I-5 sign quality Tualatin-Salem

[sp_redelectric]

A couple nights ago I was headed back from Salem to Portland along I-5 and noticed something about the new signs ODOT installed in the last year:

Their reflectivity...for lack of a better word...SUCKS!

Quite a few signs I could not read until I was literally right next to the sign.  But the few remaining older signs - I could see them a half mile away if not further.  Some signs had entire letters that were faded or unreadable; others had whole sheets of the sign that was dark.

Am I the only one noticing this?  Has anyone at ODOT noticed this and is taking steps to correct it?  Many of the "old" signs weren't even that old.  And it's not just the overhead signs, or the shoulder BGSes, it applies even to smaller signs like the speed limit signs, the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs, the exit gore signs, the merge signs...

Couple that with the poor quality, non-reflective paint and non-existent reflectors...it was not a fun drive!  But once we got to Tualatin, the lines appeared, the signs were legible...

[myosh_tino]

A couple nights ago I was headed back from Salem to Portland along I-5 and noticed something about the new signs ODOT installed in the last year:

Their reflectivity...for lack of a better word...SUCKS!

Quite a few signs I could not read until I was literally right next to the sign.  But the few remaining older signs - I could see them a half mile away if not further.  Some signs had entire letters that were faded or unreadable; others had whole sheets of the sign that was dark.

Am I the only one noticing this?  Has anyone at ODOT noticed this and is taking steps to correct it?  Many of the "old" signs weren't even that old.  And it's not just the overhead signs, or the shoulder BGSes, it applies even to smaller signs like the speed limit signs, the "Slower Traffic Keep Right" signs, the exit gore signs, the merge signs...

Couple that with the poor quality, non-reflective paint and non-existent reflectors...it was not a fun drive!  But once we got to Tualatin, the lines appeared, the signs were legible...

Was is a cold night?  From what I've seen, frost and/or condensation will significantly reduce sign reflectivity (a flaw IMO).  On cold nights in California, reflective signs aren't very reflective however, the button copy signs are still quite legible.

[roadman]

While frost and condensation can affect the reflectivity of signs (especially overhead signs), it should have a negligible impact on signs that were installed in the past year.  I'd be curious about the type of sheeting ODOT speciified for the new I-5 signs.

[sp_redelectric]

Was is a cold night?  From what I've seen, frost and/or condensation will significantly reduce sign reflectivity (a flaw IMO).  On cold nights in California, reflective signs aren't very reflective however, the button copy signs are still quite legible.

Very interesting observation.  On the night I drove, no, it was not cold/frosty, it was dark and rainy and probably in the mid 40s.

This morning on the drive into downtown, I happened to notice the signs at the I-405/Harbor Drive ("Naito Parkway") split.  The newer sign, the overhead for Naito Parkway, was a newer sign installed within the last year or two, and I could tell with the morning frost the same kind of reflectivity "void" where the frost was .  But the I-405/U.S. 26 sign, several years old, was clearly readable with no dark spots.