Weirdest Quirks of Your State DOT?

[ipeters61]

MASSACHUSETTS:

Until recently, BGS's had exit tabs that were framed as part of the larger sign.  There was no frame break between the exit tab and the rest of the sign.

Until recently, Connecticut's BGS's had exit tabs which didn't have a border at all. https://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ct/ct_9/n1.jpg

[roadfro]

MASSDOT:
- use of wooden signposts

Very common in states farther west.

Yup, wooden is what WisDOT prefers. A significant number of sign substraights are wood as well.

Very common in the deserts in California.

Very common all over California. If I'm not mistaken, most post-mounted signs of all varieties (up to and including freeway BGS) on Caltrans facilities are wood posts.

Caltrans and Nevada DOT do a lot of things very similarly, but this is one of their few contrasts. Virtually no permanent road sign in Nevada uses wood posts, and even temporary road construction signs using wood posts are rare.

[Brandon]

MASSACHUSETTS:

Until recently, BGS's had exit tabs that were framed as part of the larger sign.  There was no frame break between the exit tab and the rest of the sign.

Until recently, Connecticut's BGS's had exit tabs which didn't have a border at all. https://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ct/ct_9/n1.jpg

Then you go in a different direction entirely and use a full-width tab like Washington, Illinois, Utah (former), and Michigan (hit-or-miss) do.

[hbelkins]

Surprised no one has mentioned West Virginia's "fractional" routes. If they did, I missed it.

[machias]

MASSACHUSETTS:

Until recently, BGS's had exit tabs that were framed as part of the larger sign.  There was no frame break between the exit tab and the rest of the sign.

This was also how Pennsylvania did it back before the right- or left-justified exit tab days.

[Pink Jazz]

MASSDOT:
- use of wooden signposts

Very common in states farther west.

Yup, wooden is what WisDOT prefers. A significant number of sign substraights are wood as well.

Very common in the deserts in California.

Very common all over California. If I'm not mistaken, most post-mounted signs of all varieties (up to and including freeway BGS) on Caltrans facilities are wood posts.

Caltrans and Nevada DOT do a lot of things very similarly, but this is one of their few contrasts. Virtually no permanent road sign in Nevada uses wood posts, and even temporary road construction signs using wood posts are rare.

Another difference is that Nevada allows logo signs in urban areas while California does not.

[bzakharin]

Traffic circles are another NJ specific thing, though they're slowly going away. A recent change is over-sized two-sided mile markers with a direction and route shield, every 0.2 miles on freeways and 0.5 miles on non-freeway state and US routes. These may exist elsewhere, but I have only seen them in NJ so far.

[Brandon]

Traffic circles are another NJ specific thing, though they're slowly going away. A recent change is over-sized two-sided mile markers with a direction and route shield, every 0.2 miles on freeways and 0.5 miles on non-freeway state and US routes. These may exist elsewhere, but I have only seen them in NJ so far.

Traffic circles (not modern roundabouts) exist in other places than New Jersey.  Massachusetts comes to mind.

[jeffandnicole]

Traffic circles are another NJ specific thing, though they're slowly going away. A recent change is over-sized two-sided mile markers with a direction and route shield, every 0.2 miles on freeways and 0.5 miles on non-freeway state and US routes. These may exist elsewhere, but I have only seen them in NJ so far.

The 'enhanced' mm is used extensively elsewhere, although NJ's standard for signing them is probably a little bit unique.  Personally I would've rather had them every 0.1 miles on highways.  If one is knocked down or otherwise missing, then there's going to be 0.4 miles between the markers, making them much less visible.

The ones on non-freeways (every half-mile) aren't as useful to much of the general public.  If someone needed assistance, most likely they would be using some nearby landmark or cross street to describe their location. 

[ipeters61]

The ones on non-freeways (every half-mile) aren't as useful to much of the general public.  If someone needed assistance, most likely they would be using some nearby landmark or cross street to describe their location.

The problem with that, though, is if you are on a more desolate non-expressway, what are you supposed to use?  There have been plenty of crash reports that I've read where the nearest cross street was at least 1/2 mile away and the only things around you are massive farms.

