I mainly used AAroads for signage information over the years. What sites have you all found useful for road and highway information? Here are some of my favorites:
http://www.us-highways.com/
- This is a good site for US Route logs and description on signage history. Not many pictures but not short on fact and figures. This site actually has a ton of information on the old and modern Florida Road system.
http://www.usends.com/
- This site is shows almost all the historic and current end points for US Routes. It has literally every US Route that existed on greatly defined map. This is probably the best site for finding historic road alignments and end points. Lots of signage photos are here as well.
http://www.interstate-guide.com/
- This a great site for information on the Interstate System. This is very similar to USends except with a larger emphasis on photos instead of maps.
http://www.steve-riner.com/nmhighways/NMHome.htm
- Not exactly the best looking site but this guy did a ton of research into the New Mexico Highway system. This is one of the harder states to get accurate highway information on and this guy has basically everything you could want that is New Mexico.
http://www.historic66.com/
- This is a great site on Route 66. I used this site as a reference for a lot of the Old 66 road alignments which detailed extensively, or at least more so than I can find on most sites. This sites has a lot of reference maps.
http://www.theroadwanderer.net/route66.htm
- Another good Route 66 site that has a lot of information, photos and maps. Also very good for old 66 alignments.
http://www.arizonaroads.com/index.html
- This site hasn't been updated in a long time but contains a ton of information and photos on Arizona Roads. Since the system hasn't changed much in rural areas most of the information still accurate. There is some highly detailed maps of Arizona and New Mexico along with a nice goof signage stub.
http://www.kurumi.com/roads/ct/
- This is a very good site for anything highway related to the state of Connecticut.
http://www.cahighways.org/
- An excellent site for anything related to California Highways. This site is mostly informational, so if you are more into pictures rather than reading it isn't for you.
http://www.michiganhighways.org/
- A very well put together and good looking site for Michigan highways. Contains a ton of information that is very organized.
http://www.dangerousroads.org/
- I saw someone suggest this here on the forum. Very cursory information but it gives you ideas what to look for a quick road trip adventure on the twisties and turnies.
http://www.route6tour.com/aboutus.htm
- Solid site on US Route 6.
http://usroute89.com/
- A solid site on the often overlooked US 89.
http://www.alpsroads.net
Great site, hosted by Steve Alpert (Alps). Lots of photos, lots of history, lots of everything.
Some of my go-to highway sites:
www.iowahighways.org (Really good page about highways in Iowa, including tons of history)
www.n9jig.com (The Illinois highways page, really useful when I was looking for history about highways in IL)
www.wisconsinhighways.org has the same author as the aforementioned Michigan Highways page, and the content is equally extensive and useful.
I also use usends, the Michigan Highways page, and Kurumi's site mentioned in the OP.
EDIT: whoops, misspelled one of the links. All better now.
I try to link to relevant road sites on a state to state basis on the newer guides for AARoads.
Those include Steve Anderson's web sites, which are a great resource for highway history and backgrounds:
http://www.nycroads.com/
http://phillyroads.com/
http://www.bostonroads.com/
Other worthwhile sites include Jeff Kitsko's PAHighways: http://www.pahighways.com/
Mark Sinsabaugh's NY Routes: http://www.gribblenation.net/nyroutes/
Oscar Voss' Hawaii Highways: http://www.hawaiihighways.com/
etc. etc.
CalTrans is where I go for project information. There are usually more links to be found when digging around that wind up giving even more detail. Here's an example using District 1's webpage:
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist1/d1projects/
For fun drives via YouTube it is hard to beat Freeway Brent's offerings. Doing speeded up camera work, Brent eats those miles up in a hurry!
http://www.youtube.com/user/FreewayBrent#p/u/0/NEVB4furug4
Rick
Quote from: DesertDog on July 25, 2014, 07:03:34 AM
http://www.nevadadot.com/
- Usually I'm not a fan of how most DOT sites are laid out but this one is pretty user friendly. It is pretty cut and dry but has a ton of historical maps of the Nevada Highway, it basically has every single year back to the 1910s scanned on PDF.
