Contraflow lane reversal

There are similar setups with slightly different usages, although the terms may be commonly used interchangeably.

Contraflow Lane: Typically used to refer to a bus lane running against a one-way street through the opposite direction

Contraflow Lane Reversal: Typically used to refer to a temporary setup of a lane running opposite to normal during special times, such as emergency evacuations, sports tournaments, or road construction/repairs.

Reversible Lane: Typically used to refer to a lane specifically designed to facilitate different directional usage regularly, with changes sometimes as frequent as twice a day.

In an emergency evacuation, contraflow lane reversal roughly doubles the number of lanes available for evacuation traffic. Crossover sections are used to move outgoing traffic to these lanes. All incoming traffic is blocked until the end of the evacuation.

Contraflow lane reversal is usually done on freeways and other controlled-access roadways; however, some examples listed below (particularly in South Carolina) are divided and undivided roadways. Use of contraflow lane reversal is generally considered to be an emergency measure, as the contraflow lanes (and any associated ramps at interchanges) lack proper signage, signals, and other traffic control devices needed to orderly conduct traffic in the opposite direction.

Generally, a significant number of police officers or other officials are needed to manually direct traffic during a lane reversal (especially at interchanges, where ramp traffic in the wrong direction must intersect with other roadways that are operating normally).

Hurricane evacuation

Hurricane evacuation route marking near the Texas Gulf Coast

From the 1990s, many states in the Southeastern United States adopted hurricane evacuation routes from coastal areas using contraflow lane reversals on Interstate Highways. State highway departments have coordinated on plans for traffic direction with state highway patrol agencies, constructed highway median crossovers, and installed signage for drivers and barriers and swing arms to inhibit wrong-way collisions.[2]

Most evacuation plans involve only a single state; however, the states of Louisiana and Mississippi have developed coordinated plans to evacuate the New Orleans metropolitan area by using Interstate 55 and Interstate 59.

Current contraflow evacuation plans exist for:

• Alabama
  • Mobile via I-65[3]

Crossing gates at the interchange between Interstate 16 and Interstate 95, used to prevent westbound access to I-16 during contraflow, Pooler, GA

• Georgia
  • Savannah, via I-16[4]
• Louisiana
  • Lafayette, via I-49
  • Lake Charles, via I-10 and I-210[5]
  • New Orleans metropolitan area, via I-10, I-12, I-55, I-59, and the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway[6][7]
• Maryland
  • Ocean City, via US 50 and Maryland Route 90[8][9]
• Massachusetts
  • Cape Cod via US-6, Route 3, and Route 28[10]
• Mississippi
  • Mississippi Gulf Coast, via I-59 and US-49[11]
  • New Orleans metropolitan area, via I-55
• New Jersey
  • Jersey Shore, via Route 47/Route 347, Garden State Parkway, Atlantic City Expressway, Route 72/Route 70, Route 35, and Route 138/I-195[8]
• South Carolina[12]
  • Beaufort, via U.S. 21
  • Charleston, via I-26
  • Georgetown County, via U.S. 17
  • The Grand Strand, via U.S. 501
  • Hilton Head Island, via U.S. 278
• Texas[13]
  • Corpus Christi, via I-37
  • Houston, via I-10, I-45, I-69 (U.S. Highway 59), and U.S. 290
  • Freeport, Surfside Beach, and Lake Jackson via SH 288 and SH 36.
  • Rio Grande Valley, via I-2 (U.S. Highway 83) from Harlingen to McAllen, I-69E (U.S. Highway 77) from Brownsville to Harlingen, I-69C (U.S. Highway 281) from Pharr to Falfurrias
• Virginia
  • The Hampton Roads area, via I-64[14]

Florida had contraflow evacuation plans in place until 2017. The plans were abandoned for emergency shoulder use.[15]

When roads are undergoing construction amid heavy traffic, one lane of traffic may be blocked and another lane reversed.

At the beginning and end of major sporting events, the center turn lanes of roads around a stadium or arena may be used to accommodate event traffic. Because these lanes are typically not subject to lane control, this can be considered a limited form of contraflow reversal.

Contraflow lane reversal in operation on I-93 in Concord, New Hampshire after completion of a NASCAR race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, looking south.

Once a year, upon completion of NASCAR races at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in Loudon, New Hampshire, a form of contraflow lane reversal, referred to as "borrow a lane" is conducted on Interstate 93 in Concord, New Hampshire. In this case, the left lane of northbound Interstate 93 is temporarily "borrowed" to use as a third southbound lane. Southbound traffic has the option of transferring to the "borrowed" lane north of the Interstate 393 interchange and can travel southbound in the left northbound lane to allow a bypass of heavy race traffic entering I-93 southbound from I-393 at Exit 15. The two lanes of traffic in the normal southbound lanes, and traffic in the bypass "borrowed" lane rejoin on the southbound side of the interstate just south of the Interstate 89 interchange in Bow.[17]

Contraflow lane reversal is also used for Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series and IndyCar Series races at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. For these races, two-lane Pennsylvania Route 115 becomes one-way southbound between Interstate 80 and the track the morning of the race until everyone has arrived at the track. After the race concludes, PA 115 becomes one-way northbound between Pocono Raceway and I-80 until everyone has left the track.[18][19]

• Contraflow lane
• Emergency shoulder use
• Reversible lane
• Road diet