Unique, Odd, or Interesting Signs aka The good, the bad, and the ugly

[mrsman]

This may not count for much, but the situation overall is fairly interesting:

WA-522 northbound at US-2; Monroe, WA: https://goo.gl/maps/v6KATX2kWJBpB6Cd8

The sign shows that the left lane is for US-2 West towards Everett, WA; the right lane is for US-2 East towards Wenatchee, WA.

This is correct, however, the left lane is heavily used to access US-2 East, to allow traffic to reach a traffic signal that is bypassed by the other exit. At the bottom of the off-ramp for "US-2 West", there are only two lanes, and both turn left towards US-2 East, with the right lane being an optional left/right turn lane instead.

This part here is troubling.  The right lane should be for right turns only so that they are not blocked by people making a left and waiting for a green light.  There  can't be that much demand for the left here, given the existence of the slip lane.

My hunch tells me this layout remains from before the slip ramp was installed about ten years ago to allow unimpeded flow to and from US-2. Still, I feel like the sign on the left could also benefit from something saying "Kelsey St Northbound"; this could also go on a post-mounted sign. At any rate, the street is mentioned nowhere, and traffic that uses the US-2 East exit will end up overshooting the turn. Hardly a big deal, but it's interesting nonetheless.

Probably right.  A Kelsey st north sign would be helpful as those are likely the only people who would still use the old ramp and wait for the light to turn left.

[jakeroot]

This may not count for much, but the situation overall is fairly interesting:

WA-522 northbound at US-2; Monroe, WA: https://goo.gl/maps/v6KATX2kWJBpB6Cd8

The sign shows that the left lane is for US-2 West towards Everett, WA; the right lane is for US-2 East towards Wenatchee, WA.

This is correct, however, the left lane is heavily used to access US-2 East, to allow traffic to reach a traffic signal that is bypassed by the other exit. At the bottom of the off-ramp for "US-2 West", there are only two lanes, and both turn left towards US-2 East, with the right lane being an optional left/right turn lane instead.

This part here is troubling.  The right lane should be for right turns only so that they are not blocked by people making a left and waiting for a green light.  There  can't be that much demand for the left here, given the existence of the slip lane.

To the best of my knowledge, the only reason for that left turn from the old off-ramp even remaining is for traffic to reach northbound Kelsey St. It's hard for me to believe this movement remains so popular, but I cannot find a GSV image without at least one car waiting to turn left from the off-ramp, with several showing many cars waiting, although many (if not everyone) are in the inner left turn lane, for easier access to the following left turn lane. Given this, changing the right lane to a right-only would make sense.

If they wanted to go crazy, they could always keep the double left, but then modify the right turn to be through a larger slip ramp. But this seems expensive for a small benefit.

Long term, WA-522 is to be extended north to a Monroe Bypass, which is intended to eventually be controlled-access, much like WA-522 (note the stub ramp on the southern end of the overpass). This is unrelated but it should be noted how many long-term changes are expected in this area. The slip ramp was one of many changes.

[ErmineNotyours]

Seen yesterday: the only (mostly) intact Mile 69 post found in the wild.  It's bolted to the leg of a larger sign, and must be harder to steal.

[ErmineNotyours]

This was tipped off to me by Jake's link on another thread, but button copy on a SPUI?  Either it's an old SPUI, a recent button copy installation, or signs reused from the previous interchange.

[jakeroot]

This was tipped off to me by Jake's link on another thread, but button copy on a SPUI?  Either it's an old SPUI, a recent button copy installation, or signs reused from the previous interchange.

It's actually a really old SPUI. It was built circa 1993 or 1994, when the 215 was finished south of the 60 Freeway.

The only other place that might have a SPUI with button copy would be AZ, since some of their SPUIs were built in the 1990s (such as those along the 51).

[jakeroot]

How many blue distance signs are there?

Here's an example southwest of Anacortes, WA westbound on Hwy 20. Only installed in the last few years:

[1995hoo]

... really old .... ... circa 1993 or 1994 ....

[hotdogPi]

... really old .... ... circa 1993 or 1994 ....

If a cat or dog born in 1993 or 1994 can be considered really old, why can't a SPUI?

[formulanone]

... really old .... ... circa 1993 or 1994 ....

If a cat or dog born in 1993 or 1994 can be considered really old, why can't a SPUI?

Jake's not a cat, and neither is that SPUI.

I guess if it's before one's time, then "really old" is relativistic. But considering that similar infrastructure could last an average of 50-60 years, it's more "middle-aged".

