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[xonhulu]

I finally retrieved the 2 years worth of photos off the hard drive of my non-functioning desktop, so here are some sign goofs I photographed during that time period.  All have been replaced since the pictures were taken, so don't waste time looking for them!

First: another US 39 goof, posted along the Klamath Falls OR 140 bypass:



Next:  Jake, here's the US 86 shield from Halfway, OR.



Here are a pair of US 224's that were posted briefly in Barton, OR:





This was a US 245 shield posted briefly at OR 245's northern end near Baker:

[Chris]

Wow, how can they let this happen? Is there no quality check before the thing is installed? This remind me of some goofs in the Netherlands where wrong cities were signed where the names looked alike. It looks like Oregon DOT needs to hire some road enthusiasts! I'm sure it wouldn't happen then.

[Bickendan]

Hmm, that gives me an idea...

[mightyace]

It looks like Oregon DOT needs to hire some road enthusiasts! I'm sure it wouldn't happen then.

I don't know how it works it the world of DOTs, but I do know that in the world of railroads, it was not a desirable thing to be a railfan.   This was especially true in upper management.  I know that sounds silly, but that's the way it was.  Today, that has eased in some railroads but others still have that attitude.

[Steve]

Guys, there's gonna be some good discussion about the topic, so I moved road enthusiasts working in the road industry to its own topic.

[xonhulu]

Guys, there's gonna be some good discussion about the topic, so I moved road enthusiasts working in the road industry to its own topic.

Good move, but I kind of enjoy watching these discussions evolve off the original topic into something completely different.

I have some more sign oddities to post, mostly from Oregon, but I think I'll start a new topic and let this one wilt.  Or better yet, let it wander into becoming a discussion on wandering topics...

[Steve]

Nah, keep the Oregon goodies coming here.  The reason I moved the other discussion is so that people would see it and not just mark read because they're not interested in Oregon.

[xonhulu]

Nah, keep the Oregon goodies coming here.  The reason I moved the other discussion is so that people would see it and not just mark read because they're not interested in Oregon.

Your wish is my command:



While construction was taking place to reconfigure Jasper Road (part of Springfield-Creswell Highway #222) to intersect with the new Lane County-built Bob Straub Parkway, these signs displaying unsigned OR 222 were erected.  When the project was completed, down they came.  I doubt OR 222 will ever be signed, as the highway consists of 2 disconnected segments and ODOT relinquished its northermost segment to local maintenance.  So this might have been the only time we'll ever see OR 222 shields.




These are new.  I saw 6 of these round OR 99E shields between Harrisburg and Halsey yesterday.  A little taste of New Jersey on the left coast.



One of my favorite recent oddities: a cut-out modern Oregon route shield!  Posted in Molalla when traffic was detoured through town to accommodate a highway reconstruction project.  I like this look, and I wish this were the norm, if we can't get a return to the vintage eagle shield cut-outs.  I think I've seen some of these before, but I can't place any of the other times or places.

[agentsteel53]

sweet 213!

this 58 was in a construction zone on I-5

[KEK Inc.]

The cut-out signs are awesome.  I really hope this becomes a new standard.  I'm not a big fan of the empty black voids used in most state and federal routes.  I grew up in California, and I became accustomed to the cut-out signs that are still used today, even on federal highways like US-101/US-395/US-50/US-6/US-95/US-97/US-199.

Honestly, Oregon roads are one of the worst designed in the country.  I'm not a big fan of the road hardware they use.  For example, on a wet Portland freeway, wouldn't it be sensible to add Bott's Dots or at the very least reflectors?  At night after a normal day of drizzle, it can be rather challenging to see the lane.   

[xonhulu]

The cut-out signs are awesome.  I really hope this becomes a new standard.  I'm not a big fan of the empty black voids used in most state and federal routes.  I grew up in California, and I became accustomed to the cut-out signs that are still used today, even on federal highways like US-101/US-395/US-50/US-6/US-95/US-97/US-199.

