Mass State-named Interstate Shields

[deathtopumpkins]

So how many state named interstate shields do we know of left in the wild in Massachusetts? I know they aren't exactly the most common thing, which was why I got a bit excited when I saw this in Fall River today:

[Alex]

Ian photographed that one last year as well. It is the only known I-195 for sure, and one of maybe a handful left in the state (that is of course, if the 18" I-495 MA is still around and the one I-93 in Boston).

Looks like some tree trimming occurred between your visit and Ian's:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iccdude/5647416258/in/set-72157625788221666

[deathtopumpkins]

Damn, thought I was the first to find that one haha.

I haven't seen either of those other two but that doesn't mean they aren't still there. I recognize where the one on 99 is so I'll go check on it probably tomorrow.

Aren't there a few still kicking out in Springfield too?

[NE2]

Google's 2007 photos show an I-290 at Foster and Commercial in Worcester.

[froggie]

IIRC, there are still a fair number of them along I-91.

[roadman]

IIRC, there are still a fair number of them along I-91.

Yes, but those remaining shields are trailblazers along intersecting roads.  AFAIK, all the remaining I-91 mainline state name shields were replaced under the 1995-1997 sign replacement projects.

As for I-195, my sources tell me that, contingent on available funding,  MassDOT is expected to begin a sign replacement project between Seekonk and Dartmouth sometime in late 2013 or early 2015.  At that time, all the state name shields in Downtown Fall River and other locations will be replaced.

[agentsteel53]

I do not believe there are any I-91s left.  there was an 18" late-50s style wood shield (extra large MASSACHUSETTS) on Main St. southbound in Springfield - the only section not US-5 - which disappeared sometime between February and April of 2010.

I am quite glad to have photographed it in February; I may be the only person who documented it.  I'll have to upload it to the shield gallery.

I believe there are some mainline shields on I-291 for I-90 and I-291 on green overheads, but that may be outdated information.  no mainline independent installs exist on any interstate, as far as I know.

[agentsteel53]

there we go. 

[roadman]

I believe there are some mainline shields on I-291 for I-90 and I-291 on green overheads, but that may be outdated information.  no mainline independent installs exist on any interstate, as far as I know.

AFAIK, all the overhead state name I-90 and I-291 shields on I-291 went away when the overhead panels were replaced during the 2006-2008 I-291 Springfield to Chicopee resurfacing and sign replacement project.

And I believe you are also correct about no state name shields existing on any Interstate mainlines within Massachusetts.  MassDPW started their Interstate/freeway sign replacement program in the late 1980s.  Since that time, every Interstate and freeway within Massachusetts has gone through at least one major sign replacement project, and some (I-295 Attleboro and I-95 Lexington to Reading) have completed their second update.

[PHLBOS]

If I'm not mistaken, there's still one old 18" I-95 shield w/the state name on it on a 50s era button-copy BGS along the northbound Tobin Bridge, scroll down for photo:

http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ma/us_1/1.html

IIRC, there's also a horizontally laid out BGS w/the same message.

[agentsteel53]

that was gone as of 2007, and probably well before that.  I remember it in the late 90s, but I remember a lot of random items in the late 90s which are long, long gone.

anyone remember the construction project at the south end of the Lowell Connector in 1991 or so?  the ramp to I-495 featured a pair of state-named INTERSTATE MASSACHUSETTS 495 shields ... in the green and white business spur color scheme! 

I distinctly remember it as being 1970 spec, 30x25 shields with large numbers in Series C.  One gantry - left branch was NORTH/[shield]/[left arrow], right branch SOUTH/[shield]/[right arrow], at a lane split.  All signs green and white. 

Since that is not quite the current lane arrangement from the southbound connector to I-495, I believe it was a temporary arrangement, and therefore the result of a construction crew.

[roadman]

that was gone as of 2007, and probably well before that.  I remember it in the late 90s, but I remember a lot of random items in the late 90s which are long, long gone.

anyone remember the construction project at the south end of the Lowell Connector in 1991 or so?  the ramp to I-495 featured a pair of state-named INTERSTATE MASSACHUSETTS 495 shields ... in the green and white business spur color scheme! 

I distinctly remember it as being 1970 spec, 30x25 shields with large numbers in Series C.  One gantry - left branch was NORTH/[shield]/[left arrow], right branch SOUTH/[shield]/[right arrow], at a lane split.  All signs green and white. 

Since that is not quite the current lane arrangement from the southbound connector to I-495, I believe it was a temporary arrangement, and therefore the result of a construction crew.

Time to try and break a myth that I first heard over 30 years ago, and has been bothering me for some time.

After much research, I have personally concluded that the "Business Spur 495" designation for the Lowell Connector was simply a creation of MassDPW, and that there was no Federal involvement whatsoever.  While there were indeed Junction signs in place on local streets approaching entrance ramps to the Connector (I believe one of the signs on Gorham Street is still there), I could find no documentation, plans, or any other credible evidence to indicate that the "Business Spur 495" designation was indeed approved by either AASHO or the Bureau of Public Roads.

Perhaps the most telling evidence against the commonly-held belief that a "Business Spur 495" designation won Federal approval is that, from the time the Connector was built in the late 1950s until the designation was apparently discontinued in the mid-1970s, is that "Business Spur 495" shields never appeared on any of the exit signs on either 495 or US 3.  In addition, while "Junction Business Spur 495" assemblies were placed on local streets, there is nothing to indicate that similar shields were ever put up on the Lowell Connector mainline (I have personally verified this by spending several hours reviewing old construction and re-signing project plans).