If you like the historic Nevada maps, you might try looking at this site:
http://contentdm.library.unr.edu/explore/NVMapsExplore/nvmaps/highway.html
It's the same map collection as NDOT's, maintained by the map library at UNR. While the maps aren't PDFs you can download, they are in at much higher resolution and are displayed in a JPEG viewer format that allows high-quality closeup viewing.
historicaerials.com (http://historicaerials.com)
historicmapworks.com (http://historicmapworks.com)
Wikipedia can be a great source of road information, depending on the state. A lot of the information on Oklahoma roads I've contributed there has not previously been on the Web in an easily accessible form.
Ditto with California. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:USRD/A/L is a semi-accurate indicator of how good a state is doing: the lower the omega, the better quality coverage there generally is.
http://libraryarchives.metro.net/DPGTL/Californiahighways/SitemapCaHighways.htm has all of the California Highways and Public Works journals, free for download. There's other gems like this scattered around the Internet, if you know where to look.
This is a cool website:
http://www.highwayexplorer.com/IndianaHighwayList.php (http://www.highwayexplorer.com/IndianaHighwayList.php)
Would this be a pinnable thread?
Meanwhile.....
TX county maps online (1993-1996)
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/txdot/browse.html
TX county maps online, alternate site (1993-1996)
http://txdot.lib.utexas.edu/
TX county maps online (2006)
http://www.dot.state.tx.us/apps-cg/grid_search/county_grid_search.htm
Quote from: txstateends on July 28, 2014, 06:13:18 AM
Would this be a pinnable thread?
Meanwhile.....
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bethelbulletin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F05%2Fpush-pin-red.gif&hash=816b4c30df46b5d7cc429e6914484c419352e4c2)
Done.
For Pennsylvania, then...
Current PENNDOT county maps:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdPlanRes.nsf/infoBPRCartoCountyType10
Historic scans of the same:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdPlanRes.nsf/infoBPRHistoricCountyMaps
Township, borough and city maps:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdPlanRes.nsf/PlanningAndResearchHomePage?OpenFrameSet&Frame=main&Src=%2FInternet%2FBureaus%2FpdPlanRes.nsf%2FinfoBPRTownshipandBoroughMaps%3FOpenForm%26AutoFramed
State tourism and transportation map:
http://www.dot.state.pa.us/Internet/Bureaus/pdPlanRes.nsf/PlanningAndResearchHomePage?OpenFrameSet&Frame=main&Src=%2FInternet%2FBureaus%2FpdPlanRes.nsf%2FinfoBPRCartoOfficialTransMap%3FOpenForm%26AutoFramed
Quote from: SSOWorld on July 28, 2014, 06:18:54 AM
Quote from: txstateends on July 28, 2014, 06:13:18 AM
Would this be a pinnable thread?
Meanwhile.....
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bethelbulletin.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2012%2F05%2Fpush-pin-red.gif&hash=816b4c30df46b5d7cc429e6914484c419352e4c2)
Done.
Wow, thanx! I'm just glad I wasn't in the way of THAT push-pin... :D
Also.....
TxDOT projects (special sites as well as by district)
http://www.txdot.gov/inside-txdot/projects.html
TxDOT Highway Designation Files
(usually includes issuance, span/ends, distance (not always accurate), historical background (at times))
http://www.txdot.gov/tpp/search/
Road Terminology glossary (AlpsRoads)
http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/faq.html
Roadfan.com's FAQ
(the still-online reference which dates back to the old misc.transport.road days)
http://www.roadfan.com/mtrfaq.html
Maryland Roads http://www.mdroads.com has information on every interstate, US, and state highway in Maryland. We will be working to update a lot of the info and pictures in the coming days/months.
