At least one local police chief has hailed the permanent blue emergency detour signs marking alternative routes around Interstate 93 as a “significant benefit.”

Windham Police Chief Gerald Lewis said the newly placed road signs gave motorists, local drivers and his department a serious advantage should the interstate close in the event of an emergency.

“If we get up on 93 or Exit 3 for a situation where the road has to be closed, when we get those people off the road they’re immediately met with a detour route,” he said. “As it stood before the signs, getting off the highway, (motorists had) to figure it out on their own.”

In the past, according to Lewis, it had not always been possible for police officers or other town officials to have detour signs already in place for drivers coming off the highway during an emergency. Having a permanent route marked by signs has given his department an added advantage in dealing with those types of situations, he said.

“It makes it easier in the fact that we don’t have to worry about explaining one on one to motorists how to circumnavigate a route or spend staff hours setting up detour signs. The signs are already in place,” Lewis said. “It eliminates one very important task because its already in place. (The signs) are a tremendous benefit for us.”

Created as part of the project to widen and rebuild the swath of I-93 from the Massachusetts border to Manchester, the alternative routes form a planned detour in the event an emergency shuts down the highway. According to the project manager for the I-93 project, Peter Stamnas, the newly implemented alternative route system for the interstate has given local police, fire and public works departments a better handle on managing highway emergencies in the future.

“The purpose is to provide appropriate routes in case of diversion,” said Stamnas, of the state Department of Transportation. “They’re a part of our incident management plan for Interstate 93.”

Stamnas coordinated with local police, fire and public works departments – as part of a steering committee – to create the most effective emergency management plan possible for the highway. As part of that management plan, municipalities were asked to draw up permanent detour routes for motorists should an emergency require the closure of I-93.

Though the amount of traffic the alternative routes could bring to local roads – especially Route 111 – and the impact that may have on the emergency response times of the department remains a concern for Lewis, he said the advantages outweighed any potential negatives.

“We’re certainly going to have to be extra cautious and the fact that you have vehicles that are unfamiliar with the route – they may want to turn around, may make unannounced turns – we’ll have to be cognizant of that,” he said. “It’s going to push the traffic off onto the local roads, but that’s going to happen anyway.”

The only real problem with the blue alternative route signs – which Stamnas compared to the hurricane evacuation route signs in Florida – has been their placement. In some cases, residents have complained the signs have blocked their view at a turn, but they have not garnered any noticeable interest from residents.

“They signs are rather self-explanatory,” Lewis said.

As only one part of a larger plan to better manage emergency situations on I-93, Stamnas has also pointed to a number of other strategies designed to facilitate traffic congestion on the highway. Smart work zones, extra emergency accesses, and electronic message boards with variable messages are all ways to keep motorists on track, Stamnas said.

According to Lewis, the alternative routes passed their first real test on Aug. 25 when a van collided with a tractor-trailer during rush hour just before Exit 1 northbound on I-93 in Salem.

With the highway closed while rescue teams attempted to extricate the van’s driver over the course of about a half an hour, motorists began coming up Route 28 and getting back onto the highway at Exit 2 in Salem and Exit 3 in Windham.

He called the alternative routes an “absolute” success so far.