Idaho

Started by Bickendan, May 22, 2018, 03:00:23 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

wanderer2575

Quote from: US 89 on May 05, 2020, 07:32:44 PM
Apparently Idaho has a new state highway shield design, which they're using on both BGSs and standalone shields. Looks like it's been the new standard since Idaho updated their state MUTCD supplement in 2016.


(photo from corcohighways)

Compare to the old BGS design:



And the old standalone design:



So essentially, they've inverted the colors and removed the state name, producing a shield that I think looks disgusting especially on a BGS. The numbers look like they're floating away. Maybe a border would help somewhat in that regard, but I still think this was a major step in the wrong direction for a state that has generally produced quite good signage overall.

I'd be more peeved that the route number has to be condensed to squeeze into the upper right corner of the shield.  I have a similar beef about Michigan and North Carolina's diamond shields.  How about a shield design where one can actually read the damn route number while zipping along the highway?  Maine and West Virginia's squares and rectangles may be boring, but you can easily read their route numbers.


Quillz

Quote from: wanderer2575 on September 12, 2021, 09:55:49 PM
Quote from: US 89 on May 05, 2020, 07:32:44 PM
Apparently Idaho has a new state highway shield design, which they're using on both BGSs and standalone shields. Looks like it's been the new standard since Idaho updated their state MUTCD supplement in 2016.


(photo from corcohighways)

Compare to the old BGS design:



And the old standalone design:



So essentially, they've inverted the colors and removed the state name, producing a shield that I think looks disgusting especially on a BGS. The numbers look like they're floating away. Maybe a border would help somewhat in that regard, but I still think this was a major step in the wrong direction for a state that has generally produced quite good signage overall.

I'd be more peeved that the route number has to be condensed to squeeze into the upper right corner of the shield.  I have a similar beef about Michigan and North Carolina's diamond shields.  How about a shield design where one can actually read the damn route number while zipping along the highway?  Maine and West Virginia's squares and rectangles may be boring, but you can easily read their route numbers.

They actually do use wide shields now. According to the documentation, it's always Series C, but you just make the shield wider for three-digit routes. That's an actual improvement over the previous design.

Max Rockatansky

I recently visited Boise, here is a 10 part series on the trip:

https://www.gribblenation.org/2021/10/2021-boise-idaho-visit.html

skluth

Quote
ITD prepares to bid $100 million overhaul of 'Flying Y' interchange

POCATELLO – The Idaho Transportation Department plans to accept bids soon for an estimated $100 million overhaul of the "Flying Y" interchange that joins Interstate 15 and Interstate 86.

ITD Engineer Manager Eric Staats, said the work will be bid in early 2022, and construction is planned to commence in the late summer.

ITD also launched an unrelated study on Wednesday examining the logistics of widening I-15 one section at a time from Pocatello to Idaho Falls. Though the Flying Y project will include two lanes, Staats said the bridges will be designed to leave room for a third lane, with an eye to the future.

Rest of article here

doorknob60

I saw that article the other day, and was annoyed that there are apparently 2 "Flying Y" interchanges in Idaho. The I-84/I-184 interchange is usually called that as well. Real creative naming, guys. The headline was confusing to me until I read the article.

Max Rockatansky

Quote from: doorknob60 on December 16, 2021, 04:45:32 PM
I saw that article the other day, and was annoyed that there are apparently 2 "Flying Y" interchanges in Idaho. The I-84/I-184 interchange is usually called that as well. Real creative naming, guys. The headline was confusing to me until I read the article.

I wonder what they would make of Exit 0 on I-184?  That was pretty much the most interesting part of the freeway when I drove it in September. 

Bruce

ITD is planning to abandon SH-75 Spur from Ketchum to Sun Valley and transfer it to Blaine County.

https://itdprojects.org/projects/id-75-spur/

74/171FAN

Quote from: Bruce on January 13, 2022, 07:05:59 AM
ITD is planning to abandon SH-75 Spur from Ketchum to Sun Valley and transfer it to Blaine County.

https://itdprojects.org/projects/id-75-spur/

I guess this route is completely unsigned because I could not find it in Travel Mapping.
I am now a PennDOT employee.  My opinions/views do not necessarily reflect the opinions/views of PennDOT.

