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Massachusetts

Started by hotdogPi, October 12, 2013, 04:50:12 PM

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bob7374

The MassDOT Project Info page indicates that preliminary approval has been granted for five new sign replacement projects to take place between Winter 2019/20 and Summer 2021. The routes involved are:
MA 28 Bourne to Falmouth (the milepost exit conversion contract assigned exit numbers to these exits, will exits be assigned if sequential numbers are continued to be used elsewhere?)
I-195 and I-495 Dartmouth to Raynham (signs along both of these highways have been replaced in the past few years, are these for signs that were not replaced under the other contracts?)
MA 146 Uxbridge to Worcester
US 3 Burlington to Tyngsboro
I-391 Chicopee to Holyoke

There is also a project to replace signage along MA 1A from Boston to Revere whose 100% design plans were produced in September.


PHLBOS

Quote from: bob7374 on October 18, 2016, 11:22:43 AMThere is also a project to replace signage along MA 1A from Boston to Revere whose 100% design plans were produced in September.
Weren't most of those already replaced as part of the Big Dig project?
GPS does NOT equal GOD

shadyjay

#677
Made my first trip down I-91 today since Labor Day weekend.  Where there were none before, there are now 3 real-time signs along I-91 SB that I observed.  They snuck up on me, so only got pics of 2 of the signs.  They're not active yet:

Southbound, past Exit 26, Deerfield:
IMG_2332 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr


Southbound, around Northampton:
(no photo this time)


Southbound, I believe past Exit 14, West Springfield:
IMG_2333 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr


I'll try and get the northbounds on Sunday.

bob7374

The lonely erroneous South US 3 reassurance marker on MA 3 after the MA 14 exit in Duxbury has now been joined by another one after the next exit, MA 3A to MA 53:


At this rate of sign replacement, maybe MA 3 will become US 3 in about 50-100 years...

shadyjay

#679
Today on I-91 North:

Between CT state line and Exit 2, Longmeadow:
IMG_2560 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr


Northbound, before Exit 16, Holyoke:
IMG_2564 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr

Northbound, before Exit 24, Whately:
IMG_2567 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr


spooky

I wonder if the closure of I-95/Route 128 for removal of the Highland Avenue bridge in Needham is still scheduled for this weekend? I am surprised by the lack of advance notice other than news reports in late September. I would have expected there to be VMS messages posted on the highway at least a week in advance.

Pete from Boston

Driving the Pike west from Weston to Sturbridge before dawn on Sunday, the travel time signs were on.  They had not been on Thursday.

bob7374

Quote from: Pete from Boston on October 31, 2016, 12:48:00 PM
Driving the Pike west from Weston to Sturbridge before dawn on Sunday, the travel time signs were on.  They had not been on Thursday.
The signs were activated Friday night in coordination with the start of the AET system. Here's the sign eastbound between Exits 13 and 14:


Beeper1

The ones west of Sturbridge are all activated as well, all the way to the NY line.

Pete from Boston

Eastbound I saw only one operational travel time sign this morning between Sturbridge and 128.

Are the guide signs on 84 set to be replaced?  They're even less reflective at night than those on the Mass Pike.

roadman

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 01, 2016, 06:09:21 AM
Eastbound I saw only one operational travel time sign this morning between Sturbridge and 128.

Are the guide signs on 84 set to be replaced?  They're even less reflective at night than those on the Mass Pike.
The guide signs on I-84 at the Pike are being replaced under the West Stockbridge to Auburn sign replacement project.   The other guide signs between the CT line and US 20 were replaced in 2003.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Pete from Boston

Quote from: roadman on November 01, 2016, 09:12:22 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 01, 2016, 06:09:21 AM
Eastbound I saw only one operational travel time sign this morning between Sturbridge and 128.

Are the guide signs on 84 set to be replaced?  They're even less reflective at night than those on the Mass Pike.
The guide signs on I-84 at the Pike are being replaced under the West Stockbridge to Auburn sign replacement project.   The other guide signs between the CT line and US 20 were replaced in 2003.

The northbound ones south of the Mass Pike are barely legible when lit by few headlights in good weather.  I hope they get replaced in the next round.

PHLBOS

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 02, 2016, 06:53:57 AM
Quote from: roadman on November 01, 2016, 09:12:22 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 01, 2016, 06:09:21 AM
Eastbound I saw only one operational travel time sign this morning between Sturbridge and 128.

Are the guide signs on 84 set to be replaced?  They're even less reflective at night than those on the Mass Pike.
The guide signs on I-84 at the Pike are being replaced under the West Stockbridge to Auburn sign replacement project.   The other guide signs between the CT line and US 20 were replaced in 2003.

The northbound ones south of the Mass Pike are barely legible when lit by few headlights in good weather.  I hope they get replaced in the next round.
Are you referring to these at the gore or these just after the now-gone toll booths?  Note: the GSVs are from 2011 and show the signs in their better days.

IIRC, the BGS at the gore are older; which likely explains the fading & reduced reflectivity.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Pete from Boston

Quote from: PHLBOS on November 02, 2016, 11:27:40 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 02, 2016, 06:53:57 AM
Quote from: roadman on November 01, 2016, 09:12:22 AM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 01, 2016, 06:09:21 AM
Eastbound I saw only one operational travel time sign this morning between Sturbridge and 128.

