Gore (road)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A gore, gore point, or gore zone is the (chiefly American English) name for a triangular piece of land found where roads merge or split. When two roads merge, the area is sometimes referred to as a merge nose. The term "gore" probably originates from the dressmaker's term for a triangular piece of cloth.

In many American states, gores on freeways at both entrance and exit ramps are marked with stripes. These help drivers entering the freeway to estimate how much time they have to match the speed of through traffic, and warn drivers improperly exiting the freeway right down the middle of a gore that they are about to run out of road. Gores at exit ramps occasionally feature impact attenuators, especially when there is something solid at the other end of the gore.