PRODUCTS / LIGHTED ARROW BOARDS
Lighted Arrow Boards
Arrow boards and message boards for safe lane closures.
An arrow board is what moves traffic out of a closed lane early enough to matter. On a multi-lane road it is the first thing a driver reads at distance — well before they can make out cones — and it is what turns a lane closure from a surprise into a merge.
A-1 Barricades supplies trailer-mounted arrow boards and portable changeable message signs for lane closures, paving, utility work and events. These are the items most customers rent rather than buy.
What's in this category
- Trailer-mounted arrow boards
- Towable, solar-powered lamp panels with the standard arrow, chevron and caution display modes.
- Portable changeable message signs (PCMS)
- Programmable full-matrix boards for detour notices, event traffic, closures and advance warning.
- Truck- and cart-mounted units
- Smaller arrow panels for mobile operations and shorter-duration work.
- Solar and battery power
- Solar-charged battery systems that run unattended for extended deployments.
HOW TO CHOOSE
Getting it right
The caution mode exists for a reason
An arrow tells drivers to move over. If you are working on the shoulder and not closing a lane, an arrow is a false instruction — use the four-corner caution mode instead. Displaying an arrow when no lane is closed teaches drivers to distrust the device.
Panel size follows roadway speed
Type C boards are specified for high-speed roadways because legibility distance scales with panel and lamp size. On an interstate or a fast arterial, a small panel simply is not readable early enough for drivers to merge without braking hard.
Place it where the merge can still happen
An arrow board belongs at the beginning of the taper, far enough upstream that a driver traveling at the posted speed can identify the closure, signal and merge without abrupt maneuvering. Set too close to the work, it announces a decision the driver no longer has room to make.
AREAS SERVED
Where we work
Southeast Tennessee
- Chattanooga
- East Ridge
- Red Bank
- Soddy-Daisy
- Signal Mountain
- Hixson
- Ooltewah
- Collegedale
- Cleveland
- Dayton
- Jasper
Northwest Georgia
- Fort Oglethorpe
- Ringgold
- Dalton
- LaFayette
- Chickamauga
- Trenton
Northeast Alabama
- Bridgeport
- Stevenson
- Scottsboro
FAQ
Lighted Arrow Boards questions
- When is an arrow board required for a lane closure?
- Practice and most agency specifications call for an arrow panel on lane closures on multi-lane roadways, and their use scales up with speed and volume. The exact trigger is set by the governing agency's specification and the traffic-control plan for the job, so check the plan — but on a multi-lane closure, expect one to be required.
- What is the difference between an arrow board and a message board?
- An arrow board displays a fixed set of patterns — arrows, chevrons and a caution display — and its single job is to move traffic laterally out of a lane. A portable changeable message sign displays programmable text, so it can communicate detours, dates, closures, event information and conditions. Many jobs use both: the message board upstream for advance notice, the arrow board at the taper.
- Do arrow boards need power on site?
- No. Trailer-mounted units are typically solar-charged with battery storage, so they operate unattended for extended periods without a generator or shore power. Runtime depends on display mode and available sun.
- Can I rent an arrow board for a single day?
- Arrow boards and message boards are usually rented rather than purchased, and short-term rentals are routine. Call (423) 265-3054 with your dates, location and the type of work and we will tell you what is available.
Need gear on site?
Call for a quote, to reserve rentals, or to check stock. The people who answer the phone know the equipment.