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Unusual Traffic Signals

Started by Ian, October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM

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Ian

Similar to the "Old Traffic Signals" thread, but this one is dedicated to interesting, odd, and unusual traffic signals.

Here are some pics I have taken of signals in those categories:

New York
"English Style" Signal: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewYorkTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5289469382366653250
Messy Visors: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewYorkTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5309828010990644530
A rather funky looking doghouse signal: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewYorkTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5322899718276835650
NYSDOT spec connector bars: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewYorkTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5322899698522290162

Delaware
Backplates are rare to Delaware: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/DelawareTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5303100523099789218
Rather funky signal here: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/DelawareTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5347724690054339346

Pennsylvania
Driveway signals: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5301734766981151026
Odd doghouse signal: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5302480470945522738
New PTC toll signals: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5292420105133021106

New Jersey
Typical Jersey "truss arms"  (only state to still use them):
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5289505812148601410
Rare span wires (though common on LBI): http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5341343393118532322
I-295 Flashing arrow board: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5341344290790672546

Maine
Freeway Speed Sign: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/MaineTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5376278168535466162
Big blocky backplate: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/MaineTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5376278250039570306
Three 4-section R-Y-G-GA signals in a row!: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/MaineTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5377473723170002754
Arrows anyone?: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/MaineTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5377473907155606898

New Hampshire
I thought this was neat (north end of NH 28): http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewHampshireTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5353946907907885538
Rare NH span wire: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewHampshireTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5353947393975919970

Vermont
A single beacon at the end of a freeway: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/VermontTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5376247907224353122
A railroad crossing on a freeway: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/VermontTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5376248060481193250
Typical VT using a Canadian brand of signals: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/VermontTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5376248125223879410

Rhode Island
Huge warning sign on I-95 (with strobes!): http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/RhodeIslandTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5324326029477564690
And another!: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/RhodeIslandTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5324328112599650882
Multicolored VMS board: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/RhodeIslandTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5324325970673785906
Broken LED's: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/RhodeIslandTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5324332473914119986
Long connecting pipes: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/RhodeIslandTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5324335275758030642
Fiber-optic 2 color arrow (common in RI): http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/RhodeIslandTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5324337368402786690

Let's see those photos of odd signals!
Ian
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr


njroadhorse

Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Typical Jersey "truss arms" (only state to still use them):
Technically not, because a great deal of them still survive in Boston.

Anyways, how about those "Mickey Mouse" assemblies that can be found in Delaware and North Carolina?
Look in the background of this image:
NJ Roads FTW!
Quote from: agentsteel53 on September 30, 2009, 04:04:11 PM
I-99... the Glen Quagmire of interstate routes??


Ian

Quote from: njroadhorse on October 18, 2009, 09:58:05 AM
Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Typical Jersey "truss arms" (only state to still use them):
Technically not, because a great deal of them still survive in Boston.
I was talking about how they still install new truss assemblies.

Quote from: njroadhorse on October 18, 2009, 09:58:05 AM

Anyways, how about those "Mickey Mouse" assemblies that can be found in Delaware and North Carolina?
Look in the background of this image:


Yup, I know those! Though, Delaware has different types of those signals. They have a flashing red arrow which means traffic can yield to the left. Other than that, its a normal signal. I like calling them "alien", "bugs", and "T" signals. Many names for them.
Here is DE's version (taken during mid flash of the red arrow):
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/DelawareTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5303100284310329138
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

froggie

QuoteI was talking about how they still install new truss assemblies.

Where are they doing new truss assemblies?  The new/reconstructed signals I'm familliar with in Jersey are single non-truss mast arms, especially on US 1...

QuoteYup, I know those! Though, Delaware has different types of those signals. They have a flashing red arrow which means traffic can yield to the left.

Not really a Yield per se.  Legally, it functions more like a stop sign, since you're still supposed to come to a complete stop before making your left turn.

Ian

Quote from: froggie on October 18, 2009, 12:09:00 PM
QuoteI was talking about how they still install new truss assemblies.

Where are they doing new truss assemblies?  The new/reconstructed signals I'm familliar with in Jersey are single non-truss mast arms, especially on US 1...

QuoteYup, I know those! Though, Delaware has different types of those signals. They have a flashing red arrow which means traffic can yield to the left.

Not really a Yield per se.  Legally, it functions more like a stop sign, since you're still supposed to come to a complete stop before making your left turn.


For the truss assemblies, NJDOT still uses them. They now are using more single mast arms, but at most new intersections, they install both. At the small streets (mostly), they install all trusses. Here are some recent upgraded signalized intersections which use both.
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5289514687530306866
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5341344020043839266
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
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akotchi

New Jersey has different types of mast arms.  The aluminum ones are the "truss" arms discussed earlier, but can only be used for lengths up to 25 feet (or 30 feet in some counties).  The "single" mast arms are steel arms, which are between 30 and 65 feet long, that are commonly found on wider arterials such as U.S. 1.  Both types are still used.
Opinions here attributed to me are mine alone and do not reflect those of my employer or the agencies for which I am contracted to do work.

Ian

Quote from: akotchi on October 18, 2009, 12:26:38 PM
New Jersey has different types of mast arms.  The aluminum ones are the "truss" arms discussed earlier, but can only be used for lengths up to 25 feet (or 30 feet in some counties).  The "single" mast arms are steel arms, which are between 30 and 65 feet long, that are commonly found on wider arterials such as U.S. 1.  Both types are still used.

Exactly.

