What does the Exit Gore sign mean?
The Exit Gore sign (MUTCD E5-1, E5-1a) is a guide sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. It marks the exact point where the exit ramp leaves the mainline, with the exit number if one is assigned.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition (FHWA), checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Exit Gore sign?
| MUTCD code | E5-1, E5-1a |
|---|---|
| Group | Guide and service signs |
| Shape | Vertical rectangle in the paved triangle between ramp and mainline |
| Color | Green background, white legend, arrow and border |
What a vertical rectangle means. Usually regulatory: a law you must obey. Speed limits, turn restrictions and parking rules take this shape. Rectangles are the loosely assigned outline in the system, though, so on this sign the shape alone does not tell you its family; the color and the legend do.
What green means. Permitted movements, direction, distance and destination guidance.
Guide and service signs. Direction, services, recreation: three colors doing three jobs, and not one of them carrying a duty. Work out which job the color does and most questions in this group answer themselves.
What is the Exit Gore sign often mistaken for?
The advance guide sign half a mile back. If you are level with the gore sign you have run out of room to change your mind.
What are the other guide and service signs?
All 11 guide and service signs on one page, or every US road sign by shape and color.
Test yourself on this sign and the rest of the set with a road signs practice test for Florida, Texas or California.
The artwork is the federal design itself, which the manual dedicates to the public domain in MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 1, Section 1D.06, checked 2026-09-09. The Interstate Shield, the 511 pictograph and the National Scenic Byway graphic are named exceptions and are not reproduced anywhere on this site.
Source: Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, 11th Edition. Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Federal Highway Administration or any state agency.