What does the Road Work Next XX Miles sign mean?
The Road Work Next XX Miles sign (MUTCD G20-1) is a work zone sign under the federal Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices, the national standard the states build from. It marks the start of an extended work zone and how long it runs.
Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Part 6, Table 6H-1, checked 2026-09-09.
What shape and color is the Road Work Next XX Miles sign?
| MUTCD code | G20-1 |
|---|---|
| Group | Work zone signs |
| Shape | Horizontal rectangle |
| Color | Orange background, black legend and border |
What a horizontal rectangle means. Usually guidance: direction, distance and destination. Also used for some regulatory plaques mounted under another sign.
What orange means. Temporary traffic control. A work zone, and usually a higher fine.
Work zone signs. Orange is temporary by definition, used only while traffic is being routed around a job. The shapes repeat from the permanent set; what changes is the color and, in most states, the size of the fine.
What is the Road Work Next XX Miles sign often mistaken for?
End Road Work (G20-2). Note G20 signs are guide-type designations that take orange backgrounds inside a work zone.
|  |
|---|---|
| GroupWork zone signs | GroupWork zone signs |
| ShapeHorizontal rectangle | ShapeHorizontal rectangle |
| ColorOrange background, black legend and border | ColorOrange background, black legend and border |
| What it meansMarks the start of an extended work zone and how long it runs. | What it meansThe work zone finishes here and normal conditions, including normal speed limits, resume. |
What are the other work zone signs?
All 9 work zone 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.