US 89

Quote from: 74/171FAN on January 13, 2022, 10:53:39 AM
Quote from: Bruce on January 13, 2022, 07:05:59 AM
ITD is planning to abandon SH-75 Spur from Ketchum to Sun Valley and transfer it to Blaine County.

https://itdprojects.org/projects/id-75-spur/

I guess this route is completely unsigned because I could not find it in Travel Mapping.

Even Corco didn't know about this one...

http://corcohighways.org/?p=42

doorknob60

Yeah I never knew that was on the state highway system either. Though I've only been to Sun Valley once.

Plutonic Panda

This is cool. Idaho is using a special machine to pick up trash in the medians: https://itd.idaho.gov/news/new-machine-to-pick-up-trash-on-i-90-this-spring/

I haven't seen this in other states.

Bruce

The new I-90 / SH-41 interchange in Post Falls will be an SPUI that is shifted to the north side of the underpass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVbjYHQB8OQ


rte66man

Quote from: Bruce on April 08, 2022, 11:43:37 PM
The new I-90 / SH-41 interchange in Post Falls will be an SPUI that is shifted to the north side of the underpass.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kVbjYHQB8OQ



Never seen a SPUI shifted like that. I wonder where else you can find one.
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

roadfro

That offset SPUI is a very interesting concept. It's probably gotta be a bit more expensive than a regular SPUI given three smaller bridges versus one really wide one, but the application makes sense here given the parallel road.

Is it gonna have signals with green on top...? :)
Roadfro - AARoads Pacific Southwest moderator since 2010, Nevada roadgeek since 1983.

Alex

Quote from: rte66man on April 09, 2022, 11:37:52 AM
Never seen a SPUI shifted like that. I wonder where else you can find one.

There is a similar SPUI at Interdtate 225 and Alameda Avenue in Aurora, Colorado.

Stephane Dumas

Quote from: Alex on April 10, 2022, 08:03:48 AM
Quote from: rte66man on April 09, 2022, 11:37:52 AM
Never seen a SPUI shifted like that. I wonder where else you can find one.

There is a similar SPUI at Interdtate 225 and Alameda Avenue in Aurora, Colorado.

As well as another one at St.Paul, Minnesota at I-694/Rice St. where a former diamond interchange was converted into a SPUI.
https://goo.gl/maps/kxqz78NCUJyjtUq36

rte66man

Quote from: Stephane Dumas on April 26, 2022, 08:53:24 AM
Quote from: Alex on April 10, 2022, 08:03:48 AM
Quote from: rte66man on April 09, 2022, 11:37:52 AM
Never seen a SPUI shifted like that. I wonder where else you can find one.

There is a similar SPUI at Interdtate 225 and Alameda Avenue in Aurora, Colorado.

As well as another one at St.Paul, Minnesota at I-694/Rice St. where a former diamond interchange was converted into a SPUI.
https://goo.gl/maps/kxqz78NCUJyjtUq36

That interchange shows as an offset roundabout, not a SPUI. Does Google have it wrong?
When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

Stephane Dumas

Quote from: rte66man on April 27, 2022, 11:02:42 PM
That interchange shows as an offset roundabout, not a SPUI. Does Google have it wrong?

Google have it right, I guess it could be a variant who could be called "SRUI" (Single Roundabout Urban Interchange). However there a real shifted SPUI where Rice Street meet MN-36. https://www.google.com/maps/@45.007569,-93.1037842,1584m/data=!3m1!1e3

mrsman

#43
Quote from: Alex on April 10, 2022, 08:03:48 AM
Quote from: rte66man on April 09, 2022, 11:37:52 AM
Never seen a SPUI shifted like that. I wonder where else you can find one.

There is a similar SPUI at Interdtate 225 and Alameda Avenue in Aurora, Colorado.

This is a fantastic design.  One thing about most of the normal SPUIs that I have been to is that in order to make left turns, you have to swoop across the whole intersection.  In some ways it feels a bit unnatural, in that in making your left turn, you basically have to drive a little bit in opposite direction traffic to then meet up with the onramp.

Take this example in Pikesville, MD:

https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3843465,-76.7335423,3a,37.5y,284.35h,82.79t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYvnON3RVudYkNpZeRt6qbA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

You are sitting at the stop line waiting for a green arrow to make a left.  You have to go all the way to where that green sign is on the left to make it to the onramp.  This is probably one of the main reasons that permissive lefts at SPUIs are rare, even for single lane left turns.

But the intersection in Aurora, CO feels like a normal intersection.  A direct left turn can be made in the normal fashion.  Much more intuitive (and probably safer).

The off-set SPUI seems pretty rare, but one half of this interchange in design is not so rare.  It usually occurs where there is a major street that is parallel to the freeway.  (Some times the major street is the old highway that was replaced by the freeway).  If that parallel street is set to end at another major street that is also serviced by a freeway exit and entrance, it is a convenient design to get traffic on the parallel street directly on the freeway.

West Main Street entrance onto US 101 in Ventura, CA.  An offset half-SPUI to get business route traffic directly onto freeway:

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Ventura,+CA/@34.2822034,-119.3180284,17.3z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x80e9ad155097394d:0x24eff57c367aeae8!8m2!3d34.2804923!4d-119.2945199



roadman65

https://itd.idaho.gov/news/construction-begins-next-week-on-the-i-90-sh-41-interchangePost Falls to receive a SPUI, but not one that meets under or over the freeway.

https://itdprojects.org/projects/i90sh41ic/
Look and you'll see on ITD's page how it will look.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

Bruce

Anyone know what is going on with I-84 Business in Caldwell and Nampa? It's planned to be relinquished to the cities, but the board says they're waiting on AASHTO approval. But AASHTO isn't supposed to handle business Interstates.

Great Lakes Roads

ITD will begin a series of projects to widen I-15 between Pocatello and Idaho Falls to three lanes. Starting in 2024, the segment between Northgate (Exit 73) and Fort Hall (Exit 80) interchanges will be under construction with all of the bridges to be replaced to accommodate a third lane within the median.

https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/i15northgatetoblackfoot

Taters

Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on November 08, 2023, 05:55:09 PM
ITD will begin a series of projects to widen I-15 between Pocatello and Idaho Falls to three lanes. Starting in 2024, the segment between Northgate (Exit 73) and Fort Hall (Exit 80) interchanges will be under construction with all of the bridges to be replaced to accommodate a third lane within the median.

https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/i15northgatetoblackfoot

Been hearing about this one for a while. Traffic counts seem relatively low but it seems like the area is growing enough that maybe counts will become much higher to justify this project in the coming years. My prediction is that it will probably be at least until 2035 that this project isn't fully complete but maybe I'm wrong.

JREwing78

Curious to know how much seasonal fluctuations in traffic factor into it; being the primary route north to Yellowstone from SLC. Commercial AADT is also fairly high at 5000-6000 vehicles per day, which factors into any decision to widen.

Taters

Quote from: JREwing78 on November 11, 2023, 08:59:24 PM
Curious to know how much seasonal fluctuations in traffic factor into it; being the primary route north to Yellowstone from SLC. Commercial AADT is also fairly high at 5000-6000 vehicles per day, which factors into any decision to widen.

True. Not only is ITD working on this, they are also in the process of conducting multiple longer term studies/ environmental assessments on US-20 between Idaho Falls and West Yellowstone. I'll list a few of those here:

https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/us20-chester-to-ashton-ea
https://itdprojects.idaho.gov/pages/south-saint-anthony-interchange
https://itdprojects.org/projects/us-20-ashton-to-sh-87-jct/

Most of these probably won't be in construction for years, but the seasonal factor is probably a little bit greater on US-20 (esp. north of Rexburg) compared to I-15 in the area.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.