up a sign on a closed gate to a town you are approaching that says Do Not Enter-Plague Quarantine. You will die if you do. Would you recognize, Hey, I may want to make a decision for a different route to still accomplish where I am going, or would you say I will make my own decision if this is a danger to me and enter? The gates are pretty much saying, travel on this stretch is not a good idea. Find a different way for now. |
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Someone puts up a sign on a closed gate to a town you are approaching that says Do Not Enter-Plague Quarantine. You will die if you do. Would you recognize, Hey, I may want to make a decision for a different route to still accomplish where I am going, or would you say I will make my own decision if this is a danger to me and enter? I will consider the threat before me, and make an informed decision. If it is a situation that I clearly know nothing about, I'm not going near it. I don't doubt that the highway department takes every precaution to try to avoid having to close a highway. I also know that in this nanny state government, everyone is worried about liability, and being sued. So the err is always on the side of caution. Sometimes rightfully so, many times not. I have never yet gone around a closed highway barricade. I spent 5 years in North Dakota. They don't fuck around out there. If you get stranded, you may be there for a few days, and/or a week or more before someone finds you. Last winter we had a trip planned out there, but at the last minute, I decided not to due to weather. It was a good call....there was a 100 car pile up just outside Fargo, and I would have been stranded for about a week. |