
In the United Kingdom, emergency diversion routes, or formally off-network tactical diversion routes are
permanently signed detour routes: planned road traffic routes that bypass the main
trunk road
A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...
network.
Emergency diversion routes provide the public, where possible, with a planned, checked and agreed junction to junction diversion route that circumnavigates an incident which has resulted in the closure of the main carriageway. In some other locations, suitable diversion routes are not possible; this then requires
National Highways
National Highways (NH), formerly Highways England and before that the Highways Agency, is a State-owned enterprise, government-owned company charged with operating, maintaining and improving Roads in England, motorways and major A roads in Eng ...
and its partners to implement alternative tactics such as strategic signs and signals. These are managed by the National Traffic Control Centre (NTCC).
Emergency diversion routes are marked with
road sign
Traffic signs or road signs are signs erected at the side of or above roads to give instructions or provide information to road users. The earliest signs were simple wooden or stone milestones. Later, signs with directional arms were introduc ...
s in the form of simple geometric shapes – open and filled circles, squares, and diamonds. Normally, these additions to roadsigns will be ignored by drivers.
When an incident closes a motorway or trunk road, police and
National Highways traffic officer
National Highways traffic officers, previously Highways England traffic officers (20152021) and Highways Agency traffic officers (HATO 20042015), are employed by National Highways in England.
They are a civilian service who respond to both e ...
s can activate 'trigger signs' at junctions before a closure advising traffic as to which symbol to follow around the incident along an alternative road and bring road users back onto the motorway or main road at a later junction beyond the closure.
The signs used for these routes can be found in the publication ''Know your Traffic Signs''.
Emergency diversion route symbols
Solid versions
EDR Symbol - Solid Circle.svg, Solid circle
EDR Symbol - Solid Square.svg, Solid square
EDR Symbol - Solid Triangle.svg, Solid triangle
EDR Symbol - Solid Diamond.svg, Solid diamond
Hollow versions
EDR Symbol - Hollow Circle.svg, Hollow circle
EDR Symbol - Hollow Square.svg, Hollow square
EDR Symbol - Hollow Triangle.svg, Hollow triangle
EDR Symbol - Hollow Diamond.svg, Hollow diamond
Related signs
UK traffic sign 2716.svg, Diversion trigger sign – the M1 Motorway
The M1 motorway connects London to Leeds, where it joins the A1(M) motorway, A1(M) near Aberford, to connect to Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle. It was the first inter-urban motorway to be completed in the UK; the first motorway in the count ...
is closed ahead, follow the 'hollow diamond' diversion to arrive at back the M1 after the closure.
References
See also
*
National Traffic Control Centre
*
Road signs in the United Kingdom
Road signs in the United Kingdom and in its associated Crown dependencies and overseas territories conform broadly to European design norms, with a number of exceptions: direction signs omit European route numbers, and road signs generally us ...
Road transport in the United Kingdom
{{UK-road-stub