[1995hoo]

Of course I also get the idea of something being "old" relative to other examples of the same design–so, for example, one day we might come to refer to the first few DDIs as "really old" for DDIs. The first SPUI I remember seeing was built in the early- to mid-1980s (Gallows Road and Arlington Boulevard here in Fairfax County), so the one referred to here didn't strike me as falling into that category either way, but really it just struck me as funny to see "really old" used in that way.

[ethanhopkin14]

... really old .... ... circa 1993 or 1994 ....

If a cat or dog born in 1993 or 1994 can be considered really old, why can't a SPUI?

That's because of their, relative to humans, short life spans. 

[US71]

Do Not Enter - Downtown Hot Springs, AR

[Scott5114]

Looks more like a Norwegian wrong way sign than anything that should be in the US.

[jakeroot]

I guess if it's before one's time, then "really old" is relativistic. But considering that similar infrastructure could last an average of 50-60 years, it's more "middle-aged".

Of course I also get the idea of something being "old" relative to other examples of the same design–so, for example, one day we might come to refer to the first few DDIs as "really old" for DDIs. The first SPUI I remember seeing was built in the early- to mid-1980s (Gallows Road and Arlington Boulevard here in Fairfax County), so the one referred to here didn't strike me as falling into that category either way, but really it just struck me as funny to see "really old" used in that way.

When I say "really old", I am referring to other SPUIs. They may have been built out east starting much earlier, but did not trek west until the late 80s (first two examples were in Denver and Colorado Springs, I believe). Even then, the vast majority were designed and/or built after the retirement of button copy. So to see a SPUI with button copy is quite unusual.

Phoenix's Piestewa Freeway has some very old SPUIs (relative to other west coast SPUIs) that were built in 1990; those might have had button copy when they first opened, since Arizona was either the last or second to last to retire button copy, certainly well after 1990.

I also know that Ohio specified button copy well into the 1990s. If there are any that were built around there in the 90s (Sawmill Road @ I-270 in Dublin is quite old but not 90s-old), there might have also been button copy at those interchanges.

[J N Winkler]

Phoenix's Piestewa Freeway has some very old SPUIs (relative to other west coast SPUIs) that were built in 1990; those might have had button copy when they first opened, since Arizona was either the last or second to last to retire button copy, certainly well after 1990.

Arizona DOT didn't stop using button copy until 1998-1999 (I think Richard Moeur mentioned years ago on misc.transport.road that the last big sign rehabilitation involving button copy was on I-17, but the metric signs on I-19 were updated circa 1999 and the crossroads signs at least are framed button copy).  But I think those parts of SR 51 might have been City of Phoenix projects, so I'm not 100% sure their signs followed ADOT practice.

In Utah, the I-15 widening design-build in the early noughties put in SPUIs at many interchanges.

Kansas' first SPUI is generally considered to be the West Street interchange on Kellogg Avenue (US 54-400) in Wichita, completed circa 1987, though there's room for disagreement as to whether it is a conforming example since it allows straight-through traffic parallel to Kellogg on the north side.

[US 89]

When I say "really old", I am referring to other SPUIs. They may have been built out east starting much earlier, but did not trek west until the late 80s (first two examples were in Denver and Colorado Springs, I believe).

I'm not sure when those were built, but Utah's first SPUI was the 3200 West interchange on SR 201, which opened all the way back in 1980. Also notable because it has the only signage I've seen for the "2100 South Freeway" - an older name that has mostly fallen out of use now in favor of the route number.

The first ones on an interstate were the California Avenue and 6200 South interchanges on I-215, which opened in 1988 and 1989. Then a whole bunch of them were put in on I-15 in Salt Lake County in the late 90s/early 00s as part of the Olympic reconstruction Winkler mentioned above, and several more have been buit since. If my quick count is right, the state now has 38 total.

[Bruce]

I never realized how unique these "stadium in use" signs around the Buffalo Southtowns are, because I see them so often. I think there's only 2, but I might be wrong?

We could use some of those. Seattle just puts "STADIUM EVENT / EXPECT DELAYS" on all the nearby VMS boards.

[jakeroot]

When I say "really old", I am referring to other SPUIs. They may have been built out east starting much earlier, but did not trek west until the late 80s (first two examples were in Denver and Colorado Springs, I believe).

I'm not sure when those were built, but Utah's first SPUI was the 3200 West interchange on SR 201, which opened all the way back in 1980. Also notable because it has the only signage I've seen for the "2100 South Freeway" - an older name that has mostly fallen out of use now in favor of the route number.

The first ones on an interstate were the California Avenue and 6200 South interchanges on I-215, which opened in 1988 and 1989. Then a whole bunch of them were put in on I-15 in Salt Lake County in the late 90s/early 00s as part of the Olympic reconstruction Winkler mentioned above, and several more have been buit since. If my quick count is right, the state now has 38 total.

