New York State Thruway

[KEVIN_224]

Likewise, Connecticut doesn't mark county lines on roads either. Municipal boundaries are signed. Village boundaries are only shown on local streets. The name of the village is in a cursive script with the outline of the state surrounding it.

Maine mentions county lines on I-295 and I-95/Maine Turnpike.

Are county lines mentioned on I-84 in New York? I don't recall any the last time I was there.

[cl94]

Likewise, Connecticut doesn't mark county lines on roads either. Municipal boundaries are signed. Village boundaries are only shown on local streets. The name of the village is in a cursive script with the outline of the state surrounding it.

Maine mentions county lines on I-295 and I-95/Maine Turnpike.

Are county lines mentioned on I-84 in New York? I don't recall any the last time I was there.

Yes and no. Newburgh-Beacon Bridge has no county line signs, but that's also maintained by NYSBA. Some of their crossings have signs, some don't. Bear Mountain doesn't have signs, either.

[route17fan]

Likewise, Connecticut doesn't mark county lines on roads either. Municipal boundaries are signed. Village boundaries are only shown on local streets. The name of the village is in a cursive script with the outline of the state surrounding it.

Maine mentions county lines on I-295 and I-95/Maine Turnpike.

Are county lines mentioned on I-84 in New York? I don't recall any the last time I was there.

Yes and no. Newburgh-Beacon Bridge has no county line signs, but that's also maintained by NYSBA. Some of their crossings have signs, some don't. Bear Mountain doesn't have signs, either.

Putnam-Dutchess County line on I-84 comes to mind - there may be others, but that one is one I remember.

[vdeane]

Also keep in mind that I-84 was maintained by NYSTA for a couple decades, and the Thruway DEFINITELY exerted its influence on I-84's signage.

[odditude]

NJDOT signs town borders only, but no county lines.

given there's no unincorporated land in NJ, there's no real need to sign this info - even if it might be nice to see.

Town lines are great for location. New York doesn't really have unincorporated land, either, and town line signs do wonders for wayfinding. Especially with sequential exit numbers, it's often a lot easier for the typical motorist to judge distance by town/county lines than by milemarkers.

to clarify, i was saying that county line info isn't that important in NJ - no argument on the utility of town line signage.

[machias]

Also keep in mind that I-84 was maintained by NYSTA for a couple decades, and the Thruway DEFINITELY exerted its influence on I-84's signage.

Yeah, the new panels they installed right before I-84 went back to NYSDOT are very clear evidence that I-84 was the bastard step child while under NYSTA jurisdiction. Those signs are awful, which is shame because the NYSDOT signs before them were actually quite well done and among the very last of NYSDOT button copy use.

[Alps]

NJDOT signs town borders only, but no county lines.

given there's no unincorporated land in NJ, there's no real need to sign this info - even if it might be nice to see.

It's also false, but roadman65 saying something false is like rain falling from the sky.

[Alps]

NYSDOT makes their mistakes too, but they do better signing than the Thruway Authority.

They do. I don't like how NYSTA (AFAIK) doesn't have county or town border signs. I'd rather see those before I see mile-based exits, but I'm sure it's not even being planned. I like to know when I cross borders.

I had a huge argument over email with NYSTA about county line signs on the Thruway about a decade ago. I stressed the importance of county line signs as a navigational aid for motorists. They said that motorists don't really concern themselves with what county they're in, I countered that since the National Weather Service issues weather alerts based on county they should include county line signs.  They offered to send me a map.  Their rationale was that if they signed county lines, they'd have to sign every town and village border as well.

The PA Turnpike uses PA's small blue and white signs to sign county lines. PennDOT signs, generally, each township and county border on their state roads, but on the Turnpike it's just counties. So, as you know, there's proof that their rationale is flawed.

I've always felt, as I've driven I-87 from LI to Albany many times, that county lines are absolutely necessary. NYSDOT does it, so why can't the Thruway?

I don't find it necessary. I care about what exit I'm going to and what town I'm heading toward. I don't navigate by counties and I'm not sure who does. It's more of a "that's nice" or political bone thrown to the counties. On freeways, I also don't care what town I'm in if there's no exit to it. If there is an exit, it'll show up on the guide sign, so once again I don't find town line signs necessary. Helpful, maybe, maybe not. This goes out the window on surface highways where I need to know what town I'm entering.

[froggie]

This goes out the window on surface highways where I need to know what town I'm entering.

What makes surface highways different from freeways/tollways?

[odditude]

This goes out the window on surface highways where I need to know what town I'm entering.

What makes surface highways different from freeways/tollways?

likely that there's no egress from a limited-access highway in every town, therefore only the actual locations of exits matter.

[Alps]

This goes out the window on surface highways where I need to know what town I'm entering.

What makes surface highways different from freeways/tollways?

likely that there's no egress from a limited-access highway in every town, therefore only the actual locations of exits matter.