Are the guide signs on 84 set to be replaced?  They're even less reflective at night than those on the Mass Pike.
The guide signs on I-84 at the Pike are being replaced under the West Stockbridge to Auburn sign replacement project.   The other guide signs between the CT line and US 20 were replaced in 2003.

The northbound ones south of the Mass Pike are barely legible when lit by few headlights in good weather.  I hope they get replaced in the next round.
Are you referring to these at the gore or these just after the now-gone toll booths?  Note: the GSVs are from 2011 and show the signs in their better days.

IIRC, the BGS at the gore are older; which likely explains the fading & reduced reflectivity.

Just north of the Connecticut line, exits 1 & 2.  I rarely think about it after hundreds of times on that road, but I was there the other night in very light traffic and noticed how illegible they were at a distance.

Pete from Boston

Quote from: roadman on September 23, 2016, 11:18:05 AM
Quote from: bob7374 on September 23, 2016, 11:09:53 AM
Quote from: The Nature Boy on September 22, 2016, 11:03:31 AM
Quote from: rushfan01760 on September 22, 2016, 09:23:45 AM
Looks like part of I-95 (Rte. 128) in Needham will be closed for a weekend at the beginning of November...

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/09/22/route-128-closure-highland-avenue-bridge-95-shut-down/

Route 128 getting priority over the I-95 designation. Boston, never change.
Some progress though. While both the Globe and TV news stories headlined the closure would be on 'Route 128' they did later often refer to the route as '128/I-95.' Perhaps someday they'll even report it as I-95/128...
The announcer on WBZ radio Thursday morning stated "on Route 128.  Or, if you prefer, 95."

The announcement of the Needham closure this weekend on WBUR included the phrase "Route 128, which some people call I-95."

roadman

Just to update - the I-95 (or Route 128 for those of you stuck in 1972) full closure in Needham is still scheduled to happen this weekend.

http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/needham-i-95-bypass-detour-this-weekend/
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

spooky

Quote from: roadman on November 04, 2016, 09:29:37 AM
Just to update - the I-95 (or Route 128 for those of you stuck in 1972) full closure in Needham is still scheduled to happen this weekend.

http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/needham-i-95-bypass-detour-this-weekend/

I-128!

from Fox 25's website:

QuoteBOSTON - From Nov. 4 to Nov. 6, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation will be demolishing the existing Highland Avenue Bridge over Interstate 128.

In order to keep drivers safe from the operation, MassDOT will close a portion of the expressway during the demolition.

"If you have to travel during the peak times on Saturday and Sunday, please allow extra time as we are expecting delays to occur," said Walter Heller with MassDOT.

bob7374

Quote from: roadman on November 04, 2016, 09:29:37 AM
Just to update - the I-95 (or Route 128 for those of you stuck in 1972) full closure in Needham is still scheduled to happen this weekend.

http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/needham-i-95-bypass-detour-this-weekend/
Here's a couple photos I took last weekend of what remains of the old Highland Ave. bridge, first northbound:


And southbound:


Other images taken in the Add-A-Lane work zone can be found at:
http://www.gribblenation.net/mass21/i95photos.html#addalane

Pete from Boston

Quote from: roadman on November 04, 2016, 09:29:37 AM
Just to update - the I-95 (or Route 128 for those of you stuck in 1972) full closure in Needham is still scheduled to happen this weekend.

http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/needham-i-95-bypass-detour-this-weekend/

Don't pay attention to that 128 stuff.  As I've learned from interacting with lots of public officials, the public's preference is frequently wrong. 

KEVIN_224

NECN (New England Cable News) mentioned this project after noon ET today. Sure enough, the graphic text near the bottom only said "128". I know it's minor, but that really irritates me!  :banghead:

Pete from Boston

This is very simple and easy to understand, but people devoted to arbitrary numbering conventions don't address the reason 128 holds on.

The public wants a way to specifically identify the big "C" that goes around Boston. Coming up with a new name when 128 is already understood to denote this discreet thing is more eyeroll-worthy than leaving the already well understood 128.

cl94

Quote from: Pete from Boston on November 04, 2016, 10:09:53 PM
The public wants a way to specifically identify the big "C" that goes around Boston. Coming up with a new name when 128 is already understood to denote this discreet thing is more eyeroll-worthy than leaving the already well understood 128.

This. If you say "128", everyone knows what you mean. The road never had another widely-used name. It's just easier to keep calling it 128, numbering be damned.
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

mass_citizen

Its not a case of the public being "wrong" it's more a case of traffic engineers being unhappy they are having trouble imposing their will on the driving public because they think they know what's best for them even when it comes to non-safety related issues...see the sequential numbering issue for a similar example.


kefkafloyd

#698
I actually think the sequential numbering issue will go down easily if they ever just pulled the trigger. It's not the first time the state's renumbered things. The route 6 thing on the cape is different. If they took the 128 signs off after it was confirmed that there would never be 95 running through Boston, it would have transitioned easily enough.

PHLBOS

Bold emphasis added below:
Quote from: kefkafloyd on November 06, 2016, 09:04:15 AM
I actually think the sequential numbering issue will go down easily if they ever just pulled the trigger. It's not the first time the state's renumbered things.
True, many tend to overlook this little item.
GPS does NOT equal GOD



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