Thank you a bunch for the information. Utah was the first state I went to when I was looking at SPUI ages, since there are so many, and I know many of them are quite old. Unfortunately, just doing some brief research through aerial photography, I missed those three examples. Had I caught them (especially the one at 2100 S), it would have completely changed my post from talking about the west to mostly talking about California (since, at the very least, Colorado, Utah, and Arizona all had built several, if not dozens, of SPUIs by the time California built that example in Riverside). I only caught the ones in Colorado when doing some Googling about the I-25/Garden of the Gods SPUI in Colorado Springs which, to my amazement while browsing aerial photography, dated way back to before I thought it was installed (I have family that live in the area).

I don't know a ton about Utah, but I think button copy was still being installed by 1980? I bet that SPUI would have been installed with some.

Although I know you're not refuting it, I still maintain that SPUIs, generally speaking, largely came into fashion out west after the button-copy era had finished, so finding a SPUI signed with button copy would be a fairly unusual occurrence (today or even when they were originally built). It may very well be that the 215 Freeway SPUI near March AFB in Riverside is the only one in the country today with button copy, since (A) SPUIs really only showed up in the 80s out west (largely 90s), (B) mostly in states that had largely discarded button copy by the time those interchanges were being built, and (C) California tends to keep signs around for longer, and any button copy-signed SPUIs elsewhere likely have been updated with newer signage (the 2100 S example has likely seen more than one replacement project, knowing UDOT).

[jakeroot]

Phoenix's Piestewa Freeway has some very old SPUIs (relative to other west coast SPUIs) that were built in 1990; those might have had button copy when they first opened, since Arizona was either the last or second to last to retire button copy, certainly well after 1990.

Arizona DOT didn't stop using button copy until 1998-1999 (I think Richard Moeur mentioned years ago on misc.transport.road that the last big sign rehabilitation involving button copy was on I-17, but the metric signs on I-19 were updated circa 1999 and the crossroads signs at least are framed button copy).  But I think those parts of SR 51 might have been City of Phoenix projects, so I'm not 100% sure their signs followed ADOT practice.

In Utah, the I-15 widening design-build in the early noughties put in SPUIs at many interchanges.

Kansas' first SPUI is generally considered to be the West Street interchange on Kellogg Avenue (US 54-400) in Wichita, completed circa 1987, though there's room for disagreement as to whether it is a conforming example since it allows straight-through traffic parallel to Kellogg on the north side.

That misc.transport.road page, which is linked on the Wiki page for button copy, is where I got some of my info in the above post.

Unrelated: it's quite interesting that I was alive for button copy, since I so strongly associate button copy with old standards. It's interesting how long it took some states to adopt retroreflective sheeting. The fact that Arizona was still using it in 1999 is remarkable. Not saying retroreflective sheeting is this immensely-preferable option, but it seems to have been in very wide circulation by that time.

Those early-noughties SPUIs along I-15 in Utah are the exact reason I started doing my armchair research in Utah, since I know they've been using SPUIs very widely for a long time. Still, until I found the examples in Colorado (and not images, only this research paper from CU Denver published by TRB), I was assuming that Phoenix's 1990/1991-constructed SPUIs along the Piestewa (née "Squaw Peak") Freeway were the oldest SPUIs "out west". For my purposes, I put the north-south line defining "out west" through Colorado for no particular reason. PDT seemed too restrictive.

For the record: the CA-237 SPUI in Mountain View includes straight-through options, but I was still counting it towards one of California's first SPUIs since the "spirit" of the design was still there, even if frontage roads were involved.

[MarkF]

This was tipped off to me by Jake's link on another thread, but button copy on a SPUI?  Either it's an old SPUI, a recent button copy installation, or signs reused from the previous interchange.

It's actually a really old SPUI. It was built circa 1993 or 1994, when the 215 was finished south of the 60 Freeway.

The only other place that might have a SPUI with button copy would be AZ, since some of their SPUIs were built in the 1990s (such as those along the 51).

The 1995 vintage CA 241 at Alton Pkwy SPUI still had button copy the last time I checked:
https://goo.gl/maps/iMSEnpDVRSkTpukx7

[US 89]

I don't know a ton about Utah, but I think button copy was still being installed by 1980? I bet that SPUI would have been installed with some.

I doubt it, actually. I know of five remaining button copy signs in Utah and I don't think any of them are newer than mid-1970s. Utah had definitely abandoned button copy by the mid-1980s, because believe it or not, several signs of that age still stand in the Salt Lake metro area.

That 3200 West interchange actually has quite a bit of older-looking signage, which I assume is original to the interchange (along with the "2100 So. Freeway" signs I mentioned above) because it looks nothing like anything I've seen at any other interchange in the state. To me, those signs suggest UDOT said "hmm, we're building this new weird interchange, how do we sign this?"