Also, this reminded me of another weird Delaware thing (but it may be more common in rural states).  One of my coworkers told me that it was only about 20 years ago that most rural roads actually got names (they apparently sent out surveys to people living on the roads to determine what they should be called).  Prior to that, they were just "Road 268A" or something like that.

[6a]

While I'm not sure if it's actually the state DOT posting the signs, it does seem to be a statewide phenomenon. I can't recall anywhere being as obsessive about marking every single instance of crossing a corporate boundary as Ohio. Even if it's just the width of a railroad right-of-way (pictured). There are places where single properties have been annexed, so going down a road, you'll see LEAVE CORP / ENTER CORP / LEAVE CORP / ENTER CORP in the space of a couple front yards.

[fillup420]

South Carolina DOT still uses black-outlined US route shields on BGS's

[formulanone]

While I'm not sure if it's actually the state DOT posting the signs, it does seem to be a statewide phenomenon. I can't recall anywhere being as obsessive about marking every single instance of crossing a corporate boundary as Ohio. Even if it's just the width of a railroad right-of-way (pictured). There are places where single properties have been annexed, so going down a road, you'll see LEAVE CORP / ENTER CORP / LEAVE CORP / ENTER CORP in the space of a couple front yards.

It's like two kids fighting over which side of the room is their own:

[Buck87]

^ there's similar instances of this on OH 315 where it goes back and forth between Columbus and Sharon Township 4-6 times in a short span, and also one where a tiny strip of Grandview Heights gets a sign immediately followed by one for Columbus not too far from downtown. 

[Brandon]

The ones on non-freeways (every half-mile) aren't as useful to much of the general public.  If someone needed assistance, most likely they would be using some nearby landmark or cross street to describe their location.

The problem with that, though, is if you are on a more desolate non-expressway, what are you supposed to use?  There have been plenty of crash reports that I've read where the nearest cross street was at least 1/2 mile away and the only things around you are massive farms.

Also, this reminded me of another weird Delaware thing (but it may be more common in rural states).  One of my coworkers told me that it was only about 20 years ago that most rural roads actually got names (they apparently sent out surveys to people living on the roads to determine what they should be called).  Prior to that, they were just "Road 268A" or something like that.

Interesting.  A lot of our rural roads just have numbers such as 3000E or 400S, or just use the route number, i.e. 173 Illinois Route 2.

[hbelkins]

I suspect Ohio's corporation limit signs are placed for police jurisdictional purposes.

[6a]

I suspect Ohio's corporation limit signs are placed for police jurisdictional purposes.

Indeed, it's not uncommon to find police parked in one of these tiny islands, running radar.

[J N Winkler]

Alabama has "Police Jurisdiction" signs--I am not sure it is unique in this regard, but any other states that use these signs are assuredly in the South.  When I first encountered them during a roadtrip, they made me nervous.  When I returned home, I did a little research and discovered city police forces in Alabama have extraterritorial jurisdiction that extends a short distance beyond the corporate limits of their respective municipalities, and the signs delineate where this ends.

[fillup420]

Why the hell does Georgia have so many redundant state routes? (US 1/SR 4, US 27/SR 1 come to mind)

[skluth]

California; wildly varying levels of apathy regarding route signage up keep. 

Bingo.

OMG, Yes. Following state routes is a challenge in urban areas. The only place you can often find them is on the freeways. Waze helps. It also took me a couple weeks to figure out that "Cyn" was the abbreviation for canyon. It's all over SoCal. You don't see many of those east of the Rockies.

For the other states I've lived in.

Wisconsin
1) The county trunk highway system using letters.
2) The near obsession during the last 20 years of installing roundabouts at practically every available opportunity. I love roundabouts, but often a simple intersection with stop sign will suffice.

Missouri
1) Also has lettered routes, but they're not county trunk highways.
2) The continued use of paint that disappears every time it rains.

Virginia
That no bridges can be built completely across the water downriver from US Navy installations in the Hampton Roads area. This explains all the tunnels.

I've never lived in Texas, but the "Drive Friendly" signs always struck me as quirky.

[MantyMadTown]

Wisconsin
1) The county trunk highway system using letters.
2) The near obsession during the last 20 years of installing roundabouts at practically every available opportunity. I love roundabouts, but often a simple intersection with stop sign will suffice.

