Two-way traffic sign: what it means
The two-way traffic sign warns that the road ahead carries traffic in both directions, for example where a divided highway or one-way street ends.
What does the two-way traffic sign mean?
MUTCD Section 2C.51 says the sign should be used to warn of a change from a divided highway to a two-lane, two-way road, and, with an AHEAD plaque, from a one-way street to a two-way road.
Quick quiz
What does the sign at the top of this page mean?
- The divided highway ends; two-way traffic ahead.
- Traffic comes both ways ahead.
- All traffic moves in the arrow’s direction.
Show answer
B. Traffic comes both ways ahead. Traffic ahead goes in both directions (MUTCD Section 2C.51). Source: MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Warning Signs and Object Markers: Section 2C.51, FHWA; MUTCD 11th Edition, FHWA
Where will you see it?
Where a divided highway ends, where a one-way street becomes two-way, and along two-lane roads.
What should you do?
Keep right and expect oncoming traffic in the next lane.
What do people get wrong?
Staying in the left lane out of habit after the divided highway ends.
Common questions
Is it the same as divided highway ends?
Not quite. Section 2C.51 says the two-way traffic sign may be used with the Divided Highway Ends sign.
Why is there an AHEAD plaque sometimes?
It is used where a one-way street becomes two-way ahead.
Compare with
Divided highway ends signThe divided highway ends; two-way traffic ahead.
One way signAll traffic moves in the arrow’s direction.
Want to test someone else? Play a road-sign quiz with friends and family.
Sources
Checked on 4 November 2026 against the MUTCD 11th Edition (FHWA), Section 2C.51.
- MUTCD 11th Edition, Chapter 2C, Warning Signs and Object Markers: Section 2C.51, FHWA
- MUTCD 11th Edition, FHWA. FHWA lists the current version as the 11th Edition with Revision 1, dated December 2025
Sign pictures are our own simplified drawings of the MUTCD designs, which are in the public domain (MUTCD Section 1D.06). Sources and image credits.