iPhone
Here's a good site for the Tri-State area (Quad Cities, Chicagoland, Rockford, Milwaukee, NW Indiana region). Traffic conditions and road projects for a number of Midwestern states from each respective DOT
http://www.travelmidwest.com/lmiga/home.jsp (http://www.travelmidwest.com/lmiga/home.jsp)
Washington State Resources
- Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/): Project information, news, maps, traffic cameras
- WSDOT State Highway Log (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/roadway/pdf/HwyLog2013Statewide.pdf) (PDF): Route mileage (signed mileposts and actual mileage), speed limits, lane counts, intersections, shoulder widths; updated annually since 2001 (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/roadway/statehighwaylog.htm)
- WSDOT Annual Traffic Report (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/pdf/Annual_Traffic_Report_2013.pdf) (PDF): Traffic counts and couplet diagrams; updated annually since 1980 (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/travel/annualtrafficreport.htm)
- WSDOT Interchange Viewer (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/default.htm) (PDFs): Diagrams of interchanges and major intersections on state highways (example (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/mapsdata/tools/InterchangeViewer/pdf/SR529/529X003.pdf))
- Washington State RCW Chapter 47.17 (http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=47.17): Legal definitions for state highways from the Washington State Legislature
Washington State Fansites
- Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProject_U.S._Roads/Washington): A small group (often only me) of roadgeeks attempt to improve encyclopedic coverage of Washington's highways.
- Highways of Washington State (http://www.angelfire.com/wa2/hwysofwastate/): Mark Bozanich's website with the history of every state-designated highway, since 1937
- Corco Highways - Washington (http://corcohighways.org/?page_id=12): Corco's (https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?action=profile;u=22) completed journey to clinch every state highway in Washington, with photos of state highway shields
- Washington State Highways Blog (http://washingtonhighways.blogspot.com/): Sotosoroto's attempt to clinch every state highway in Washington in consecutive numerical order, ongoing since February 2008; currently just under two-thirds of the way there, at the 129th of 195
The Virginia Highways Project (http://www.vahighways.com/)
Roads to the Future (http://www.roadstothefuture.com/)
You know what I always used to use?
https://www.aaroads.com/kick-off/highway.html (https://www.aaroads.com/kick-off/highway.html)
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 26, 2014, 08:48:00 PM
Wikipedia can be a great source of road information, depending on the state. A lot of the information on Oklahoma roads I've contributed there has not previously been on the Web in an easily accessible form.
At about age 8 or 9, when I
really started absorbing information about roads, and even things today, Wikipedia has always been good, and a place Ive gone to a lot to retrieve information about roads. As for proposals, I have used various different sites to learn about proposals, and for upcoming projects, DOT websites are always good. I've even learned some things from some of the threads on here, as well.
www.indyroads.com
Ran across this quite randomly: The Great American Road Sign Project (http://www.pbase.com/csw62/signs_us_traffic_related).
historic official maps: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=5112
For NC here is a pretty useful site, not recently updated but has a ton of good info and pictures:
http://www.gribblenation.com/ncpics/
Another site that I pay close attention to, as it details plans in the works that will (eventually) shorten the time it takes me to get in and out of the New Bern area at the beginning and end of my road trips:
http://www.super70corridor.com/Page/1
I have been frequenting http://roads.billburmaster.com for years, and it's a growing archive of road information and signage photos. Based in Illinois, so Illinois is the most complete state for information. I've been submitting photos here and there for use on the site, too.
Unfortunately many of "roadgeeking" websites with lots of photos are now defunct for whatever reason...no time, lost interest, don't take road pics anymore, didn't wanna pay for a domain anymore, etc...
Quote from: roadgeek on March 03, 2018, 02:16:39 PM
Unfortunately many of "roadgeeking" websites with lots of photos are now defunct for whatever reason...no time, lost interest, don't take road pics anymore, didn't wanna pay for a domain anymore, etc...
As sad as it is, GSV pretty much put all of that out of business.
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 03, 2018, 02:58:17 PM
Quote from: roadgeek on March 03, 2018, 02:16:39 PM
Unfortunately many of "roadgeeking" websites with lots of photos are now defunct for whatever reason...no time, lost interest, don't take road pics anymore, didn't wanna pay for a domain anymore, etc...
As sad as it is, GSV pretty much put all of that out of business.