So anyway, back on topic. Lets see those unusual traffic signal set ups  :cool:.
Ian
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

74/171FAN

QuoteAnyways, how about those "Mickey Mouse" assemblies that can be found in Delaware and North Carolina?
The famous South Carolina kind with a signal in front of the intersection along with the normal ones behind.  Also the "Mickey Mouse" signal also exists, this is on US 17 NB in Myrtle Beach at 21st Ave N. 
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

Alex

Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Similar to the "Old Traffic Signals" thread, but this one is dedicated to interesting, odd, and unusual traffic signals.

Here are some pics I have taken of signals in those categories:

New York
Messy Visors: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewYorkTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5309828010990644530


Those types of visors are common in California when two streets meet at sharp angles.

US71


4 Way Stop in Leland, MS


Perry, OK


Art Deco signal in Kansas City, MO
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

Ian

That one with the 3M programmable visibility adapters (Kansas City) could top it!
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

US71


Mission Hills, KS
Not old, but unique ;)



RED Signal Ahead, US 60 Rogersville, MO


Holly Springs, MS


Sapulpa, OK
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

PAHighways

Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Pennsylvania
Driveway signals: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5301734766981151026

I've seen the same exact thing, with the same exact signals, on PA 148/Lysle Boulevard in McKeesport.  One set faces the exit of an Eat'nPark and the other the exit of a Rite Aid.

froggie

QuoteRED Signal Ahead, US 60 Rogersville, MO

These signs, or similar renditions of them, are occasionally found in both Jersey and Pennsylvania...


QuoteHolly Springs, MS

Side-mounted signals are rare in Mississippi.  Good find.

Ian

Quote from: PAHighways on October 19, 2009, 10:47:04 PM
Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Pennsylvania
Driveway signals: http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5301734766981151026

I've seen the same exact thing, with the same exact signals, on PA 148/Lysle Boulevard in McKeesport.  One set faces the exit of an Eat'nPark and the other the exit of a Rite Aid.

Aha, so thats not the only occurance. I guess the people who own the houses/businesses where the signals face requested them to be there so it will be easier to enter the highway.

Quote from: froggie on October 20, 2009, 06:03:33 AM
QuoteRED Signal Ahead, US 60 Rogersville, MO

These signs, or similar renditions of them, are occasionally found in both Jersey and Pennsylvania...

Yes, they can also be found in places in Maryland, Massachusetts, and in some places, Connecticut. I don't know about anywhere else though. I don't think I have seen one in New Jersey, PA, or Maryland that are on ground poles. They are mostly found on mast arms like so...
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5338843573447297714

Continuing the thread...

This one in Marcus Hook, PA lost all of its color...
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5290135630728882018
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/PennsylvaniaTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5290136202713479266
UMaine graduate, former PennDOT employee, new SoCal resident.
Youtube l Flickr

realjd

Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Typical Jersey "truss arms"  (only state to still use them):

Truss arms are, along with span wires, the most common installation type in Indiana. They are still being installed.

US71

Quote from: PennDOTFan on October 17, 2009, 08:42:34 PM
Typical Jersey "truss arms" (only state to still use them):

I've seen a few in Missouri.
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

roadfro

Quote from: US71 on October 19, 2009, 07:32:30 PM
RED Signal Ahead, US 60 Rogersville, MO

There used to be a similar installation in Las Vegas, NV on Sahara Avenue (SR 589) westbound as you approached I-15. The sign was posted overhead, and it flashed for the signal at the NB I-15 ramps, which weren't visible from the sign's position near the top of a bridge over a nearby railroad line.  The installation was replaced with a standard "Prepare to STOP When Flashing" warning sign and amber flashing beacons when the interchange was reconstructed in the mid 2000s.

I've often wondered if that type of LED warning sign was used elsewhere.  Thanks for the pic.
Roadfro - AARoads Pacific Southwest moderator since 2010, Nevada roadgeek since 1983.

Alex


Brandon

Quote from: njroadhorse on October 18, 2009, 09:58:05 AM
[Anyways, how about those "Mickey Mouse" assemblies that can be found in Delaware and North Carolina?

There's one of these at Naper Blvd and Plank Road in Naperville, Illinois.  Naper take a curve north and south of Plank Road, making the signal tough to see.
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.792241,-88.118334&spn=0,359.964209&z=16&layer=c&cbll=41.792326,-88.118398&panoid=HwHcexEakMaT-ezmMIlF7Q&cbp=12,170.42,,0,5.16
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg


rickmastfan67

Quote from: froggie on October 20, 2009, 06:03:33 AM
QuoteRED Signal Ahead, US 60 Rogersville, MO

These signs, or similar renditions of them, are occasionally found in both Jersey and Pennsylvania...

Yep.  There is a pair of those on PA-910 on a blind curve coming up to a traffic light.

jjakucyk

These are all from Cincinnati and nearby suburbs.

First is not a "traffic" signal, but pedestrian.  While the signals themselves aren't anything unusual, their installation sure is.





Also not technically a traffic signal, and it looks straightforward enough, but read what kind of crossing this is.



This next one is not only unusual, it's fugly too.



Here's some typical new Eagle Durasigs.  The odd thing is that backplates are completely unheard of within Cincinnati city limits.  They installed them on all the signals facing the main street, but not the side street where I'm standing.



The City of Cincinnati has spec'd tunnel visors since before WWII (we have lots of old Eagleluxes and a few Crouse-Hinds Type D's from the 1940s that all have tunnel visors), and yet here's one of a series of barely 5 year old poly signals with cutaway visors (at least with correct colors) at a particular intersection.



Here's a Crouse-Hinds beacon with a salvaged top plate used for the bottom plate.  Oops.



Here's some more of those hideous mixed-size doghouses.  It's funny to note that the paint (powder coating?) on the newer 12" heads is in much worse shape than the paint on the older 8" heads.



Finally, a relatively new poly signal with a 50+ year old Crouse-Hinds door and visor hose-clamped in place.  How sexy is that?   



Hellfighter




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