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"E" mileposts on US 395 in southern Oregon

Started by Kniwt, May 16, 2012, 06:38:05 PM

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Kniwt

Driving 395 yesterday morning south from the SR 31 junction to the California line, I saw green mileposts that all carried a mysterious "E" suffix. ("Mile 146E," for instance). The posts were mounted only on one side of the road but had signs facing in both directions. The distances appeared to be a continuation of the mileage from SR 31 (almost certainly not US 395 from the Washington line), but I wasn't completely sure of that.

I didn't bother to snap a picture because I figured I'd come back home, look up a handy image in Street View, and post it here ... but the Google car apparently was last through there in August 2009, and these mileposts look fairly new.

Any idea why the "E" suffix, and/or why the numbering is what it is?


nexus73

US 101 is THE backbone of the Pacific coast from Bandon OR to Willits CA.  Industry, tourism and local traffic would be gone or severely crippled without it being in functioning condition in BOTH states.

sp_redelectric

Quote from: Kniwt on May 16, 2012, 06:38:05 PM
Driving 395 yesterday morning south from the SR 31 junction to the California line, I saw green mileposts that all carried a mysterious "E" suffix. ("Mile 146E," for instance). The posts were mounted only on one side of the road but had signs facing in both directions. The distances appeared to be a continuation of the mileage from SR 31

Oregon Highway 19 (the Fremont Highway) begins at U.S. 97 near La Pine, continues on Oregon Route 31 to Valley Falls, and then follows U.S. 395 south to Lakeview and the California border. 

However I can't find anything on ODOT's website that explains an E milepost...I see T mileposts (temporary) and Z mileposts (overlaps, used for highway realignments)...

sp_redelectric

It looks like CalTrans uses the E suffix for "equation", which ODOT normally would use the Z suffix.  Possibly ODOT used a California vendor who used a CalTrans spec for new mileposts?

Wouldn't be the first time...of course there's the well known issue with newly posted state highway markers that are "upside down".  I see it more often in Washington, seeing ODOT spec signs in odd places - and not necessarily near the Oregon border (U.S. 12 west of I-5 is one place.)

xonhulu

I think the letter suffixes A - E are used to distinguish the sections of 395 that are carried along the 5 different named highways it travels on through Oregon, ignoring where it multiplexes with other routes.  Those highways from north to south, with the letters I think denote each, are: Umatilla-Stanfield Hwy (A), Pendleton-John Day Hwy (B), John Day-Burns Hwy (C), Lakeview-Burns Hwy (D), and Fremont Hwy (E). 

Google Earth doesn't show this in a lot a places, and it's possible they haven't replaced some older markers yet, but you saw E's on the Fremont Highway, and here's a Google Earth image showing a B along the Pendleton-John Day Hwy:

http://maps.google.com/?ll=45.60624,-118.80176&spn=0.001006,0.002642&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=45.60624,-118.80176&panoid=rhaK3HuT39Dn1mgnB5W6Uw&cbp=12,353.8,,0,-2.56

I think I've also seen C's along the John Day-Burns Hwy, but my memory is kind of hazy on this.


Kniwt

Quote from: xonhulu on May 19, 2012, 09:22:33 PM
I think the letter suffixes A - E are used to distinguish the sections of 395 that are carried along the 5 different named highways it travels on through Oregon, ignoring where it multiplexes with other routes. 

Ooooh, that makes sense ... well, sort of, in an odd-twisty-bureaucrat's way. Thanks!



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