Maine

[Dougtone]

Come visit the picturesque Deer Isle Bridge over the Eggemoggin Reach in Maine. I found a lot of information about the bridge to go along with my photos.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/deer-isle-bridge-in-maine.html

[Alps]

Come visit the picturesque Deer Isle Bridge over the Eggemoggin Reach in Maine. I found a lot of information about the bridge to go along with my photos.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/deer-isle-bridge-in-maine.html

I'm just gonna say the word Eggemoggin out loud for awhile.

[Dougtone]

Come visit the picturesque Deer Isle Bridge over the Eggemoggin Reach in Maine. I found a lot of information about the bridge to go along with my photos.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/deer-isle-bridge-in-maine.html

I'm just gonna say the word Eggemoggin out loud for awhile.

Are you going to try to say Eggemoggin five times fast?

[KEVIN_224]

It sounds too much like Egg McMuffin. Ayuh!

[Pete from Boston]

Come visit the picturesque Deer Isle Bridge over the Eggemoggin Reach in Maine. I found a lot of information about the bridge to go along with my photos.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/deer-isle-bridge-in-maine.html

I had no idea that bridge existed until stumbling across it by accident. I have a tremendous affection for those artful Steinman bridges, and lament the loss of the Waldo Hancock Bridge every time I go through that area, so what a great surprise it was to stumble upon another one hidden off in the back roads.

[KEVIN_224]

https://www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/local/major-car-crash-pile-up-on-i-95-northbound-in-maine-causes-many-injuries/97-96a206fe-f935-4b76-abee-734db37f3305

I-95 North in Carmel, ME, a few miles west of Bangor. 30 vehicles involved. Some combination of the blinding morning sun and the design of the road. The same spot saw an even worse pile up in either 2015 or 2016. It was snowing at the time of that one.

[yakra]

One of our more unusual BGSes is in the area:
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7597921,-68.9816209,3a,36.9y,110.63h,92.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st-2YxHs3LJNMB5Op-7aIXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[roadman]

Come visit the picturesque Deer Isle Bridge over the Eggemoggin Reach in Maine. I found a lot of information about the bridge to go along with my photos.
https://www.gribblenation.org/2019/12/deer-isle-bridge-in-maine.html

I'm just gonna say the word Eggemoggin out loud for awhile.

Are you going to try to say Eggemoggin five times fast?

Easy.  "Egernoggin.  Five times fast."

[KEVIN_224]

One of our more unusual BGSes is in the area:
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7597921,-68.9816209,3a,36.9y,110.63h,92.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st-2YxHs3LJNMB5Op-7aIXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

YIKES! How many non-Maine agencies made that one?

[ClassicHasClass]

Actually, that looks more like an old-school Maine sign, or at least the gantry does. They used gantries like that during the first iteration of the Turnpike.

[PHLBOS]

One of our more unusual BGSes is in the area:
https://www.google.com/maps/@44.7597921,-68.9816209,3a,36.9y,110.63h,92.91t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1st-2YxHs3LJNMB5Op-7aIXg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Even more odder is that its predecessor through-sign shows a neutered I-95 shield (see 2009 & 2011 GSVs) whereas its recent replacement is a state-named shield.

[sturmde]

Actually, that looks more like an old-school Maine sign, or at least the gantry does. They used gantries like that during the first iteration of the Turnpike.

If you look closely at the lower left corner on each BGS, you'll see DOT 2019 or similar dates over the past couple of years.  They just replaced most of the older signs last year.  Clues are the restoration of MAINE on the 95 shield, and the proper large capital N to start NORTH.  Before the replacement, most shields had been state-neutered, and initial "overcapitals" were rare.

[ClassicHasClass]

Yes, I got that far. The retroflective background would also indicate it isn't actually an old sign. But it's amusing (to me) that the layout and the gantry resemble older ones, like this: http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/me/archive/00001-VS2.jpg

[deathtopumpkins]

If you look closely at the lower left corner on each BGS, you'll see DOT 2019.  They just replaced the older signs last year.  Clues are the restoration of MAINE on the 95 shield, and the proper large capital N to start NORTH.

That would be a bit surprising, since the linked streetview imagery is dated September 2018. 

