Rate your state based on roadgeeky qualities

[Zeffy]

So here's a fun little game I came up with today at work (during break, don't worry). Basically, the idea is to grade your state based on some Roadgeek qualities that I've come up with. The scoring system is pretty basic. If your state has a lot of the category, give it the maximum point value. If it has a decent amount, give it the median. If it has some, but not a lot, give it the low point value. And if it has none of those things, you give it a zero. At the end, add up all the point values to get your final score. The higher the number, the more roadgeeky qualities your state has! (At least in my book...)

The qualities are things that lots of us look for everyday. If anyone has some good ideas for more categories, just post them here - this is intended to be just a fun little activity. The numbers are kind of arbitrary - there was no real formula I used. I just weighed ones that I thought might be a bit more significant than others. It's all opinion, anyway.

Here's the categories:

Category	High Point Value	Median Point Value	Low Point Value
Preserved Old Alignments	25	15	5
Non-reflective button copy signs	20	10	5
(visible) Ramp Stubs	15	10	5
Abandoned Freeways/Highways	20	10	5
Old State/US/Interstate Highway Shields	10	6	3
Road History	15	10	5
Bridges and Road Furnishings	15	10	5
Construction/Upkeep/Maintenance	15	10	5
Scenery/Terrain/Touring value	20	10	5
Hunting and Gathering	20	10	5

Some brief explanation of the categories:
Preserved Old Alignments: Alignments that are clearly marked as being previously part of a highway. There are two very famous examples you can probably think of.
Non-reflective button copy signs: Signs that are non-reflective (I.E. do not reflect normally) and contain button copy reflectors within the letters and shapes of the sign
Ramp Stubs: Old pieces of roadway that were either intended to be a ramp, or were removed to allow a new ramp to be built.
Abandoned Freeways/Highways: Can either be an abandoned freeway as the name says (constructed but abandoned), or one that was in construction then got shelved due to opposition or lack of funding or any other reasons.
Old State/US/Interstate Highway Shields: Any old design of a State, US, or Interstate marker. Old meaning a specification before the current one.
Road History: How many things your state was able to accomplish first in terms of roadways. Things like interchanges, geometry, signs, etc.
Thanks to formulanone for these categories!
Bridges and Road Furnishings: Gantries, traffic lights, street lights, et al...the historic, experimental, old, ancient, new, interesting
Construction/Upkeep/Maintenance: Is your state building new roads? Or are all the roads filled with potholes and deteriorating because there's no money to fix them? (Note: 5 means there's little construction/roads suck while 15 means there's good construction and roads are not falling apart)
Scenery/Terrain/Touring value: Beauty and uniqueness that literally is beyond numbers and sometimes words
Hunting and Gathering: The geeky collection/clinching goodness of it all - lots of numbers? counties? signage? oddities? what makes a state unique in this respect?

Here's mine for New Jersey, provided as an example:

Old Alignments: 5
Non-reflective button copy signs: 20
Ramp stubs: 5
Abandoned Freeways: 5
Old shields: 10
Road History: 10
TOTAL: 55

I'm curious to see the highest (and lowest) rated states that people post using this scale! 

[SD Mapman]

South Dakota:
OA: 15
NRBCS: 0
RS: 0
AF/H: We'll go with 5. There's abandoned 2-lane highways...
OS/US/IHS: 6
RH: 0

That's... ... 26.

Yay for half!

[noelbotevera]

Pennsylvania....man.
Preserved Old Alignments: 25
Non-reflective Button Copy: 5
Ramp Stubs: 7, though there isn't hundreds of stubs, but there is still some stubs. (thanks for pointing it out ekt8750)
Abandoned Freeways: 20 (certain abandoned freeways in Philadelphia, Goat Path, etc.)
Old State/US Highway Shields: 10
Road History: 15 (created the modern ticket tolling of turnpikes)
BRF: 15 (Tons of old signs and stuff)
Construction/Maintenance: 10 (some roads are horrible, new roads are being built, but are slow)
Scenery: 20 (Pennsylvania can be really beautiful, especially I-99 south of exit 28)
Hunting/Gathering: 20 (Quite a ton of stuff you can clinch in PA)

FINAL TOTAL: 157

EDIT: added new categories

[oscar]

With new categories added above:

Hawaii:

OA: 20 (mainly on the outer islands)
NRBC: 0
RS: 10
AFH: 0 (many dead projects, but they all died early)
Old shields: 6 (some state-route cutouts still around, but gradually disappearing)
RH: 0
B/RF: 10
C/M: 5  (little new construction, maintenance can be awful)
Scenery: 20+ (hard to top Hawaii, or Alaska, for knock-your-socks-off gorgeous)
H/G:  10

