State uses I-95 signs to warn of Trump-related road closures
Agencies working to try to minimize traffic disruptions.
“NB A1A CLOSED AT MAR-ALAGO,” the sign warned. “EXPECT DELAYS.”
Call it a sign of the times: The Florida Department of Transportation displayed this message on its electronic boards along Interstate 95 and on Southern Boulevard near West Palm Beach during President Donald Trump’s most recent visit to his Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach.
They’re part of a joint effort among local law enforcement, the county and the Secret Service to help manage traffic when Trump is town.
“The message was coordinated with Palm Beach County Sheriff ’s Office due to the road closure at A1A,” said FDOT spokesman Chuck McGinness.
When Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, the Secret Service requires South Ocean Boulevard to be closed from South County Road to Southern Boulevard, effectively blocking off the Southern Boulevard bridge from use by residents who live to the north of Trump’s estate.
That leads to bottlenecks elsewhere on the island as drivers detour to the Royal Park or Flagler Memorial bridges.
The signs are just one way FDOT From traffic troubles to transportation trends, Kristina Webb will help you get around, whether you’re on a highway, roadway or runway. Find her reports in The Palm Beach Post. Send your tips and traffic woes to her at kwebb@pbpost.com
is helping manage traffic on and near the island.
McGinness said the agency’s consultants also help monitor traffic cameras and detour routes, and monitor any traffic-signal timing issues that need to be addressed.
And yes, residents can expect to see the signs in the future when the president is here.
‘Shields’ on the road
If you use I-95 for your commute each day in Palm Beach County, you might have noticed a colorful new feature on some of the entrance ramps.
The Florida Department of Transportation is adding “shields” — red-and-blue highway logos with the highway direction painted in bold, white letters above them — at 17 interchanges throughout the county.
“This project is part of a statewide initiative to eliminate wrongway driving on the interstate,” McGinness said.
There were 1,490 wrong-way crashes in Florida in 2015 — the most recent year available — with 96 deaths, according to the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Palm Beach County led the state in wrongway crash deaths in 2016, with 10 people killed. Miami-Dade and Broward counties tied for second place with seven deaths each.
Each of the shields costs $3,000 to paint, McGinness said, and the number of shields at each interchange varies. For example, there are more at the Belvedere Road interchange than the Lantana Road interchange, because there are more left-turn lanes at Belvedere.
“The shield pavement markings are intended to supplement the overhead signs, which will remain in place, and provide an opportunity to use pavement markings to enhance the guidance of drivers through the interchange,” McGinness said.
The pavement markings are being added to the entrance ramps at Donald Ross Road, Northlake Boulevard, Blue Heron Boulevard, 45th Street, Palm Beach Lakes Boulevard, Belvedere Road, Southern Boulevard, Forest Hill Boulevard, 10th Avenue North, Sixth Avenue South, Lantana Road, Hypoluxo Road, Gateway Boulevard, Boynton Beach Boulevard, Woolbright Road, Linton Boulevard and Palmetto Park Road.