Thruway officials work to provide timely warnings.(Capital Region)

Q: I recently was driving north on the Thruway, approaching Exit 19 at 7:40 p.m. when I saw a sign warning of a delay and advising me to tune in the Thruway radio station (1610 AM) for instruc tions. The radio message reported an accident between exits 19 and 20 and said to expect delays; it also said it was last updated at 6:20 p.m.

I assumed matters couldn't be that bad without an update, so I didn't exit to take Route 9W.

Just past Exit 19, there was a large dump truck with an "Accident Ahead" sign. Within a mile, we were stopped. It took an hour and 45 minutes to travel the next three miles.

If they had time to deploy the dump truck, didn't they have time to update the radio message?

Also, "delays" does not not describe a 35-minutes-per-mile pace. Why not tell people before they commit to passing Exit 19 that the traffic ahead is not moving? Finally, why …