"turned red for" is perfectly appropriate in the context of "became red and stayed that way for a time period"
Here are a few more example of "turned red for"
- He furrowed his eyebrows and I thought his eyes turned red for a moment.
- Three times between July and October 1933, six of the white beads turned red for a short time.
- The Ice turned Red briefly for a few minutes. (Source)
There are other possible ways of saying it:
- "...the traffic lights were red for 10 minutes"
- "...the traffic lights stayed red for 10 minutes"
In a situation where a vehicle is heading for LA and the passenger asks the driver how much longer it will take to arrive in the city, the passenger might ask:
How long (still) to LA
(An idiomatic, informal phrase)
How much longer/further to LA?
(Another idiomatic, informal phrase)
How much longer till we get to/reach LA?
Once more, a typical question but not a complete sentence!
How long will it be before we reach/get to LA?
This time the question is posed as a proper sentence although most people are likely to use one of the shortcuts outlined above.
Neither of your examples is idiomatic although both make it clear that the questioner wants to know how much longer it will take.
It's probable that the questioner would say either:
How many minutes (still) to LA?
or
How many more minutes to LA?
Neither of these is a complete sentence although this is typically how people speak in these circumstances.
Few would say How many more minutes will it take us to reach LA? when How much longer to LA will suffice?
Best Answer
When you say "10 minutes to twelve" you are saying 10 minutes before twelve.
When you say "10 to 12 minutes" you are using the word to as a range. Many words in the English language have several different meanings, which are dependant on context.