Total: 81

Alaska:

OA: 5  (some scattered fragments of old routes)
NRBC: 0
RS: 0
AFH: 5 (only one I can think of is the disastrous Hickel Highway project, where Alaska DOT&PF learned how not to build roads on permafrost; replaced by the Dalton Highway)
Old shields: 0 (not a one, except in museums)
RH: 5 (mainly the Alaska and Dalton highways)
B/RF: 5 (not a whole lot of either, off the Anchorage-area freeways)
C/M: 5 (hostile environment makes upkeep hard)
Scenery:  20+ (see above for Hawaii)
H/G: 5 (few numbered highways; vast distances, unpaved segments, and isolated segments reachable only through Canada or by ferry make it hard to clinch most of them unless you have a lot of time and a non-rental vehicle available)

Total: 50

[Bruce]

Washington:
Old Alignments: 15 (Old US 99 and US 10 are around, but not signed with historic markers)
Button copy signs: 10
Ramp Stubs: 10 (RIP RH Thomson ramps)
Abandoned Highways: 10
Old Shields: 6
Road History: 10

Total: 51

[roadman]

I'll take a stab at Massachusetts

OA - 25 - mainly because most old alignments are still in service, as they became secondary routes (1A, 2A, etc.) and/or reverted to local ownership/jusridiction
NRBCS - 2 - with one or two exceptions (on DCR roadways), the handful of button copy signs remaining in Massachusetts (now that I-93 Randolph to Boston is substantially completed) have reflective sheeting backgrounds.
RS - 10  - Only a small handful remaining that haven't been removed or repurposed.
AH - 5 - Now that the sand pile across the Rumney Marsh has mostly been removed, the original I-95 (formerly US 1) segment through Newburyport is the only significant section of abandoned highway remaining in the state.
OS - 10 - Most remaining old shields are on secondary US and state roads, mainly in rural areas.  Old Interstate shields have dwindled to a mere handful.
RH - 20 - Massachusetts was one of the first states to start a numbered route system (in 1922), and to develop an unique directional signing system (the "paddle sign" - D6/D8 concept), which has been in use - with periodic modifications - since the 1930s.  They also developed the concept of running a circumferential hghway route around a major city (the oriignal pre-divided highway Route 128 around Boston, which used local streets) well before the era of superhighways.  In more recent times, they were one of the first states to use open graded friction course asphalt pavement, were an early adopter of diagrammatic signing, and began signing left exits with special tabs before it was even noted as an option in the MUTCD.
BRF - 20 - Mainly for the sheer variety in styles of various infrastructure.  Specific examples:  1) Sign gantries.  As MA traditionally has allowed fabricators to choose their gantry designs, with the two exceptions being the elevated portion of I-93 through Somerville (box beam supports that are part of the bridge deck) - and the Big Dig project roadways (specialized - and massive -monotube supports), there's quite a bit of variety out there.    2)  Bridges.  For total or partial bridge replacement projects, MA has been transitioning from steel decks to concrete spans - two recent examples are the Totten Pond Road bridge over I-95/128 in Waltham and the Recreation road overpass over I-95/128 in Newton.  Additionally, the Big Dig project has a combination of segmental precast concrete spans and traditional steel box beam spans (the exact span design details were left up to each secton contractor). 
C/M - 15 - Most Interstate construction and maintenance is reasonably good and timely across the state.  Secondary road construction and maintenance has greater variability - some Districts are quite good, other Districts are not as good in that regard.
S/T/T - 15 - Some parts of the state are really great, especially the secondary highways in Western Massachusetts and upper Essex County.  Interstates not so much, with the exception of the Mass. Turnpike (I-90) through the Berkshires.
H and G - 15.  Few older gems left on Interstates and freeways, but older stuff still exists on many rural secondary routes.

Total:  137

edit - updated to include additional categories

[ekt8750]

Pennsylvania....man.
Preserved Old Alignments: 25
Non-reflective Button Copy: 5
Ramp Stubs: 0
Abandoned Freeways: 10 (certain abandoned freeways in Philadelphia)
Old State/US Highway Shields: 10
Road History: 15 (created the modern ticket tolling of turnpikes)

TOTAL: 65

I can count 3 ramp stubs in PA right off the top of my head. I'm sure there are plenty more.

[cjk374]

I believe I can give a ranking of north Louisiana... I will cede south Louisiana to our brothers & sisters who live there:

Preserved alignments: 25. Very rare for Louisiana to abandon US routes. US 80 from the Delta exit to the Mississippi River bridge is the only on I can think of, and it is now LA 3218.

