Centralia Highway 0 |
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Unexplained Phenomenon |
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Type |
phantom highway |
Discovered |
1966 |
Location |
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Centralia Highway Zero is the unofficial name of an unexplained, seemingly supernatural phenomenon located in TuckerCounty, Centralia: a fully paved, four-lane divided highway with no apparent destination.
Description
Along CentraliaHighway21 in Tucker County, approximately 15 kilometers (9.3 miles) south of the former WerewolfJunction train station, a curious highway branches off to the west. While standard traffic control signs are present, no signs give any name, route number, or destination for this strange highway.
Highway Zero is a dual carriageway with two lanes in each direction, separated by a grass median--typical of many rural highways across Centralia. Strangely, however, this particular highway does not connect to any other major highways, nor does it provide access to any specific destination. As a result, it is almost always deserted except for the curious few who seek it out.
The highway's existence is itself a bit of a mystery. Neither Tucker County's Highways Department nor the Centralia MinistryOfTransportation have any records of the road's planning or construction--and, perhaps more curioiusly, neither entity provides maintenance for the road. Despite this apparent clack of maintenance, however, the road always remains in drivable condition, which is especially curious in the winter months, when snow is seemingly cleared from the pavement without the aid of plows.
Despite its informal name, Highway Zero is not a part of Her Royal Highness's network of numbered highways.
End of the Road
Exactly 6 miles (9.7 km) west from its start at the Highway 21 junction, Highway Zero abruptly ends. The only advance warning to drivers is a faded orange sign reading ROAD ENDS.
About a half a mile past the sign, the pavement ends abruptly at a pile of dirt. A small median crossover offers drivers one last opportunity to turn around.
Bye ond the end of the pavement simply lies more wooded Centralia wilderness. Despite the seemingly unfinished nature of the highway, nothing has ever been found to suggest Highway Zero was meant to be extended, nor has any possible destination been revealed.
Signage
Speed Limits
When Highway Zero was first discovered in 1966, signs along its six-mile length specified a speed limit of 55 mph, consistent with speed limits on similar highways across Centralia.
Oddly, when PrincessJeanette officially tarnsitioned Centralia traffic signage to metric units in 1992, the the signs apparently changed to declare a speed limit of 90 km/h. The metric signs appear just as weathered as the previous 1960s signs, suggesting that they were altered, not replaced. There is, however, no evidence that the numerals had been manually changed--they seemingly changed on their own.
Wayfinding
There is a single wayfinding sign along the highway, serving westbound traffic:
Linworth 12 km Bellwether 23 km Ottersburg 95 km
However, the names on these signs do not correspond to any cities or towns within Centralia. Further, even if these destinations did exist, they would be impossible to reach from Highway Zero, as they are all said to lie beyond the dead end at the 10 kilometer mark.