If anybody out there has actual documentation that contradicts what I've just posted, I would love to see it.

[agentsteel53]

I honestly don't remember one way or the other whether or not the Lowell Connector was signed as Business Spur 495.  I remember green shields, but couldn't tell you if any were on the connector itself.

I definitely remember the green/white error pair, though.  that struck me as very odd even at such a young age: that usually all the green shields said BUSINESS, and all the red, white and blue ones said INTERSTATE... and that these two were not only the wrong color scheme, but also had the state name, which was getting to be quite the rarity in Massachusetts by that time.

[NE2]

After much research, I have personally concluded that the "Business Spur 495" designation for the Lowell Connector was simply a creation of MassDPW, and that there was no Federal involvement whatsoever.  While there were indeed Junction signs in place on local streets approaching entrance ramps to the Connector (I believe one of the signs on Gorham Street is still there), I could find no documentation, plans, or any other credible evidence to indicate that the "Business Spur 495" designation was indeed approved by either AASHO or the Bureau of Public Roads.

FHWA/BPR has nothing to do with Interstate business routes. AASHTO - well, states ignore them all the time. So whether AASHTO approved the designation is a mostly academic consideration, like I-80 being signed between US 101 and the Bay Bridge or US 377 extending north to I-44.

[roadman]

After much research, I have personally concluded that the "Business Spur 495" designation for the Lowell Connector was simply a creation of MassDPW, and that there was no Federal involvement whatsoever.  While there were indeed Junction signs in place on local streets approaching entrance ramps to the Connector (I believe one of the signs on Gorham Street is still there), I could find no documentation, plans, or any other credible evidence to indicate that the "Business Spur 495" designation was indeed approved by either AASHO or the Bureau of Public Roads.

FHWA/BPR has nothing to do with Interstate business routes. AASHTO - well, states ignore them all the time. So whether AASHTO approved the designation is a mostly academic consideration, like I-80 being signed between US 101 and the Bay Bridge or US 377 extending north to I-44.

Points taken, especially about FHWA.  However, AASHO (American Association of State Highway Officals - it was not a typo on my part) may have not cared about business designations in the 1950s and 1960s, but I suspect they got interested once the rules got more restrictive.   As an example, growing up in the mid-1960s, I specifically remember a "Business US 3" designation through Downtown  Manchester (NH) during the brief period when the US 3 designation was changed from local roads to the Everett Turnpike.

Regarding present day, it is my understanding the current AASHTO Route Numbering Committee now specifically looks at Business Route designations.  But you're right, MassDPW may not have bothered to send in an application for approval in the first place.

Regardless of whether Federal approval was sought or granted, there's still a lingering question here.  After taking the time and effort to create the Business 495 identity, and post signs on local streets, why did MassDPW not take the next logical step and post Business Spur shields on the exit signs to the Connector from I-495 and US 3 as well, or even trailblazer assemblies on the mainline?  Especially since, prior to the mid-1990s when the "common" exit ramp on I-495 for Exit 35A and Exit 35B and Exit 36 (now Exit 35C) was signed with two separate sets of signs on the same overhead supports, one set for Exit 35A-B, and one set for Exit 36.

[Beeper1]

I remember that there were a few years in the mid/late 1990s that the Lowell Connector was marked on the official state highway map (Lowell inset) with a "495S" interstate shield marker.  I'll have to see if I can find my copy that map and scan it.

[Ian]

Ian photographed that one last year as well. It is the only known I-195 for sure, and one of maybe a handful left in the state (that is of course, if the 18" I-495 MA is still around and the one I-93 in Boston).

Looks like some tree trimming occurred between your visit and Ian's:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/iccdude/5647416258/in/set-72157625788221666

You know, when I saw Connor's photo of the I-195 shield, I was really excited that a new Mass. I-195 has been discovered. Now I'm disappointed. 

Google's 2007 photos show an I-290 at Foster and Commercial in Worcester.

Rats. I was just by here this afternoon, and I could've gone to go see if it were still there or not! 

I do not believe there are any I-91s left.

There is one at the south end of MA 116 in Springfield, but Street View has an awful capture of it:
http://goo.gl/maps/H25v

[agentsteel53]

There is one at the south end of MA 116 in Springfield, but Street View has an awful capture of it:
http://goo.gl/maps/H25v

I'd forgotten about that one.  '57 spec, even.

I can't remember the last time I saw a '70 spec Massachusetts I-91.  The late 90s, I think.  for whatever reason, all the stragglers are '57 spec.

[PurdueBill]

I remember that there were a few years in the mid/late 1990s that the Lowell Connector was marked on the official state highway map (Lowell inset) with a "495S" interstate shield marker.  I'll have to see if I can find my copy that map and scan it.

My 1970 Mass map shows the Connector as I-495S, but only the very end makes it into the Lowell inset.

[Ian]

Google's 2007 photos show an I-290 at Foster and Commercial in Worcester.

Sorry for the bump, but Steve Alpert just told me that the I-290 shield in question is now gone. It's a shame, but now I don't need to go out of my way to find it the next time I pass through Worcester...

[Alps]

Google's 2007 photos show an I-290 at Foster and Commercial in Worcester.

Sorry for the bump, but Steve Alpert just told me that the I-290 shield in question is now gone. It's a shame, but now I don't need to go out of my way to find it the next time I pass through Worcester...

It was replaced by a "TO I-290 ->" assembly, and the middle shield has since gone missing itself.

[ctsignguy]

I am glad to see there are a few survivors...i remember being brow-beaten by an angry signgeek who was upset i had successfully added the legendary Holyoke I-91 to my collection.....