And no big guide signs for each exit.

[NJ]

What's the earliest point where Montreal is seen on overhead sign as well as bilingual signs on the Thruway?

[cl94]

What's the earliest point where Montreal is seen on overhead sign as well as bilingual signs on the Thruway?

Montreal is a control city at Exit 24. No bilingual signs on the Thruway.

Bilingual signs start at the Essex-Clinton county line on the Northway. A-15 is first mentioned on an assembly at Northway Exit 22 in Lake George.

[Pete from Boston]

What's the earliest point where Montreal is seen on overhead sign as well as bilingual signs on the Thruway?

Not what you asked, but it used to be on a mileage sign in Spring Valley.  I felt very exotic when I used to drive past that sign very near home.

[Beeper1]

There is a supplemental BGS for Montreal on the Berkshire Spur WB just before it meets mainline I-87.

[SignBridge]

Many years ago there was a sign in French northbound for Exit-24. It said Province de Quebec, Prochaine Sortie. (Apologies if my spelling is slightly off) No idea if it's still posted that way.

[route17fan]

Many years ago there was a sign in French northbound for Exit-24. It said Province de Quebec, Prochaine Sortie. (Apologies if my spelling is slightly off) No idea if it's still posted that way.

Not currently, though I have seen a picture of that sign on the Thruway on the internet and is presumably in a book.

[NJ]

Where is exit 24?

I thought the Thruway had bilingual signs near the border.

What's the earliest point where Montreal is seen on overhead sign as well as bilingual signs on the Thruway?

Montreal is a control city at Exit 24. No bilingual signs on the Thruway.

Bilingual signs start at the Essex-Clinton county line on the Northway. A-15 is first mentioned on an assembly at Northway Exit 22 in Lake George.

[NJ]

It's still there.. Everytime I drive to Woodbury Commons Outlet I see the sign

What's the earliest point where Montreal is seen on overhead sign as well as bilingual signs on the Thruway?

Not what you asked, but it used to be on a mileage sign in Spring Valley.  I felt very exotic when I used to drive past that sign very near home.

[cl94]

Many years ago there was a sign in French northbound for Exit-24. It said Province de Quebec, Prochaine Sortie. (Apologies if my spelling is slightly off) No idea if it's still posted that way.

Not currently, though I have seen a picture of that sign on the Thruway on the internet and is presumably in a book.

Not in my lifetime. Very good chance it wasn't replaced when the last of the signs became MUTCD-compliant.

[vdeane]

There's also the English and French "limited cell phone service" signs on the Northway just past Pottersville.

Where is exit 24?

I thought the Thruway had bilingual signs near the border.

It's the junction of I-90 and I-87 in Albany, nowhere near the border.  No French signage there now.  The Thruway doesn't get anywhere remotely close to Quebec; the closest it gets to Canada period is Buffalo.

[NJ]

There's also the English and French "limited cell phone service" signs on the Northway just past Pottersville.

Where is exit 24?

I thought the Thruway had bilingual signs near the border.

It's the junction of I-90 and I-87 in Albany, nowhere near the border.  No French signage there now.  The Thruway doesn't get anywhere remotely close to Quebec; the closest it gets to Canada period is Buffalo.

Isn't NY Thruway and I-87 same thing?!

[machias]

There was a "prochaine sortie" sign at exit 24 back when the Thruway had the "mishmash" guide panels -- mid to late 80s if memory serves correctly.

The guide panels back then were incredibly inconsistent with materials used. The destinations would be button copy but 1 MILE would be retroreflective tape. Some signs were the opposite. The border would be button copy but nothing else on the sign would be, etc. These signs were black on the back and roughly the same age as the signs with the cutoff d as an a. The "Province du Quebec - prochaine sortie" sign was not in button copy and the prochaine sortie was in all capital Series E.

[Duke87]

The Thruway doesn't get anywhere remotely close to Quebec; the closest it gets to Canada period is Buffalo.

Isn't NY Thruway and I-87 same thing?!

Only as far as exit 24. Beyond there the Thruway turns west and is I-90 for the rest (the majority) of its length. I-87 from Albany to Canada is a free NYSDOT maintained road known as the Adirondack Northway or "the Northway" for short.

[machias]

The Thruway doesn't get anywhere remotely close to Quebec; the closest it gets to Canada period is Buffalo.

Isn't NY Thruway and I-87 same thing?!

Only as far as exit 24. Beyond there the Thruway turns west and is I-90 for the rest (the majority) of its length. I-87 from Albany to Canada is a free NYSDOT maintained road known as the Adirondack Northway or "the Northway" for short.

And prior to the Thruway, I-87 is the Major Deegan Expressway. That's why there's three sets of interchange numbers along I-87: Exit 1-14 for the Major Deegan, 1-24 for the Thruway and 1-43 for the Northway.