Button copy:  0. I have never seen any in LA.

Ramp stubs:  0.

Abandoned freeways: 0

Old state/US shields:  5. The new black & white state shields & '71 spec US shields have taken over. Becoming a rare find.

Road history:  5 (that's being generous). South LA has more history than north LA, but we do have a few old bridges.

Bridges & furnishings:  10. There are old bridges in Monroe & Shreveport.  Lots of older traffic lights in Shreveport.

Construction/upkeep/maintenance:  10.  I-49/220 interchange is underway as well as other bridges being replaced. Roads are kept up fairly well here.

Scenery/terrain/touring:  10.  Depends on your definition of scenery. We have flat farmland, rivers & bayous, and plenty of pine forests. All depends on where you are.

Hunting & gathering: 5.  We have parish roads instead of county roads. We have hyphenated state roads. Not much else.

Total score for north LA:  70.   

[corco]

Those ranking criteria have east coast/urban bias

Montana is an incredibly fun state to drive around in, but:

Preserved alignments: 10 - lots of old alignments, but most have been upgraded to modern standards as state frontage roads or state secondary highways so aren't that interesting.

Button copy:  0

Ramp stubs:  0.

Abandoned freeways: 0

Old state/US shields:  5 - no cutouts or state named US shields, but plenty of nice old shields if you know where to look

Road history:  2 - Montana's only real notable thing was reasonable and prudent, and I only know of one sign left in the state from that era.

so 17?

[SD Mapman]

Those ranking criteria have east coast/urban bias

Yeah! Where in the rural West will you find a abandoned freeway? Or ramp stubs?

[Alex4897]

Delaware:

Preserved old alignments: 10 - Old alignments through populated areas tend to still be driveable, and often times marked as bannered routes.  US 13 has quite a few of these.

Non-reflective button copy signs: 0 - unless they're hiding somewhere deep within Wilmington and I haven't come across them..

Ramp stubs: 10 - There's a fair amount of visible stubs throughout the state along our freeways.

Abandoned highways: 5 - The only notable example that I can think of off the top of my head is the abandoned stretch of US 13 near Red Lion.

Old signs: 6 - Wilmington has a fair amount of leftover goodies from years ago.

Road history: 15 - Dupont Highway seems to be regarded as the first or one of the first divided highways in the nation.  If that's true, or at least close to be true, that's a pretty important piece of road history.

Bridges and road furnishings: 15 - Our newer traffic signals have a very consistent, polished look while the older ones have a fantastic variety in what you can find, especially when you get closer to Wilmington.  I greatly enjoy the signals around here.

Construction / Upkeep: 15 - Our roads are generally well kept minus a few problem spots, and we seem able to construct new things in a somewhat timely manner (example, all the interchange projects along DE 1)

Scenery: 5 - Minus some of the hillier parts of the northern reaches of the state and the beaches, we're kind of devoid of "scenery", though I wouldn't go as far to say as we're an eyesore.

Hunting / Gathering: 10 - Decent amount of state routes for our size, but we have no county routes to contend with.  It's a relatively quicker clinch, which may or may not be pro or a con.

FINAL TALLY: 91

I really can't tell if I've inflated the final score or not lol

EDIT: added new categories

[Kacie Jane]

Washington:
Old Alignments: 15 (Old US 99 and US 10 are around, but not signed with historic markers)
Button copy signs: 10
Ramp Stubs: 10 (RIP RH Thomson ramps)
Abandoned Highways: 10
Old Shields: 6
Road History: 10

Total: 51

99 has historic markers from about Fife to Seatac.  So they're redundant to SR 99 shields, but they do exist.

[formulanone]

I'll rate Florida:

Old Alignments: 5 (not many, despite vaguely 500 to 600 signed roads...most of them are just curves that were given wider radii)
Button Copy: 5 (rarely found - maybe 10 BGSs left, none of it reflective)
Ramp Stubs: 0 (Maybe one or two, but not any I'm specifically aware of...loads of construction projects usually remove them altogether)
Abandoned Highways: 0 (none that I'm aware of, unless you count a few old alignment bits on private property)
Old Shields: 10 (Panhandle is loaded with these: old SR/SSR signs, colored US shields unique to the state, some unique fonts. Rest of state is a bit more limited.)
Road History: 10 (some interesting histories and tidbits can yield interesting finds, but overall, a limited impact on a national road-going level)
= 30

I would also suggest categories for:

Bridges and Road Furnishings (gantries, traffic lights, street lights, et al...the historic, experimental, old, ancient, new, interesting)
Construction/Upkeep/Maintenance
Scenery/Terrain/Touring value (beauty and uniqueness that literally is beyond numbers and sometimes words)
Hunting and Gathering (the geeky collection/clinching goodness of it all - lots of numbers? counties? signage? oddities? what makes a state unique in this respect?)

