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Massachusetts

Started by hotdogPi, October 12, 2013, 04:50:12 PM

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KEVIN_224

Far and few between. Any town line signs I see here in Berlin, Newington and New Britain look the same as always.


roadman

Quote from: Alps on March 30, 2019, 12:37:13 AM
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on March 29, 2019, 09:50:10 PM
Thanks for the heads up! I've never been on the MA Route 128-only part by itself! I have been at the exit where the two split off a few times though. Going by Google Street View, the exits actually go DOWN as you head north and east? Huh?
Relic of the old system where 128 was numbered clockwise starting at 15. I believe everything had Exit 15 at MA 128 and counting up from there.
Yes, when MassDPW first introduced exit numbering, every junction of a freeway with the MA 128 freeway section was signed Exit 25 (not 15).  The only route that hasn't been changed is US 3 from Burlington to Tyngsborough, which still retains its original numbers.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

PHLBOS

#1127
Quote from: Alps on March 30, 2019, 12:37:13 AM
Quote from: KEVIN_224 on March 29, 2019, 09:50:10 PM
Thanks for the heads up! I've never been on the MA Route 128-only part by itself! I have been at the exit where the two split off a few times though. Going by Google Street View, the exits actually go DOWN as you head north and east? Huh?
Relic of the old system where 128 was numbered counter-clockwise starting at 15 9*.
FTFY.
*Exits 9 through 11 are actually intersections, the northern/easternmost interchange is Exit 12 (Crafts Rd./Rust Island).
Prior to 1962, 128's Exit 1 was Grant Circle (MA 127, current Exit 11) and the numbers increased as one headed south/west.

The reasoning for the opposite-direction (w/respect to current standards)/counter-clockwise exit numbering, for those who aren't familiar w/128's history, was due to this northern stretch was built first.

Quote from: wytout on March 30, 2019, 07:06:55 AMNot really a font change. Just mixed case. CT has been doing this on their town line signs for the past couple years as well.
Such a change, to mixed-case, is the result of an MUTCD (at least since 2009) push to use mixed-case lettering for cities & towns on all signage.  Similar's been done for street blade signage as well.  It's only recently trickled down to MassDOT.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Pete from Boston

Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.

RobbieL2415

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 05:39:02 PM
Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.
I mean, it's not a desnigated exit or entrance. It would be illegal even if there were no tolls.

Pete from Boston

Quote from: RobbieL2415 on April 10, 2019, 05:56:08 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 05:39:02 PM
Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.
I mean, it's not a desnigated exit or entrance. It would be illegal even if there were no tolls.

I guess my question should be better worded.  In practical terms, does anyone know if this is actually enforced?  I felt kind of stupid driving 20 minutes in traffic to get to the actual entrance a mile uproad from here.

Ben114

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 06:07:41 PM
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on April 10, 2019, 05:56:08 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 05:39:02 PM
Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.
I mean, it's not a desnigated exit or entrance. It would be illegal even if there were no tolls.

I guess my question should be better worded.  In practical terms, does anyone know if this is actually enforced?  I felt kind of stupid driving 20 minutes in traffic to get to the actual entrance a mile uproad from here.

Street view shows a gate at the entrance to the service plaza, so you can't get in.

RobbieL2415

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 06:07:41 PM
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on April 10, 2019, 05:56:08 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 05:39:02 PM
Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.
I mean, it's not a desnigated exit or entrance. It would be illegal even if there were no tolls.

I guess my question should be better worded.  In practical terms, does anyone know if this is actually enforced?  I felt kind of stupid driving 20 minutes in traffic to get to the actual entrance a mile uproad from here.
Everyone's too afraid to find out lol.

Pete from Boston

Quote from: Ben114 on April 10, 2019, 06:52:07 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 06:07:41 PM
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on April 10, 2019, 05:56:08 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 05:39:02 PM
Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.
I mean, it's not a desnigated exit or entrance. It would be illegal even if there were no tolls.

I guess my question should be better worded.  In practical terms, does anyone know if this is actually enforced?  I felt kind of stupid driving 20 minutes in traffic to get to the actual entrance a mile uproad from here.

Street view shows a gate at the entrance to the service plaza, so you can't get in.



Wide open.