I can totally agree with this! I really like the lettered county trunk highway system here because it makes us very unique. Honestly I feel like assigning numbers to these routes would make them feel less significant as county routes.

Also, I'm really sick of WISDOT applying roundabouts to every new interchange. All the reconstructed interchanges I've seen in the Green Bay area seem to have roundabouts on each ramp, and sometimes even an extra set of roundabouts for the frontage roads on either side of it! Manitowoc is also planning to build a roundabout at the intersection of highway 42 and Maritime Dr, but that one actually feels necessary.

[SD Mapman]

In South Dakota, if route doesn't hit the WY (for an even-numbered route) or ND (for an odd-numbered route) state lines, the mileage to those lines is added to the mileposts.

This is how you can have a 64-mile long highway have a 300 milepost: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.7022672,-98.0180608,3a,15y,285.74h,86.42t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sJGApUKISBjWf5MX_ViP8sQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (from the west end of SD 38 in Mitchell)

[DaBigE]

Wisconsin
...
2) The near obsession during the last 20 years of installing roundabouts at practically every available opportunity. I love roundabouts, but often a simple intersection with stop sign will suffice.

...Also, I'm really sick of WISDOT applying roundabouts to every new interchange. All the reconstructed interchanges I've seen in the Green Bay area seem to have roundabouts on each ramp, and sometimes even an extra set of roundabouts for the frontage roads on either side of it! Manitowoc is also planning to build a roundabout at the intersection of highway 42 and Maritime Dr, but that one actually feels necessary.

Not trying to go on a tangent that has been beaten to death elsewhere on these forums but...

• Projected traffic growth
• Long-term maintenance
• Arguably better safety records

As much as some may think, the system isn't skewed automatically to roundabouts, but they usually win out when looking at those three items.

[MantyMadTown]

Wisconsin
...
2) The near obsession during the last 20 years of installing roundabouts at practically every available opportunity. I love roundabouts, but often a simple intersection with stop sign will suffice.

...Also, I'm really sick of WISDOT applying roundabouts to every new interchange. All the reconstructed interchanges I've seen in the Green Bay area seem to have roundabouts on each ramp, and sometimes even an extra set of roundabouts for the frontage roads on either side of it! Manitowoc is also planning to build a roundabout at the intersection of highway 42 and Maritime Dr, but that one actually feels necessary.

Not trying to go on a tangent that has been beaten to death elsewhere on these forums but...

• Projected traffic growth
• Long-term maintenance
• Arguably better safety records

As much as some may think, the system isn't skewed automatically to roundabouts, but they usually win out when looking at those three items.

I'm not trying to knock roundabouts in general. I generally like them for their safety record (and I'm not as annoyed by them as most drivers!) and their efficiency in carrying traffic. There's just been way too many roundabouts built in recent years. You don't need roundabouts on top of roundabouts for every intersection on every highway. That just gets annoying for drivers.

[ipeters61]

Wisconsin
...
2) The near obsession during the last 20 years of installing roundabouts at practically every available opportunity. I love roundabouts, but often a simple intersection with stop sign will suffice.

...Also, I'm really sick of WISDOT applying roundabouts to every new interchange. All the reconstructed interchanges I've seen in the Green Bay area seem to have roundabouts on each ramp, and sometimes even an extra set of roundabouts for the frontage roads on either side of it! Manitowoc is also planning to build a roundabout at the intersection of highway 42 and Maritime Dr, but that one actually feels necessary.

Not trying to go on a tangent that has been beaten to death elsewhere on these forums but...

• Projected traffic growth
• Long-term maintenance
• Arguably better safety records

As much as some may think, the system isn't skewed automatically to roundabouts, but they usually win out when looking at those three items.

I'm not trying to knock roundabouts in general. I generally like them for their safety record (and I'm not as annoyed by them as most drivers!) and their efficiency in carrying traffic. There's just been way too many roundabouts built in recent years. You don't need roundabouts on top of roundabouts for every intersection on every highway. That just gets annoying for drivers.

I'm just going to leave this one here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Roundabout_(Swindon)