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RI 114 oddities

Started by empirestate, January 04, 2012, 09:03:27 PM

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empirestate

...as if it didn't have enough already! I had occasion to head down RI 114 from Providence to Newport today, thereby clinching my last Rhode Island county (which took me much longer than it should have). Besides being very mysterious overall (two opposing signed ways to get to it from the Pell Bridge connector, yet a blank arrow panel when you actually reach it from Coddington Hwy.), it has some interesting treatment down its middle...

In Barrington, there is what looks like a brick-paved median, but on closer inspection it is delineated with pavement markings for a center two-way left turn lane, so it appears to be driveable:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.740454,-71.307777&spn=0.002334,0.004801&t=k&z=18&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=41.740526,-71.308889&panoid=aDDEJn725JMOIZPvb386Xg&cbp=12,353.98,,0,16.08

Further south, I think in Warren, there was a pickup trying to turn left across a corduroy concrete median, and I'm certain that is not supposed to be allowed!

Most oddly of all, through Bristol the centerline is red, white and blue instead of yellow (on RI 114 and certain other streets). Since the white part of the line should indicate a division of same-direction traffic, and the red and blue parts don't mean anything, they've erected signs to tell you that the red, white and blue line actually separates two-way traffic. I tried to snap a photo, but my iPhone decided it wanted to be in video mode so I missed. Here's street view:
http://maps.google.com/?ll=41.67522,-71.278288&spn=0.002352,0.004801&t=k&z=18&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=41.675114,-71.278251&panoid=xoBuwrymNQajgCcYesDSUg&cbp=12,184.91,,0,7.04

Hard to make out, but there's a picture of the line in the middle with opposing arrows on either side, and a panel below the sign says "Two-way Traffic". In some spots they even have red, white and blue hachures where turn lanes begin and so forth.

I must add, regarding Bristol, that it is perhaps the most quintessential-looking New England town I have ever seen. It looks exactly the way it's supposed to, from the moment you cross the town line to the moment you leave.


Alps

The red/white/blue stripe is written into Federal legislation to be equivalent to double yellow.

roadman

Quote from: The Situation™ on January 04, 2012, 09:07:11 PM
The red/white/blue stripe is written into Federal legislation to be equivalent to double yellow.


This is the specific language from Appendix A-1 ("Congressional Legislation") of the 2009 MUTCD.  This provision regarding Bristol RI's center lines has been in the MUTCD since the 1988 Edition.

Section 353(b) STRIPES – Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a red, white, and blue center line in
the Main Street of Bristol, Rhode Island, shall be deemed to comply with the requirements of Section 3B-1 of the
Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices of the Department of Transportation.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

hbelkins

Because it is the home of the nation's official Independence Day celebration, right?


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

citrus

I used to be in the area often, and don't recall signs pointing towards Coddington Hwy to get to 114. They might be new? (The sign directing traffic along 138/Admiral Kalbfus Rd has been there forever, and Street View shows its age.)

The real oddities on 114 are further north, in Pawtucket. And in Newport, the routings and signage for 138A and 238 are also pretty odd. I was in Newport a couple weeks ago and noticed some 138A signs on a section of road that I thought was just 238.

empirestate

Quote from: citrus on January 04, 2012, 11:16:30 PM
I used to be in the area often, and don't recall signs pointing towards Coddington Hwy to get to 114. They might be new? (The sign directing traffic along 138/Admiral Kalbfus Rd has been there forever, and Street View shows its age.)

From the Pell Bridge/138, the ramp signage has you turning left on Admiral Kalbfus for RI 114. I turned right instead, and was immediately greeted with a sign taking me north at the rotary on Connell Hwy/Coddington. Then once you reach 114 itself, there's a pair of new-looking signs: one pointing right for RI 138, and one for RI 114 in the left position, but the panel where the arrow should be is blank. I guess 114 barely goes right at all, as its terminus is a block away at 138?

citrus

Quote from: empirestate on January 05, 2012, 12:22:54 AM
From the Pell Bridge/138, the ramp signage has you turning left on Admiral Kalbfus for RI 114. I turned right instead, and was immediately greeted with a sign taking me north at the rotary on Connell Hwy/Coddington. Then once you reach 114 itself, there's a pair of new-looking signs: one pointing right for RI 138, and one for RI 114 in the left position, but the panel where the arrow should be is blank. I guess 114 barely goes right at all, as its terminus is a block away at 138?
I suppose once you get to that rotary, you may as well take Coddington Hwy to get to 114.

Looking at Street View at the north/east end of Coddington Hwy, I'm pretty sure the JCT 114 assembly just means that the cross street is 114. The only reason why there's the blank panel for the arrow is because RI just made one large sign, rather than having separate signs for the directions, arrows, and route shields. (Though, I don't see why there couldn't just be an arrow pointing both left and right there).

I think 114 technically starts out concurrently with 138 where it turns left from Admiral Kalbfus onto W Main St. But who really can tell what's going on in RI...?

Dougtone

Another RI 114 oddity that exists is the "Mixed Up Mile" in Pawtucket, where RI 114 turns left onto, you guessed it, RI 114.

empirestate

Quote from: citrus on January 05, 2012, 01:24:26 AM
Looking at Street View at the north/east end of Coddington Hwy, I'm pretty sure the JCT 114 assembly just means that the cross street is 114. The only reason why there's the blank panel for the arrow is because RI just made one large sign, rather than having separate signs for the directions, arrows, and route shields. (Though, I don't see why there couldn't just be an arrow pointing both left and right there).

Your reply confused me at first, since Street View doesn't show the sign I was referring to: it's blocked by a truck and not yet erected anyway. Then I saw the advance jct. assembly you're talking about: same sign, just ahead of the intersection. I agree that the missing arrows aren't as egregious in the context of an advance turn as they are when posted right at the intersection.

kphoger

Quote from: empirestate on January 04, 2012, 09:03:27 PM
Further south, I think in Warren, there was a pickup trying to turn left across a corduroy concrete median, and I'm certain that is not supposed to be allowed!

Why not?  Was the median bounded by hard curbs (the kind you would pop a wheelie over to cross on your bike); if not, it's perfectly OK to cross in most places as far as I know.  I think different texture and very low curb lines are used to 'discourage' left turns, but not actually prohibit them.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

empirestate

It certainly looks discouraging...here's the spot:
http://g.co/maps/9q3x3

I suppose it's up to state law as to whether turns are allowed, as the MUTCD doesn't seem to address flush medians bounded by single lines. As you can see from Google's satellite view, turns are not terribly uncommon here!

Alps

Not wanting to get too far OT, but there's a situation here in NJ I commute past every day, which is US 46. It's a divided Jersey expressway (driveways, lights, no left turns, median except at signalized cross streets). There are a couple of median breaks with No U-Turn, Official Use Only, etc. signs. But there are at least two places where one could cross the median without running afoul of signs. One is a large paved break in the center barrier, which makes me wonder just why the barrier ends there. The other is a graded dirt connection where the median is wider, making it very possible to U-turn or left-turn.

So what it all boils down to is... if most of a road doesn't allow left turns, or if a road is set up with a median that discourages left turns, but it's technically possible to cross the median at certain places without prohibitive signing, isn't it allowed? Or is it?

kphoger

Unless there's a blanket law or a sign upon entering the roadway (think Interstates), then it would be legal.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
Visit scenic Orleans County, NY!
Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.



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