Beeper1

While not a legal entry/exit for vehicles, I think they leave it ungated for pedestrians to use so locals can park here to access the RMV office in the plaza.   The eastbound Charlton plaza's back gate was set up like that for a while in the 2000s.

kefkafloyd

I'm sure the AARoads forum does not endorse the cool civil infraction of entering the Turnpike at unauthorized locations. Even if you're paying the toll via the AET system, they'd still want to discourage people using a setup that's not meant for a lot of incoming and outgoing traffic.

Plus, just because the gate is open that day doesn't mean it will be open some other day. Do you really want to risk a ticket from someone who is monitoring that gate calling a statie?

I do think they should open the gates at the Blandford plazas for hilltown locals until the new exit 2A is built, but that's because there's a 30 mile gap. Exit 13 is not that far away.

Quote from: Beeper1 on April 10, 2019, 07:46:13 PM
While not a legal entry/exit for vehicles, I think they leave it ungated for pedestrians to use so locals can park here to access the RMV office in the plaza. The eastbound Charlton plaza's back gate was set up like that for a while in the 2000s.

That's correct. I've never driven through the gate, but I have parked at the lot nearby to get to Cheesy Street Grille  without getting on the pike.

Pete from Boston

Quote from: kefkafloyd on April 10, 2019, 07:57:17 PM
I'm sure the AARoads forum does not endorse the cool civil infraction of entering the Turnpike at unauthorized locations. Even if you're paying the toll via the AET system, they'd still want to discourage people using a setup that's not meant for a lot of incoming and outgoing traffic.

Plus, just because the gate is open that day doesn't mean it will be open some other day. Do you really want to risk a ticket from someone who is monitoring that gate calling a statie?

I do think they should open the gates at the Blandford plazas for hilltown locals until the new exit 2A is built, but that's because there's a 30 mile gap. Exit 13 is not that far away.

Quote from: Beeper1 on April 10, 2019, 07:46:13 PM
While not a legal entry/exit for vehicles, I think they leave it ungated for pedestrians to use so locals can park here to access the RMV office in the plaza. The eastbound Charlton plaza's back gate was set up like that for a while in the 2000s.

That's correct. I've never driven through the gate, but I have parked at the lot nearby to get to Cheesy Street Grille  without getting on the pike.

OK, I'm not asking anyone to endorse breaking the law, I am wondering if it's some kind of open secret that people generally use this.  Because I don't feel like getting a ticket in the mail, I'm not actually doing it.  But it seemed eminently doable today.

The sign on N. Main St. has actually been changed to instruct people going to the Registry to use the Mass Pike.  The reasoning I read somewhere it was that it's not a very good walk from the rugged, sloped parking lot then across the drive-through lane for anybody that is mobility impaired.

Pete from Boston

Separate topic: is there any discussion at this point about the future of the Mass Pike/128 interchange?  Having driven and kayaked underneath it, it doesn't look like the steel is in great shape. 

I'm no engineer, and leave open the possibility that it just needs to be scraped and repainted, but today noticed the 128/95 SB to Mass Pike EB overpass over the Hultman Aqueduct has some supplemental steel legs inserted beneath it, which made me wonder about these rusty structures again.

jp the roadgeek

There's an entrance to the Charlton EB service area from US 20.  There is no gate; just a sign saying Authorized Parking Only and No Trailers.  There's even an LGS pointing you to it.  However, you'd have to jump a couple curbs, drive over the grass, or crash through a gate to get on the Pike.
Interstates I've clinched: 97, 290 (MA), 291 (CT), 291 (MA), 293, 295 (DE-NJ-PA), 295 (RI-MA), 384, 391, 395 (CT-MA), 395 (MD), 495 (DE), 610 (LA), 684, 691, 695 (MD), 695 (NY), 795 (MD)

kefkafloyd

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 10:14:26 PM
OK, I'm not asking anyone to endorse breaking the law, I am wondering if it's some kind of open secret that people generally use this.  Because I don't feel like getting a ticket in the mail, I'm not actually doing it.  But it seemed eminently doable today.

The sign on N. Main St. has actually been changed to instruct people going to the Registry to use the Mass Pike.  The reasoning I read somewhere it was that it's not a very good walk from the rugged, sloped parking lot then across the drive-through lane for anybody that is mobility impaired.