Don't hold your breath.  The trend is running the other way.  Oregon is even moving away from cut-out interstate shields, judging by the recent proliferation of interstates on square signs.  Those cut-outs are anomalies.  Too bad, as I said before I like the look.

Honestly, Oregon roads are one of the worst designed in the country.  I'm not a big fan of the road hardware they use.  For example, on a wet Portland freeway, wouldn't it be sensible to add Bott's Dots or at the very least reflectors?  At night after a normal day of drizzle, it can be rather challenging to see the lane.

Part of the excitement of Oregon driving!  I've never felt closer to death than traveling I-5 during a gray rainy day with about zero visibility, not to mention some pea-soup foggy mornings.  Seriously, use the white shoulder line instead of the median stripe to navigate; it shows up a lot better in the rain.  

[Scott5114]

At least Oregon has road stripes! In Oklahoma, when the road paint flakes off, which is often, it's very seldom repainted in a timely manner!

[KEK Inc.]

The cut-out signs are awesome.  I really hope this becomes a new standard.  I'm not a big fan of the empty black voids used in most state and federal routes.  I grew up in California, and I became accustomed to the cut-out signs that are still used today, even on federal highways like US-101/US-395/US-50/US-6/US-95/US-97/US-199.

Don't hold your breathe.  The trend is running the other way.  Oregon is even moving away from cut-out interstate shields, judging by the recent proliferation of interstates on square signs.  Those cut-outs are anomalies.  Too bad, as I said before I like the look.

*sighs*  Just as well, I guess.  Washington is really going overboard removing the classic cut-out sheilds.  I visited University of Washington (Seattle) a couple of weeks ago, and I saw some very disturbing shields up in Chehalis.  



Yeah... Yeah...  I cried a little bit inside.
 

Honestly, Oregon roads are one of the worst designed in the country.  I'm not a big fan of the road hardware they use.  For example, on a wet Portland freeway, wouldn't it be sensible to add Bott's Dots or at the very least reflectors?  At night after a normal day of drizzle, it can be rather challenging to see the lane.

Part of the excitement of Oregon driving!  I've never felt closer to death than traveling I-5 during a gray rainy day with about zero visibility, not to mention some pea-soup foggy mornings.  Seriously, use the white shoulder line instead of the median stripe to navigate; it shows up a lot better in the rain.  

I don't have any problem driving on two-lane highways in Oregon.  It's just the freeways with multiple lanes that pose serious issues, especially with the yellow streetlamps.  Whenever I drive on I-205 around the curves in that odd intersection with I-84, I can never see the lane stripes if the pavement is wet.  

At least Oregon has road stripes! In Oklahoma, when the road paint flakes off, which is often, it's very seldom repainted in a timely manner!

Yeah, there's plenty of instances, where I've actually been between two lanes since the paint is missing.  One was in a horrible area, since it was on an on-ramp, with signs warning of a right lane ending, but that actually occurs several hundred feet down the road.  

[xonhulu]

*sighs*  Just as well, I guess.  Washington is really going overboard removing the classic cut-out sheilds.  I visited University of Washington (Seattle) a couple of weeks ago, and I saw some very disturbing shields up in Chehalis.

 

I've seen that sign, and I dunno: I kind of like the look for the US 12 shield.  Shouldn't be too surprising in Washington, given their love affair with the one-piece shield, like so:



I don't really know why, but these annoy me for some reason.  I hope Oregon doesn't get any funny ideas and follow suit.
 

[xonhulu]

sweet 213!

this 58 was in a construction zone on I-5

Wow, that area is a hotbed of goofy signs.  The OR 222 signs weren't too far away, and of course these two classics were just up the road:

 

To be precise, the first is now gone, but the one with "OREGON" is still hanging on.

[KEK Inc.]

*sighs*  Just as well, I guess.  Washington is really going overboard removing the classic cut-out sheilds.  I visited University of Washington (Seattle) a couple of weeks ago, and I saw some very disturbing shields up in Chehalis.

