Date codes on signs

[national highway 1]

[Split from Adventures in Utah Signage: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=4045.0 -S.]

East SR-241 Sign:

What are the small 12s for?  The UDOT district?

[CL]

What are the small 12s for?  The UDOT district?

Those denote the year that the signage was installed. UDOT began including this on signage in 2009. I don't know what the purpose of it is, but it'll be pretty neat in thirty years when some road enthusiast drives by and can immediately ascertain the age of the sign.

[national highway 1]

Haha. I quite like it.  It's much better than pulling over and looking for the date stamp on the back.

[agentsteel53]

Wyoming's been doing it since about 1990 or so.  a single digit has an implied "199" to begin things, and then two digits imply a prefix of "20".

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma DOT has done the same since at least the mid-90s. The stamps are of the form "ODOT 07 12" with the first two-digit number the month and the last two the year. I have seen some going back to 1994.

[agentsteel53]

Oklahoma DOT has done the same since at least the mid-90s. The stamps are of the form "ODOT 07 12" with the first two-digit number the month and the last two the year. I have seen some going back to 1994.

I've seen an "A81" in New Hampshire, which may or may not be a date code.  I've also seen large green signs in NH and MA with dates on the front.  the oldest I can think of offhand is a 1984.  before that, they seem to have been on the back.



Arizona had them on the front from I believe 1969-1995, but I could be off on the ends by a year or two.



1970 photo.

here is an Idaho with a 1968.  you're gonna have to trust me on this one.





I've seen similar Idaho going back to 1963.  that 1963 is the oldest I can think of offhand.  generally, dates go on the back.  for a back date, I know of many "26"es going back to the original large run of US shields, and a 1917 guide sign.



astonishingly, that sign is still in service.  ask Steve A where it is

[Alps]

I've seen an "A81" in New Hampshire, which may or may not be a date code.  I've also seen large green signs in NH and MA with dates on the front.  the oldest I can think of offhand is a 1984.  before that, they seem to have been on the back.

And is that still around? I'll be up there soon.

astonishingly, that sign is still in service.  ask Steve A where it is

Calhoun Street Bridge, PA side.

[US71]

Oklahoma does that, too... sort of.  Not necessarily the day the sign was set up, but I think it is the day it was made.

[PurdueBill]

Oklahoma does that, too... sort of.  Not necessarily the day the sign was set up, but I think it is the day it was made.

Ohio labels manage(d) to include both dates, but unfortunately on the back of the sign, not the front where one might be able to see it while passing by.  (This pic is of a button copy sign in Akron that was being removed in 2009 and replaced with Clearview--boo.)

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

astonishingly, that sign is still in service.  ask Steve A where it is

Calhoun Street Bridge, PA side.

Between Trenton and Morrisville, Pa, less than a mile north of the US 1 bridge.
And was guarded (at least 10 years ago) by some over-zellous toll booth operator.

[Scott5114]

Oklahoma does that, too... sort of.  Not necessarily the day the sign was set up, but I think it is the day it was made.

As far as I can tell the date on the front is the manufacture date. There is sometimes another date written on the back in grease pencil, which I assume is the install date. (The specimen I have has a back date a few months after the front date, leading me to believe the back is installation.)

[agentsteel53]

now that I think about it, here is a 1948 on the front



lower right.  sign still around as of 2008.

[Takumi]

The signs we saw in Knotts Island, NC this past weekend had handwritten dates on the back.

[dfilpus]

The signs we saw in Knotts Island, NC this past weekend had handwritten dates on the back.

NC does that all over the state.

[Zmapper]

New Clearview street signs in Fort Collins include the month and year that the sign was installed.

[Kacie Jane]

Ohio labels manage(d) to include both dates, but unfortunately on the back of the sign, not the front where one might be able to see it while passing by.  (This pic is of a button copy sign in Akron that was being removed in 2009 and replaced with Clearview--boo.)

To demonstrate my utter lack of maturity, I'll simply point out that there's something hilarious about the bottom half of that sticker.

[national highway 1]

Ohio labels manage(d) to include both dates, but unfortunately on the back of the sign, not the front where one might be able to see it while passing by.  (This pic is of a button copy sign in Akron that was being removed in 2009 and replaced with Clearview--boo.)

To demonstrate my utter lack of maturity, I'll simply point out that there's something hilarious about the bottom half of that sticker.

[hbelkins]

"That's quite an erection!"

-- some Seattle Pilots baseball player whose name I've forgotten, quoted in Jim Bouton's "Ball Four"

[Road Hog]

I remember Arkansas used to etch the date of installation on the backs of signs in the 1970s and 1980s. I don't think they do that anymore. Would be interesting to find the oldest sign still in use.

[Scott5114]

You'd like the orange sticker on the back of KDOT installations then–it contains a blank for "ERECTION DATE", so you have a record of exactly when your erection occurred!

[agentsteel53]

I remember Arkansas used to etch the date of installation on the backs of signs in the 1970s and 1980s. I don't think they do that anymore. Would be interesting to find the oldest sign still in use.

I would like to know this as well.  or if there are any which predate this scheme.

there's a US-49 shield in Helena that might qualify.  definitely looks about 30-40 years old.

[roadman]

Massachusetts has used date codes on their directional signs since the early 1990s.  The code includes the sign dimensions, month and year of fabrication, and alpha numeric codes for the sheeting type, sign fabricator, and sign installer (if different than the fabricator).

A typical code, which is on the back of ground-mounted signs, and on the front of overhead signs, would read something like "12.0 X 8.0 11/04 F16 M3 J".  Translation:  12' X 8' sign fabricated November 2004, fabricated and installed by (contractor), background and legend Type VIII HIP, sheeting manfactured by (fabricator).

[agentsteel53]

Massachusetts has used date codes on their directional signs since the early 1990s.  The code includes the sign dimensions, month and year of fabrication, and alpha numeric codes for the sheeting type, sign fabricator, and sign installer (if different than the fabricator).

A typical code, which is on the back of ground-mounted signs, and on the front of overhead signs, would read something like "12.0 X 8.0 11/04 F16 M3 J".  Translation:  12' X 8' sign fabricated November 2004, fabricated and installed by (contractor), background and legend Type VIII HIP, sheeting manfactured by (fabricator).

the oldest I've seen of that style is a 1993.  before that, there was simply a date... see the '48 example above. 

I have a photo from 1930 which shows a guide sign and the date code appears to be absent.  but that may be because it's a sample.

[roadman]

the oldest I've seen of that style is a 1993.  before that, there was simply a date... see the '48 example above. 

Prior to the adoption of the 1988 Standard Specifications, which instituted the current date code format for use on all Massachusetts guide signs, the old 'month-year' date code was only used on guide signs fabricated by MassDPW's sign shop.  Private sign fabricators were not required to place a date code on their signs, which is why most pre-1990s freeway guide signs didn't have codes on them.  This older date code was usually located on the back of both overhead and ground-mounted guide signs, but there was no consistent standard as to how to place it (as with the 1948 example above).

[agentsteel53]

so that '30 might very well have it on the back?

did the sign shop make all the route shields?  I get the idea they did, having never seen a counterexample, but am not 100% sure