They're still fairly new signs though. The 2011 imagery has the neutered 95 shield, and small capital N.

[Roadsguy]

If you look closely at the lower left corner on each BGS, you'll see DOT 2019.  They just replaced the older signs last year.  Clues are the restoration of MAINE on the 95 shield, and the proper large capital N to start NORTH.

That would be a bit surprising, since the linked streetview imagery is dated September 2018. 

They're still fairly new signs though. The 2011 imagery has the neutered 95 shield, and small capital N.

I see "MDOT 0116" (January 2016?) on both signs and the exit tab in the Sept 2018 Street View, so I don't know what sturmde saw.

[fwydriver405]

Had a few questions about some practices in Maine for a while...

1. Why are minimum speed limits only posted on the Maine Turnpike* (I-95) from exit 7 to 109, and MaineDOT-owned freeways (including Maine Turnpike Approach and Falmouth Spur) only show the posted speed limit? After south of Exit 7 and north of exit 109 in I-95, only the posted speed limit is signed and the minimum speed signs disappear.

2. Why are there no exit numbers on the freeway portion on US-1 in Bath?

3. Are exit numbers on I-195, I-195 between Scarborough and Falmouth Spur, and I-395 sequential?

4. On the major state routes that are non-freeway, like US 202 or SR 4, why are there no mile markers posted like what New Hampshire and Massachusetts does on those kinds of roads?

5. Will guide signs north of Augusta in I-95/395 be replaced soon, as well as on 295 in Portland?

6. On exit 45 on the Maine Turnpike, when the signs were replaced, I noticed that the destinations were changed back to "South Portland / Maine Mall Rd.". Originally with the old exit numbers (7), it was originally also "South Portland / Maine Mall Rd.", but sometime within the exit renumbering, the destinations were changed to "Maine Mall Rd. / Payne Rd.". Any clue why the destinations were changed during the 2004 exit renumbering?

7. Will variable speed limit signs like the ones seen on the ORT plazas be installed on the mainline Turnpike/I-95? Seems wasteful to have the normal/minimum speed limit posted, only to have another sign later saying "maximum speed 45 when flashing". NH does this with I-93 between MA and NH-101. Could those "maximum speed 45 when flashing" signs be ADVISORY only? Seems contradictory because when speeds are reduced, they are also posted on the REGULATORY signs on the ORT plazas...

8. In addition, why was the "maximum speed 45 when flashing" on I-295 and the MaineDOT segment of I-95 replaced with "reduce speed in inclement weather" signs?

9. Why do the pull-through signs on 295 in Portland, as well as 95/395 in Bangor say "Thru Traffic"? Shouldn't it say the next control city (South Portland/Scarborough/Falmouth/Augusta/Newport/Orono/Houlton/Brewer/Ellsworth)?

10. Is the Exit 1A tab incorrectly posted? This is not a left exit.

*A source from the Maine Turnpike Authority told me that they bought out the stretch from where the Piscataqua River Bridge touches down on land on the Maine side to MM 2.2, so that implies that the Maine Turnpike Authority now has ownership from the NH line to ex. 109 in Augusta.

EDIT: The Maine Turnpike only bought out the stretch from where the Piscataqua River Bridge touches down on land on the Maine side to Mile Marker 2.2, not to the NH line like I originally said.

[Alps]

Had a few questions about some practices in Maine for a while...

1. Why are minimum speed limits only posted on the Maine Turnpike* (I-95) from exit 7 to 109, and MaineDOT-owned freeways (including Maine Turnpike Approach and Falmouth Spur) only show the posted speed limit? After south of Exit 7 and north of exit 109 in I-95, only the posted speed limit is signed and the minimum speed signs disappear.

2. Why are there no exit numbers on the freeway portion on US-1 in Bath?

3. Are exit numbers on I-195, I-295 between Scarborough and Falmouth Spur, and I-395 sequential?

4. On the major state routes that are non-freeway, like US 202 or SR 4, why are there no mile markers posted like what New Hampshire and Massachusetts does on those kinds of roads?