   

I've seen that sign, and I dunno: I kind of like the look for the US 12 shield.  Shouldn't be too surprising in Washington, given their love affair with the one-piece shield, like so:

I don't really know why, but these annoy me for some reason.  I hope Oregon doesn't get any funny ideas and follow suit.
 

That sign doesn't really bother me as much.  I actually prefer that if they're going to fill in the gap.  Still, I don't like the black area used to fill in the square. 



This is what should be used.   

[agentsteel53]

Washington has had white squares instead of cutout interstate shields intermittently since the very beginning - there's an I-90 made to 1956 specs (extra large state name) on a white square still kicking around. 

Oregon on the other hand - had not noticed anything in that state, but I tend to pay little mind to their interstate shields since the chance of finding a state-named one is almost zero these days.  (I know of one left, and even that one I saw in 2007 so it may be gone)

[agentsteel53]

as for the reason states are going away from cutouts - the blanks are more generic and therefore easier to recycle.  You can peel off the worn facing on a black square shield and use the blank to make a Do Not Enter sign, for example - but a cutout US shield can only be remade into a cutout US shield.

[KEK Inc.]

Washington has had white squares instead of cutout interstate shields intermittently since the very beginning - there's an I-90 made to 1956 specs (extra large state name) on a white square still kicking around. 

Oregon on the other hand - had not noticed anything in that state, but I tend to pay little mind to their interstate shields since the chance of finding a state-named one is almost zero these days.  (I know of one left, and even that one I saw in 2007 so it may be gone)

I have seen the white squares behind the interstate sheild as well, but they're fairly rare.  I'm not a big fan of the blue large sign. 

I understand that it's more economical to have a full sign that doesn't have a weird shape.  Obviously, the cost to cut the sign would be higher if it has to follow a precise shape or pattern. 

[xonhulu]

These aren't sign goofs per se, just some goofy looking signs I've seen around Oregon.  I've probably shared some of these already.

First, an OR 22 "bubble shield" from Hebo and a US 22 shield in Stayton:

 

If the round 99E shields weren't weird enough, how about these "interstate 99W" shields on some mast arms in Tigard:



These odd-shaped OR 47 shields were posted on US 30 and Old Rainier Rd (old US 30) during a repair project that forced 47's temporary closure:

 

Lane County has a couple of reverse-color shields posted; note also the unusual shape on 126:

 

[corco]

I have seen the white squares behind the interstate sheild as well, but they're fairly rare.  I'm not a big fan of the blue large sign. 

Drive I-82 sometime- especially eastbound there are many. It's an older specification- near as I can tell in the mid 90s they put up a ton for a few years, but recent sign replacements have all been cutout. There are also a couple really old non-cutouts floating around- at least one I-5 and one I-90, but I suspect those to be anomalies.

[mightyace]

If the round 99E shields weren't weird enough, how about these "interstate 99W" shields on some mast arms in Tigard:

Has Bud Schuster made a trip west to Oregon? 

[agentsteel53]

the non-cutout interstate shield dates back to the 1950s in Washington.  I have seen an I-90 with 1956 (not 1957) specs on the white square.

[Hellfighter]

Maybe ODOT should get new contractors! 

[xonhulu]

These will be about the last photos I'll post in this topic.  We've seen state routes marked as US Highways, now it's time to turn the tables:

Two "OR 101" shields from Waldport, OR.  The first has been replaced, but you can still find the second if you know where to look -- the adjacent sign is your hint.

 


There are quite a few of these "OR 199" shields in Grants Pass.  This happens to be the last reassurance marker on northbound 199:




OR 97 makes a couple appearances.  In the first picture, somebody was really confused!

 


OR 20 and OR 395, including one from the infamous missigned duplex in Burns:

     


Not just an Oregon phenomenon; here's NJ 30 in Atlantic City, WA 12 from Waitsburg, WA,  and NY 62 from Niagara Falls: