Weirdest Quirks of Your State DOT?

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Could have sworn I put it in this thread, or someone did, but Minnesota's extensive use of mast arm BGS crossing numbered routes at both the city and county level. It's one of the things I wish everybody did.

https://goo.gl/maps/Tbv23ZinMxJtyUAS6

[kphoger]

Could have sworn I put it in this thread, or someone did, but Minnesota's extensive use of mast arm BGS crossing numbered routes at both the city and county level. It's one of the things I wish everybody did.

https://goo.gl/maps/Tbv23ZinMxJtyUAS6

It has come up in other threads.

For example, you once posted in the Which state has the best signage? thread:

I'm biased, but I've always felt Minnesota has had some of the best signage because of the BGSs posted on stoplight mast arms at virtually every state highway junction. That makes it almost impossible to take a wrong turn because you know exactly what intersection the highway is.

Those green signs need to be standard everywhere. I love them for the reasons you stated, but also because too often pole-mounted route markers go missing in urban areas or are just not posted, for a lack of space or otherwise.

And I once posted in the Minnesota Notes thread:

Yes, Minnesota's small green signs on stoplight arms are something that should be replicated across the nation.

[Ketchup99]

PA has quadrant routes, there's always a sign, on nearly every road, reading something like "SR 3014 - 20" to show the road and mile marker.

[Kniwt]

Another weird one for Utah: "Two Lanes" (or, sometimes, "2 LANES") on a BGS, sometimes overhead, sometimes not.

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

PA has quadrant routes, there's always a sign, on nearly every road, reading something like "SR 3014 - 20" to show the road and mile marker.

Ugh. Quadrant routes suck. Why not just turn that maintenance over to the counties? QR 1002 in Lehigh County could become Lehigh County 2, for example.

[sbeaver44]

PA has quadrant routes, there's always a sign, on nearly every road, reading something like "SR 3014 - 20" to show the road and mile marker.

And, another unique thing about those is using 1/20ths of a mile that reset at county lines...except for interstates, which don't reset and use tenths.

[Ketchup99]

PA has quadrant routes, there's always a sign, on nearly every road, reading something like "SR 3014 - 20" to show the road and mile marker.

And, another unique thing about those is using 1/20ths of a mile that reset at county lines...except for interstates, which don't reset and use tenths.

Momentarily forgot those mile markers... one sign a mile, no resets would make sense and they should just go with it on every road, interstates included. It would also be a lot less confusing to the vast majority of people who probably have no clue what those signs mean.

PA has quadrant routes, there's always a sign, on nearly every road, reading something like "SR 3014 - 20" to show the road and mile marker.

Ugh. Quadrant routes suck. Why not just turn that maintenance over to the counties? QR 1002 in Lehigh County could become Lehigh County 2, for example.

Because our counties have absolutely zero money. I don't have a problem with state maintenance but they could and should be signed as county routes as opposed to four-digit state routes on little tiny white signs.

[Bitmapped]

PA has quadrant routes, there's always a sign, on nearly every road, reading something like "SR 3014 - 20" to show the road and mile marker.

And, another unique thing about those is using 1/20ths of a mile that reset at county lines...except for interstates, which don't reset and use tenths.

Those are section numbers, not mile markers. They generally increment by 10s, with the last digit being non-zero in the case of divided highways or re-routes. For non-Interstates, there are generally two sections per mile but the boundaries aren't always on the exact distance itself. They will often align to bridges or intersections if there are natural locations to use near where the boundary would be.

[wanderer2575]

Michigan apparently has a "one size fits all" protocol regarding signing and lane/ramp closures in construction zones.  Where there is a short weave/merge lane with a ramp closure, MDOT will close the preceding entrance ramp even though it apparently has no problem with the short weave/merge lane in ordinary circumstances,

[kphoger]

It would also be a lot less confusing to the vast majority of people who probably have no clue what those signs mean.

I don't think the vast majority of people are supposed to even care about those signs.  I'm sure they're just for internal reference.

[Ketchup99]

It would also be a lot less confusing to the vast majority of people who probably have no clue what those signs mean.

I don't think the vast majority of people are supposed to even care about those signs.  I'm sure they're just for internal reference.

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

[kphoger]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

[Ketchup99]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

New Jersey is so much better at this. Maybe just adapt it from the Interstate markers or something!

[Ketchup99]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

New Jersey is so much better at this. Maybe just adapt it from the Interstate markers or something!

What does NJ do?

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

New Jersey is so much better at this. Maybe just adapt it from the Interstate markers or something!

What does NJ do?

Mile markers with enhanced markers every half-mile.

[kphoger]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

But still, if you know what number to look for, you can still look for it.

Pennsylvania is certainly not the only state to reset numbers at the county line.  As I recall, Kentucky's mile markers do so, and Illinois' reference markers do as well.

[Hwy 61 Revisited]

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

But still, if you know what number to look for, you can still look for it.

Pennsylvania is certainly not the only state to reset numbers at the county line.  As I recall, Kentucky's mile markers do so, and Illinois' reference markers do as well.

Caltrans does so as well.

[Scott5114]

Hell, Oklahoma's reference markers reset at junctions sometimes. About the only thing they're consistently usable for telling which county you're in, and that's only if you have the county codes memorized.

[GaryA]

If we're talking about weird quirks, I'd suggest the signs that Caltrans posted along I-80 a while back trying to use truckers' lingo to help westbound trucks get down the Sierra Nevada slope safely.

Are those still up?  I never saw anything similar on any other roads, but they didn't seem to be in a hurry to take the signs down either.

[bwana39]

Those are just 911 addresses.  It is a grid like city streets.  It is only a traffic direction if you are looking for a particular address or block of addresses.

But they could be helpful to the public if done right - let's say I know I want to make a left off of some road but don't know when I need to start looking for the turn or if I've missed it. If I know it's at mile 9.7 I start looking when I see the marker for SR XXXX 9. Makes it convenient.

Maybe I'm confused about how it works.  What's to prevent you from doing that now?

Here's a picture of one of the signs:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.7022167,-77.9959215,3a,15y,180.08h,64.49t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sPpC3QJNAjEpU_DFYDOdfWg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
"SR 45" is simple enough to understand, it's State Route 45.
The little numbers under that are section numbers. To the right is section 250, and to the left is section 260. That means that you're moving in a general north or east direction to the left (as denoted by the higher section number). It also shows that you're approximately at mile marker 260/20=13.
These, however, reset at county lines. Therefore you can see that if you turn right on SR 45 you will drive approximately 13 miles before hitting either a county line or the road's terminus. This particular sign is close to a county line towards the east, though, and right after the county line you can see the sign poking out behind the mailbox reading SR 45 20 here.
The problem is that nobody actually pays attention to what the section numbers mean because they don't always actually follow the twenty-per-mile rule. It doesn't help that on interstates, each mile usually increases the number by ten instead of twenty and they do not reset at county lines, leaving numbers well into the three thousands.
If it was streamlined so that miles no longer reset at county lines, and instead of the dumb "section markers" they genuinely marked miles, it could make the navigational system much easier. For instance, the first sign I linked would simply say SR 45 - 13, while the second would say SR 45 - 14. They'd be far more useful and less confusing.

But still, if you know what number to look for, you can still look for it.

Pennsylvania is certainly not the only state to reset numbers at the county line.  As I recall, Kentucky's mile markers do so, and Illinois' reference markers do as well.

Caltrans does so as well.

[bwana39]

They tend to exist all over Texas, just the left turn is in an enclosed yellow lane.  Same concept.

MN:
"Bypass Lanes"  to allow traffic on two-lane roads to pass cars waiting to turn left.

Those aren't unique to Minnesota. I can recall a few in Nebraska; there are a couple in Illinois in Lake County (example on a county road, example on IL 59); and I want to say a few other states use them.

Not my state, but for Nebraska it would be diagrammatic junction signs.

[bwana39]

Yes Texas has those Texas U Turn Lanes on freeways. It increases easy access to the businesses on the frontage road on the other side of the freeway.

Loops, Spurs, Business Routes, State Routes , and ESPECIALLY lots of Farm Roads and Ranch Roads (FM & RM).
Why seventy and seventy five MPH. The irony is the traffic keeps moving. 70 MPH and moving is clearly better than 55MPH and sitting still.

there are indeed some rural intersections with traffic signals on roads posted at 75 MPH. Lots of warning in advance too.
https://goo.gl/maps/1HYWnoVdeJDfutag8

ARDOT put one (Cloverleaf)  at I-49 and I-30 it feels so weird to me.  In Texas the only place they have any use at all is where a bridge crosses a highway and a railroad and a diamond doesn't fit the scheme. 

Texas:

Texas U's
LOTS of frontage roads
Loop routes everywhere
Spur routes everywhere
70mph speed limits on many freeways inside the Dallas metroplex (and 75mph on some of the HOT lanes)
Signals on roads posted as high as 75mph

The locals generally don't know how to react when an exit is anything other than a short ramp onto a frontage road or a stack interchange. Cloverleafs are rare, and I can't remember having seen a parclo in the entire state.

[deathtopumpkins]

New Hampshire quirks:

• Using banners that say "A TOLL ROAD" instead of just "TOLL ROAD": https://goo.gl/maps/EtxnNfSQit35M2vu9
• Liquor stores on interstates: https://goo.gl/maps/gXTy8u3ZEA2TtFNr6
• Flat out refusing to use permissive left turn signals on state highways except for a small number of FYAs

[US71]

Yes Texas has those Texas U Turn Lanes on freeways. It increases easy access to the businesses on the frontage road on the other side of the freeway.

Loops, Spurs, Business Routes, State Routes , and ESPECIALLY lots of Farm Roads and Ranch Roads (FM & RM).
Why seventy and seventy five MPH. The irony is the traffic keeps moving. 70 MPH and moving is clearly better than 55MPH and sitting still.

there are indeed some rural intersections with traffic signals on roads posted at 75 MPH. Lots of warning in advance too.
https://goo.gl/maps/1HYWnoVdeJDfutag8

ARDOT put one (Cloverleaf)  at I-49 and I-30 it feels so weird to me.  In Texas the only place they have any use at all is where a bridge crosses a highway and a railroad and a diamond doesn't fit the scheme. 

Texas:

Texas U's
LOTS of frontage roads
Loop routes everywhere
Spur routes everywhere
70mph speed limits on many freeways inside the Dallas metroplex (and 75mph on some of the HOT lanes)
Signals on roads posted as high as 75mph

The locals generally don't know how to react when an exit is anything other than a short ramp onto a frontage road or a stack interchange. Cloverleafs are rare, and I can't remember having seen a parclo in the entire state.

Yes Texas has those Texas U Turn Lanes on freeways. It increases easy access to the businesses on the frontage road on the other side of the freeway.

Loops, Spurs, Business Routes, State Routes , and ESPECIALLY lots of Farm Roads and Ranch Roads (FM & RM).
Why seventy and seventy five MPH. The irony is the traffic keeps moving. 70 MPH and moving is clearly better than 55MPH and sitting still.

there are indeed some rural intersections with traffic signals on roads posted at 75 MPH. Lots of warning in advance too.
https://goo.gl/maps/1HYWnoVdeJDfutag8

ARDOT put one (Cloverleaf)  at I-49 and I-30 it feels so weird to me.  In Texas the only place they have any use at all is where a bridge crosses a highway and a railroad and a diamond doesn't fit the scheme. 

Texas:

Texas U's
LOTS of frontage roads
Loop routes everywhere
Spur routes everywhere
70mph speed limits on many freeways inside the Dallas metroplex (and 75mph on some of the HOT lanes)
Signals on roads posted as high as 75mph

The locals generally don't know how to react when an exit is anything other than a short ramp onto a frontage road or a stack interchange. Cloverleafs are rare, and I can't remember having seen a parclo in the entire state.

There's a "Texas U-Turn" at I-30 and US 71 / State Line Rd