The GSV doesn't really cover anything but the main roads out West. There are tons of secondary highways that I along with some other folks cover out here that the GSV will no go on. I noticed the GSV drivers went a lot more risky roads prior to 2010 and tend to stick to more mainline stuff. Granted I know freeways and primary highways is what a lot of people want to look at, read, and write about...Google doesnt have a total monopoly on road imaging yet.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on March 03, 2018, 03:27:44 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on March 03, 2018, 02:58:17 PM
Quote from: roadgeek on March 03, 2018, 02:16:39 PM
Unfortunately many of "roadgeeking" websites with lots of photos are now defunct for whatever reason...no time, lost interest, don't take road pics anymore, didn't wanna pay for a domain anymore, etc...
As sad as it is, GSV pretty much put all of that out of business.
The GSV doesn't really cover anything but the main roads out West. There are tons of secondary highways that I along with some other folks cover out here that the GSV will no go on. I noticed the GSV drivers went a lot more risky roads prior to 2010 and tend to stick to more mainline stuff. Granted I know freeways and primary highways is what a lot of people want to look at, read, and write about...Google doesnt have a total monopoly on road imaging yet.
Even then, the image quality of GSV is very meh. Sure, they have higher resolution cameras now, but there's tons of other issues, like unnecessary blur (which, understandably, seems to affect road signs disproportionally) and stitching problems that make the images wonky.
The long and winding road that eventually got me to this point:
http://www.kurumi.com/index.html
Just a note, it would be a good idea to remove US highways.com from the listing.
Quote from: Roadgeekteen on January 22, 2019, 08:36:34 AM
Just a note, it would be a good idea to remove US highways.com from the listing.
Quote from: DesertDog's profile
Last Active: August 17, 2014, 05:37:17 PM
Don't hold your breath (unless the moderators intervene).
Yeah, I think that a mod should step in and remove/edit it to avoid confusing people.
Or asterisk or footnote the site with the notation that the site is gone, but portions are available on the Wayback Machine or some of the other sites that have scarfed up content.
Quote from: hbelkins on January 27, 2019, 03:21:05 PM
Or asterisk or footnote the site with the notation that the site is gone, but portions are available on the Wayback Machine or some of the other sites that have scarfed up content.
Doesn't one normally scarf things
down, not up?
Where do you guys go to get updated (like within the last year or two) traffic counts for certain stretches of road?
Quote from: djsekani on March 12, 2019, 10:12:54 PM
Where do you guys go to get updated (like within the last year or two) traffic counts for certain stretches of road?
Some state DOTs have that information on their sites. Kentucky does; it has a traffic counts map that shows the most recent count and the location of the counting station.
Quote from: djsekani on March 12, 2019, 10:12:54 PM
Where do you guys go to get updated (like within the last year or two) traffic counts for certain stretches of road?
I think most state DOTs collect and publish this data in some form.
Nevada DOT compiles this data statewide, even for several local arterials they do not maintain. They publish an annual traffic report on their website that details locations for all permanent (automated traffic recorders, loops embedded into the pavement or roadside sensors) and temporary ("set out count tubes for a week") count locations, and publish the count data/averages for each station going back 10 years.
Just a note that I've gone through all of this, and those sites that are still good I've confirmed and will have updated in my links pages when I do my next upload. Watch the Pacific Southwest Forum, or my blog at blog.cahighways.org for the announcement of that in a few weeks.
This is a great source to browse exit lists:
http://www.ajfroggie.com/triskele/index.html
Quote from: Henry on May 09, 2019, 09:50:59 AM
This is a great source to browse exit lists:
http://www.ajfroggie.com/triskele/index.html
It's been up for years, so it's nothing new.
Quote from: Verlanka on May 10, 2019, 09:28:31 AM
Quote from: Henry on May 09, 2019, 09:50:59 AM
This is a great source to browse exit lists:
http://www.ajfroggie.com/triskele/index.html
It's been up for years, so it's nothing new.
It's a bit outdated, too.
^ Because (like my response in this thread), it hasn't been touched in a long time.
