PennDOT soon will have motorists seeing red -- and blue, brown, orange and black.
The state transportation agency hopes its new color-coded detour system helps drivers during emergencies rather than confuse them.
It is installing detour signs marked with one of five colors to guide drivers off highways during emergencies.
"This isn't for something minor," said PennDOT spokesman Jim Struzzi. "It'd have to be a major accident."
Struzzi said PennDOT tried to avoid a conflict with the color-coded belt system, which marks circular routes around the city in red, orange, yellow, green and blue.
It didn't. Three of the belt colors are the same as in the detour system: blue, red and orange.
Signs are posted on the Parkway North in both directions, showing drivers how to bypass the interstate highway by trekking on Route 19 and other side roads.
In addition to Interstate 279, they will be installed along Interstates 79 and 376, along with Route 60 this year.
The signs are being installed statewide. PennDOT did not have a total cost available on Tuesday.
The 2007 Valentine's Day ice storm that stranded hundreds of motorists on Interstate 80 for up to 24 hours was among the factors that prompted PennDOT to establish the system, said agency spokesman Rich Kirkpatrick.
Officials had been planning the system even before the storm, "but that incident reinforced the importance of having color-coded detours signed and in place across the state and we continue to set them up," he said.
The detour signs should help drivers during times when the highway is shut down, said Collier Police Chief Thomas Devin.
"It should help a lot of people who aren't familiar with the area," he said. "If they know to follow the signs, it should help."
The signs -- marked with blue, brown, orange, black and red -- most often will not cause a great inconvenience in local communities, officials said.
"It'll be great," said Monroeville Police Chief George Polnar. "But if vandals steal any of the signs, then PennDOT's in trouble."
It's not uncommon for road signs to be taken, especially those marking the belt system, Polnar said.