5. Will guide signs north of Augusta in I-95/395 be replaced soon, as well as on 295 in Portland?

6. On exit 45 on the Maine Turnpike, when the signs were replaced, I noticed that the destinations were changed back to "South Portland / Maine Mall Rd.". Originally with the old exit numbers (7), it was originally also "South Portland / Maine Mall Rd.", but sometime within the exit renumbering, the destinations were changed to "Maine Mall Rd. / Payne Rd.". Any clue why the destinations were changed during the 2004 exit renumbering?

7. Will variable speed limit signs like the ones seen on the ORT plazas be installed on the mainline Turnpike/I-95? Seems wasteful to have the normal/minimum speed limit posted, only to have another sign later saying "maximum speed 45 when flashing". NH does this with I-93 between MA and NH-101. Could those "maximum speed 45 when flashing" signs be ADVISORY only? Seems contradictory because when speeds are reduced, they are also posted on the REGULATORY signs on the ORT plazas...

8. In addition, why was the "maximum speed 45 when flashing" on I-295 and the MaineDOT segment of I-95 replaced with "reduce speed in inclement weather" signs?

9. Why do the pull-through signs on 295 in Portland, as well as 95/395 in Bangor say "Thru Traffic"? Shouldn't it say the next control city (South Portland/Scarborough/Falmouth/Augusta/Newport/Orono/Houlton/Brewer/Ellsworth)?

10. Is the Exit 1A tab incorrectly posted? This is not a left exit.

*A source from the Maine Turnpike Authority told me that they bought out the stretch from the NH line to MM 2.2, so that implies that the Maine Turnpike Authority now has ownership from the NH line to ex. 109 in Augusta.

1. different agency
2. not long enough
3. 295 is sequential. I think the others are close together and therefore both.
4. Maine doesn't do that
6. I imagine that signing a destination became more important. See new MUTCD.
7. I know of no plans for variable speeds.
9. My guess is next sign replacement will do what you suggest.
10. I've seen this issue pop up from time to time among all agencies lately. *shrug*

[yakra]

3. Call them sequential. These sections were not renumbered in the switch to milepost based in 2004. 195 & 395 are probably "close enough", though I don't know how the actual mileposts shake out & can't be arsed to look ATM. On "classic" I-295 thru Portland, exit numbers are off by about 1. Milepost 6 is in the gore of Exit 7.

5. Guide signs in Portland are new within the last several years.

6. Steve, is listing both a city name and a street name OK again?

7. I've only seen those "maximum speed 45 when flashing" signs used during snowstorms. Black text. Yellow background. I interpret that as...

8. Wait, friggin'. Huh? They're gone? Christbub, nawt like anybody paid attentionna them anyway.

9. Heh. I thought those in Portland had been replaced in kind recently, but re-checking GMSV, maybe not?

*A source from the Maine Turnpike Authority told me that they bought out the stretch from the NH line to MM 2.2, so that implies that the Maine Turnpike Authority now has ownership from the NH line to ex. 109 in Augusta.

Wow, no kidding... Between the 2014 & 2016 revisions of the MEDOTPUBRDS shapefiles, the switch from State hwy to Toll hwy jurisdiction changed: 2014 ~= Spruce Creek bridge N of ME101; 2016 ~= where the Piscataqua River Bridge touches down on land. Either the MTA bought out a little more of it, or some wires got crossed in communication...

[deathtopumpkins]

*A source from the Maine Turnpike Authority told me that they bought out the stretch from the NH line to MM 2.2, so that implies that the Maine Turnpike Authority now has ownership from the NH line to ex. 109 in Augusta.

Wow, no kidding... Between the 2014 & 2016 revisions of the MEDOTPUBRDS shapefiles, the switch from State hwy to Toll hwy jurisdiction changed: 2014 ~= Spruce Creek bridge N of ME101; 2016 ~= where the Piscataqua River Bridge touches down on land. Either the MTA bought out a little more of it, or some wires got crossed in communication...

Well that would explain the "begin Maine Turnpike" sign that appeared right after the bridge sometime between 2015 and 2018: https://goo.gl/maps/6YHUbBePL3bcvAV5A

[fwydriver405]

3. Call them sequential. These sections were not renumbered in the switch to milepost based in 2004. 195 & 395 are probably "close enough", though I don't know how the actual mileposts shake out & can't be arsed to look ATM. On "classic" I-295 thru Portland, exit numbers are off by about 1. Milepost 6 is in the gore of Exit 7.