I was making a Futurama reference, so no big. ;)

The walk is a bit steep, so I can see the point about the mobility impaired.

Alps

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 06:07:41 PM
Quote from: RobbieL2415 on April 10, 2019, 05:56:08 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 10, 2019, 05:39:02 PM
Now that there is no ticket system, is there any reason not to enter the Mass Pike through the back road of the Natick Service Area, off N. Main St. in Natick?

There are a couple of vaguely threatening signs about video monitoring and being charged for the full length of the Turnpike, but these seem like idle threats.
I mean, it's not a desnigated exit or entrance. It would be illegal even if there were no tolls.

I guess my question should be better worded.  In practical terms, does anyone know if this is actually enforced?  I felt kind of stupid driving 20 minutes in traffic to get to the actual entrance a mile uproad from here.
At this point, you're probably fine. Once you're on the MassPike, the gantries are between interchanges, so you're not going to be skipping anything. You'll get tolled for each gantry you passed under as if you entered at a valid interchange.

Pete from Boston

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on April 10, 2019, 11:23:01 PM
There's an entrance to the Charlton EB service area from US 20.  There is no gate; just a sign saying Authorized Parking Only and No Trailers.  There's even an LGS pointing you to it.  However, you'd have to jump a couple curbs, drive over the grass, or crash through a gate to get on the Pike.

I did a quick scan on Google Maps, and they all seem have some way to get there from local streets, presumably because it was unfair to make employees pay a toll under the old ticket system to get in there (and, you know, maybe locals want to pay a few more bucks for a Big Mac than they can in town).

MNHighwayMan

Quote from: kefkafloyd on April 10, 2019, 07:57:17 PM
I'm sure the AARoads forum does not endorse the cool civil infraction of entering the Turnpike at unauthorized locations. Even if you're paying the toll via the AET system, they'd still want to discourage people using a setup that's not meant for a lot of incoming and outgoing traffic.

I 100 percent endorse this, and encourage people to try this and report back. :evilgrin:

roadman

Quote from: jp the roadgeek on April 10, 2019, 11:23:01 PM
There's an entrance to the Charlton EB service area from US 20.  There is no gate; just a sign saying Authorized Parking Only and No Trailers.  There's even an LGS pointing you to it.  However, you'd have to jump a couple curbs, drive over the grass, or crash through a gate to get on the Pike.
The entrance to Charlton EB service area from US 20 is there to allow locals access to the Registry of Motor Vehicles office in the plaza without having to use the Pike.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Pete from Boston

Quote from: roadman on April 11, 2019, 10:50:38 AM
Quote from: jp the roadgeek on April 10, 2019, 11:23:01 PM
There's an entrance to the Charlton EB service area from US 20.  There is no gate; just a sign saying Authorized Parking Only and No Trailers.  There's even an LGS pointing you to it.  However, you'd have to jump a couple curbs, drive over the grass, or crash through a gate to get on the Pike.
The entrance to Charlton EB service area from US 20 is there to allow locals access to the Registry of Motor Vehicles office in the plaza without having to use the Pike.

It's been there for decades,before the Registry was there, and after it closed.

Pete from Boston

Does anyone know the age of these granite directional markers scattered around the metro west area?  Or how far they range, or who put them there?


Pete from Boston

Here is another, in Sudbury.  I think the previous one is also in Sudbury, but I see them in Maynard, Concord, that general area.


bob7374


SidS1045

#1148
As of this morning, the former HOV lane on I-93 southbound through Somerville and Charlestown is no more.  It's now an express lane, bypassing the Sullivan Square and Storrow Drive exits and open to all traffic.  The reflectorized barriers (which took a severe beating every winter) between the HOV and regular lanes were taken down last week on the portion of 93 before the "lower deck."  They're still up from the police pull-out to the beginning of the concrete median ahead of the Zakim Bridge.
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

deathtopumpkins

Confirmed - signage now calls it an "Express Lane" with no mention of HOV.

Will try and snag a picture from my dashcam later this week when it's not dark and raining.
Disclaimer: All posts represent my personal opinions and not those of my employer.

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