Quote from: djsekani on March 12, 2019, 10:12:54 PM
Where do you guys go to get updated (like within the last year or two) traffic counts for certain stretches of road?
https://blog.cubitplanning.com/2019/07/52-sources-traffic-counts-aadt-data/
Bumping this thread to inform you of a new roadgeeking blog:
https://tonygrahamvirtualdrive.blogspot.com
(FYI: I helped design the BGS's for that site, and I'll definitely showcase my own creations in Road Related Illustrations at a later time.)
Quote from: Henry on January 04, 2021, 11:37:01 AM
Bumping this thread to inform you of a new roadgeeking blog:
https://tonygrahamvirtualdrive.blogspot.com
(FYI: I helped design the BGS's for that site, and I'll definitely showcase my own creations in Road Related Illustrations at a later time.)
This reminds me of TrippyDrive '71 (http://www.kurumi.com/roads/signmaker/index.html).
Just came across this. Link in headline.
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1968 Interstate System Additions Proposed March 1970 (http://futureinterstatecorridors.com/Interstate%20System%20Proposed%20Additions%201970.html)
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1968 authorized a 1500-mile increase in the nation's Interstate Highway System, bringing the total to 42,500 miles. Texas proposed I-27 from Amarillo to Lubbock in 1968 and received approval. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the other states to submit proposals for the available 1500 miles. The states however proposed a total of more than 11,000 miles. By April 1970, proposals for 9,400 miles were submitted at with an estimated cost of $13 billion. Some proposals became actual Interstate routes like I-540 in northwest Arkansas, which later was redesignated as I-49, and US 78 ADHS Corridor X from Memphis to Birmingham that has since been completed as I-22.
Not directly related to this thread but here how Andy's Highway kick-off page and AARoads looked back in 2000.
https://web.archive.org/web/20000823083541/http://www.aaroads.com/kick-off/highway.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20001212234700/http://www.aaroads.com/index.html
Quote from: skluth on February 24, 2022, 01:59:01 PM
Just came across this. Link in headline.
Federal Aid Highway Act of 1968 Interstate System Additions Proposed March 1970 (http://futureinterstatecorridors.com/Interstate%20System%20Proposed%20Additions%201970.html)
The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1968 authorized a 1500-mile increase in the nation's Interstate Highway System, bringing the total to 42,500 miles. Texas proposed I-27 from Amarillo to Lubbock in 1968 and received approval. The Bureau of Public Roads asked the other states to submit proposals for the available 1500 miles. The states however proposed a total of more than 11,000 miles. By April 1970, proposals for 9,400 miles were submitted at with an estimated cost of $13 billion. Some proposals became actual Interstate routes like I-540 in northwest Arkansas, which later was redesignated as I-49, and US 78 ADHS Corridor X from Memphis to Birmingham that has since been completed as I-22.
I thought that color scheme looked familiar: https://www.kurumi.com/roads/3di/1970req.html
The futureinterstatecorridors site has updated many of the entries, though
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on February 21, 2023, 12:55:57 PM
Not directly related to this thread but here how Andy's Highway kick-off page and AARoads looked back in 2000.
https://web.archive.org/web/20000823083541/http://www.aaroads.com/kick-off/highway.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20001212234700/http://www.aaroads.com/index.html
I just checked out those links, and there are a lot of sections missing. Any chance of them being restored?
Quote from: D-Dey65 on April 14, 2023, 08:52:21 PM
Quote from: Stephane Dumas on February 21, 2023, 12:55:57 PM
Not directly related to this thread but here how Andy's Highway kick-off page and AARoads looked back in 2000.
https://web.archive.org/web/20000823083541/http://www.aaroads.com/kick-off/highway.html
https://web.archive.org/web/20001212234700/http://www.aaroads.com/index.html
I just checked out those links, and there are a lot of sections missing. Any chance of them being restored?
It got to be a pain maintaining and updating that page. As time wore on, I was removing more links than adding them as roadgeek sites started dropping. Plus verifying url's got to be a hassle. Definitely no desire to restore those.