5. Guide signs in Portland are new within the last several years.

6. Steve, is listing both a city name and a street name OK again?

7. I've only seen those "maximum speed 45 when flashing" signs used during snowstorms. Black text. Yellow background. I interpret that as...

8. Wait, friggin'. Huh? They're gone? Christbub, nawt like anybody paid attentionna them anyway.

9. Heh. I thought those in Portland had been replaced in kind recently, but re-checking GMSV, maybe not?

*A source from the Maine Turnpike Authority told me that they bought out the stretch from the NH line to MM 2.2, so that implies that the Maine Turnpike Authority now has ownership from the NH line to ex. 109 in Augusta.

Wow, no kidding... Between the 2014 & 2016 revisions of the MEDOTPUBRDS shapefiles, the switch from State hwy to Toll hwy jurisdiction changed: 2014 ~= Spruce Creek bridge N of ME101; 2016 ~= where the Piscataqua River Bridge touches down on land. Either the MTA bought out a little more of it, or some wires got crossed in communication...

For 5 and 9: Exit 1 northbound was replaced as part of the ORT projected, some of the Exit 5 signs were replaced in 2018, and I believe exits 2, 3, 4, 7, 9, and 11 were replaced between 2010-2012. Believe the remaining Portland-area signs are original but not sure.

For 7 and 8, according to the AARoads Photo Gallery of I-95, some of those signs were also used as part of the moose crossing detection system. Not sure about 295. Here are two examples:

I-95 (MaineDOT): Before (pictured below is from 27 June 2005 from AARoads, and here is a newer 2011 sign)



After (removed sometime after May 2018 and replaced with a VMS sign)

I-295 (MaineDOT):
Before (Oct 2016)
After (Jul 2018-present)

As for the MTA ownership, I started noticing when these signs started popping up in 2016-ish (what it was originally, also this sign close to MM2.2), and was curious about what was going on...

[PHLBOS]

10. Is the Exit 1A tab incorrectly posted? This is not a left exit.

I've seen similar exit tab placement boo-boos elsewhere.

[yakra]

I-295 (MaineDOT):
Before (Oct 2016)
After (Jul 2018-present)

Those solar panels tho

[fwydriver405]

6. Steve, is listing both a city name and a street name OK again?

I found this on the 2009 MUTCD:

Section 2E.10 Amount of Legend on Guide Signs
Guidance:
01 No more than two destination names or street names should be displayed on any Advance Guide sign or Exit
Direction sign. A city name and street name on the same sign should be avoided. Where two or three signs are
placed on the same supports, destinations or names should be limited to one per sign, or to a total of three in the
display. Sign legends should not exceed three lines of copy, exclusive of the exit number and action or distance
information.

[shadyjay]

Re:  #6

The change from South Portland/Maine Mall Road to "Maine Mall Rd/Payne Rd was part of a combined Portland area exit sign change for exits 45-48.  Prior to the change, you had several exits all labelled "Portland".  Exit 48 was "Portland/Westbrook", Exit 45 was under construction, and new Exit 46 was "Jetport/Portland".  Sometime shortly after Exit 45 opened, it was decided to change the "vaugeness" of Portland by getting specific with street names.  There were already signs that read "Portland use Exits 44, 46, 47, 48 / South Portland use Exits 45, 46" signs NB before Exit 44 and SB before Exit 48. 

Exit 44 (I-295) was changed when the express EZ-Pass conversion had Exit 1 to South Portland closed, so having South Portland signed on Exit 44 didn't make sense at the time, so it was greened out.  Now with the express lanes, one has to cut over relatively quick to get from those lanes to the South Portland exit.  And all that exit does is lead you onto the "Maine Turnpike Approach Road" which is the connector between Exit 45 and US 1.  The only difference is if you use Exit 45, there is no exit toll (entrance only). 

[KEVIN_224]

OK...if it's technically now the Maine Turnpike at the Maine side of the Piscataqua River Bridge...

Are those three exits in Kittery (2 exits southbound) still considered toll free? I also wondered about Exit 7 in York, as that always came before the existing York toll plaza.