[jakeroot]

This was tipped off to me by Jake's link on another thread, but button copy on a SPUI?  Either it's an old SPUI, a recent button copy installation, or signs reused from the previous interchange.

It's actually a really old SPUI. It was built circa 1993 or 1994, when the 215 was finished south of the 60 Freeway.

The only other place that might have a SPUI with button copy would be AZ, since some of their SPUIs were built in the 1990s (such as those along the 51).

The 1995 vintage CA 241 at Alton Pkwy SPUI still had button copy the last time I checked:
https://goo.gl/maps/iMSEnpDVRSkTpukx7

Nice!!! I knew there was another SPUI somewhere else in Southern California that was older, but I couldn't recall where. I even saved that location on my Google Maps because of the silver signals (fairly unusual color), but even that didn't tip me off. Oh well. Great find, and I guess that makes likely two remaining SPUIs in the US with button copy .

[jakeroot]

I don't know a ton about Utah, but I think button copy was still being installed by 1980? I bet that SPUI would have been installed with some.

I doubt it, actually. I know of five remaining button copy signs in Utah and I don't think any of them are newer than mid-1970s. Utah had definitely abandoned button copy by the mid-1980s, because believe it or not, several signs of that age still stand in the Salt Lake metro area.

That 3200 West interchange actually has quite a bit of older-looking signage, which I assume is original to the interchange (along with the "2100 So. Freeway" signs I mentioned above) because it looks nothing like anything I've seen at any other interchange in the state. To me, those signs suggest UDOT said "hmm, we're building this new weird interchange, how do we sign this?"

Very reasonable conclusions. Especially with the all caps, that definitely could date back to original construction (I think CalTrans and WSDOT were early users of mixed-case, but I believe all-caps was normal in most states for many decades). If I'm to be surprised by anything here, it's that the interchange's only modification has been a couple extra lanes on the flyover and an extra westbound right turn. Given this, I guess there'd be no reason to replace the signs (other than adding that new overhead on the westbound off-ramp).

Do you know if UDOT puts any year-identification stickers on their signs? I see a couple of small stickers on the back of a few of those older signs.

[MarkF]

This was tipped off to me by Jake's link on another thread, but button copy on a SPUI?  Either it's an old SPUI, a recent button copy installation, or signs reused from the previous interchange.

It's actually a really old SPUI. It was built circa 1993 or 1994, when the 215 was finished south of the 60 Freeway.

The only other place that might have a SPUI with button copy would be AZ, since some of their SPUIs were built in the 1990s (such as those along the 51).

The 1995 vintage CA 241 at Alton Pkwy SPUI still had button copy the last time I checked:
https://goo.gl/maps/iMSEnpDVRSkTpukx7

Nice!!! I knew there was another SPUI somewhere else in Southern California that was older, but I couldn't recall where. I even saved that location on my Google Maps because of the silver signals (fairly unusual color), but even that didn't tip me off. Oh well. Great find, and I guess that makes likely two remaining SPUIs in the US with button copy .

One more a couple of miles south on CA 241, at Portola: https://goo.gl/maps/eQdAtZU9qS3Vo8L29
This was the south end of CA 241 from 1995 to 1998.

[jakeroot]

This was tipped off to me by Jake's link on another thread, but button copy on a SPUI?  Either it's an old SPUI, a recent button copy installation, or signs reused from the previous interchange.

It's actually a really old SPUI. It was built circa 1993 or 1994, when the 215 was finished south of the 60 Freeway.

The only other place that might have a SPUI with button copy would be AZ, since some of their SPUIs were built in the 1990s (such as those along the 51).

The 1995 vintage CA 241 at Alton Pkwy SPUI still had button copy the last time I checked:
https://goo.gl/maps/iMSEnpDVRSkTpukx7

Nice!!! I knew there was another SPUI somewhere else in Southern California that was older, but I couldn't recall where. I even saved that location on my Google Maps because of the silver signals (fairly unusual color), but even that didn't tip me off. Oh well. Great find, and I guess that makes likely two remaining SPUIs in the US with button copy .

One more a couple of miles south on CA 241, at Portola: https://goo.gl/maps/eQdAtZU9qS3Vo8L29
This was the south end of CA 241 from 1995 to 1998.

Bloody hell. I'm just going to keep my mouth shut while you pull up yet-more examples

Those overhead signs are not beautiful though. Really odd arrows and the sign is tiny. But, +1000 for button copy.

Alright, new question: do any other states have SPUIs with button copy? I'm still pretty damn sure that California is the only one. I assume Arizona and Ohio would be most likely.