See a strange message on electronic highway signs?

Have you ever looked up and noticed those signs over the highway and thought, what does that mean? Is that a strange emoji?

Those electronic signs are officially called “Variable Message Signs” and they are used to give travelers information about congestion, incidents, roadwork, travel times, Amber Alerts, or speed limits.

Recently, I saw a sign had malfunctioned with bad emoji nonsense, which was slowing southbound drivers over the Ship Canal Bridge while they tried to decipher the cryptic message.

Harmony Weinberg of Washington State Department of Transportation explained, “Those signs are only used to inform drivers and we don’t want anyone distracted. Unfortunately, we can’t be everywhere at once, so if you see something unusual, please send us an email and we can delete it right away.”

WSDOT wasn’t aware of the malfunctioning sign on southbound I-5 until I got them on the phone. It was reset by the end of our chat.

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