[GCrites]

Appalachian states are always going to do well in Preserved Old Alignments.

[Zeffy]

I would also suggest categories for:

Bridges and Road Furnishings (gantries, traffic lights, street lights, et al...the historic, experimental, old, ancient, new, interesting)
Construction/Upkeep/Maintenance
Scenery/Terrain/Touring value (beauty and uniqueness that literally is beyond numbers and sometimes words)
Hunting and Gathering (the geeky collection/clinching goodness of it all - lots of numbers? counties? signage? oddities? what makes a state unique in this respect?)

Excellent suggestions! I've incorporated all of them into the rating system. Hopefully this gives states a chance to shine that are at a disadvantage!

[ekt8750]

Delaware:

Preserved old alignments: 10 - Old alignments through populated areas tend to still be driveable, and often times marked as bannered routes.  US 13 has quite a few of these.

Non-reflective button copy signs: 0 - unless they're hiding somewhere deep within Wilmington and I haven't come across them..

Ramp stubs: 10 - There's a fair amount of visible stubs throughout the state along our freeways.

Abandoned highways: 5 - The only notable example that I can think of off the top of my head is the abandoned stretch of US 13 near Red Lion.

Old signs: 6 - Wilmington has a fair amount of leftover goodies from years ago.

Road history: 15 - Dupont Highway seems to be regarded as the first or one of the first divided highways in the nation.  If that's true, or at least close to be true, that's a pretty important piece of road history.

Bridges and road furnishings: 15 - Our newer traffic signals have a very consistent, polished look while the older ones have a fantastic variety in what you can find, especially when you get closer to Wilmington.  I greatly enjoy the signals around here.

Construction / Upkeep: 15 - Our roads are generally well kept minus a few problem spots, and we seem able to construct new things in a somewhat timely manner (example, all the interchange projects along DE 1)

Scenery: 5 - Minus some of the hillier parts of the northern reaches of the state and the beaches, we're kind of devoid of "scenery", though I wouldn't go as far to say as we're an eyesore.

Hunting / Gathering: 10 - Decent amount of state routes for our size, but we have no county routes to contend with.  It's a relatively quicker clinch, which may or may not be pro or a con.

FINAL TALLY: 91

I really can't tell if I've inflated the final score or not lol

EDIT: added new categories

As someone from PA, I love driving through Delaware. The roads, esp the freeways, are all in great shape. I haven't strayed far from DE 1/US 13 and 113 in Kent and Sussex Counties but from what I have clinched, the state and US routes do go through some scenic areas.

[JakeFromNewEngland]

Connecticut:

Preserved old alignments: 25 - Lots of old stub ramps and stub freeways located in the Hartford area from the cancelled freeways such as I-291, I-491, I-284, I-484...

Non reflective button copy signs: 10 - There are still plenty of button copy signs floating around Connecticut, especially in the Hartford metro and Eastern CT.

Ramp stubs: 15 - Like I said earlier, there are plenty in the Hartford area.

Abandoned Freeways: 5 - Not a lot of these are around. The most notable one I can think of is CT 9 across the 4 stack interchange in West Hartford and than ending shortly after.

Old State/Interstate/US Highways shields: 6 - I know a few old CT 15 shields exist somewhere in Southwestern CT. There are other old signs floating around the state as well but most have been replaced.

Road history: 5 - I can't really think of anything that was a "first" nationwide here. CT was a part of the original New England Interstate System though and many of the original numbers are still around today for the current state routes.

Bridges and roads furnishing: 10 - Many of our gantries along the interstates still exist from the 70s-80s. A lot of the traffic lights have been replaced in recent years but some old pairs still exist.

Construction/road maintenance: 10 - Connecticut always has grand plans as to improving our road system but most of them these ideas are shot down due to public opposition or no funds. As for building new roads, some recently built roads are the CT 72 bypass in Bristol, the US 7 bypass in Brookfield, and CT 11 (which is stalled at the moment).

Scenery: 10 - Connecticut is very unique in it's geography. You can go from the beach to rolling hills in a matter of 10 miles. You can't compare CT's shoreline though to say the RI Beaches or the Cape which are far better.

Hunting and gathering: 10 - As small as Connecticut is, it's very dense so that means we have lots of different routes to clinch.

FINAL SCORE: 106