New style of mileposts in test trials on Nevada highways

[roadfro]

I just came across this via the NevadaDOT Facebook page:

NDOT is currently doing a trial of a new milepost design, along SR 318 (Sunnyside Road, aka Silver State Classic Challenge Hwy) in the vicinity south of Ely. For those unfamiliar, Nevada uses a system very similar to the California Postmile, except Nevada uses two-letter county abbreviations and does not use prefixes for realignments and such.

The new milepost design is somewhat of a hybrid between the Nevada standard white milepost (noting county mileage) and the MUTCD Enhanced reference marker. It retains the black on white styling, but is now a larger panel mounted higher off the ground and further away from the road edge.

NDOT page about mileposts (shows a prototype design for US 93)
NDOT Facebook post showing a closeup of a prototype panel along SR 318 in White Pine County

I think they have enough room to turn the mile number right side up...


A PDF on the NDOT webpage seems to suggest that these enhanced mileposts are only used at the integer mile location and standard mileposts will still be used to mark structures and county lines. It also seems to suggest that NDOT will eventually placed MUTCD Enhanced Reference Location panels along all Interstates (replacing the current standard MUTCD green reference panels along the 2DIs).

[Kniwt]

Kicking this to note that the new postmile markers (wow, they're big) are now erected along the entire length of NV 318. Photo taken today:

[Alps]

That outline seems to put all of Lake Mead in Arizona.

[andy3175]

That outline seems to put all of Lake Mead in Arizona.

It seems like the state highway route marker used on traditional guide signs and reassurance markers has the same feature. An example is at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Route_431#mediaviewer/File:Nevada_431.svg

Now I need to get back to Nevada to see one of these new markers for myself! Too bad NV 318 is away from my typical travels.

[roadfro]

That outline seems to put all of Lake Mead in Arizona.

It seems like the state highway route marker used on traditional guide signs and reassurance markers has the same feature. An example is at Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nevada_State_Route_431#mediaviewer/File:Nevada_431.svg

Now I need to get back to Nevada to see one of these new markers for myself! Too bad NV 318 is away from my typical travels.

The Nevada outline used on these new mileposts appears to be the current BGS version of the state highway marker. This version distorts the outline of the state by squeezing down the vertical dimension (the southwestern side is not at the proper angle), simplifying the southern tip to a couple curves, and greatly exaggerating the size of the southern tip. In the BGS version, not only does all of Lake Mead appear to be in Arizona, but the Las Vegas Valley seems to be right on the Arizona border.

The Nevada outline used on standard standalone route shields is a fairly close, albeit simplified, approximation of the actual state outline. The southern tip in these markers more closely follows the path of the Colorado River through Lake Mead. There are a couple non-standard versions of the standalone shield out there that use curve approximations on the southern tip, but these are not nearly as exaggerated in vertical size as the BGS version is.

[gonealookin]

There are a couple non-standard versions of the standalone shield out there that use curve approximations on the southern tip, but these are not nearly as exaggerated in vertical size as the BGS version is.

As part of the 2012-2013 rehabilitation project on the expressway portion of US 395 in Douglas County, all the shields at the intersections with the state highways were replaced with the "squashed Nevada" type.  Here's one of them:



Those shields seem specific to that contractor and project.  Nearby, a different contractor did the rehabilitation work on NV 207 in 2014.  The new shields there are all the standard type.  I was a little disappointed that the unusual white background shields at the Stateline end (AARoads photo from 2012 here) disappeared during that job.

[andy3175]

Nearby, a different contractor did the rehabilitation work on NV 207 in 2014.  The new shields there are all the standard type.  I was a little disappointed that the unusual white background shields at the Stateline end (AARoads photo from 2012 here) disappeared during that job.

Did they at least retain the end shield for NV 207, or was that totally removed? The US 50 guide signage was in pretty bad shape when I last visited.

[Henry]

Kicking this to note that the new postmile markers (wow, they're big) are now erected along the entire length of NV 318. Photo taken today:

Wow, it feels strange to see the mileage turned sideways! And the black-on-white does not help matters either.

[myosh_tino]

Wow, it feels strange to see the mileage turned sideways! And the black-on-white does not help matters either.

You have to keep in mind that these are postmiles and not mileposts.

The postmile system, used in Nevada and California (not sure if they're used anywhere else), are primarily used for maintenance purposes and the distance displayed is measured from the county line.  When a route crosses into another county, the mileage resets to 0.  What Nevada seems to have done is made them bigger and replaced the "SR 318" text with a route shield.  "LN" is the two letter code for Lincoln county.  Orienting the digits sideways is standard in both Nevada and California.

Nevada uses both systems while California only uses the postmile system except on portions of US 6 and CA-58 where both systems are used.

[gonealookin]

Did they at least retain the end shield for NV 207, or was that totally removed? The US 50 guide signage was in pretty bad shape when I last visited.

The end of 207 is still marked, it's just that the eye-catching white background shield I linked above was replaced with the most common (and geometrically more accurate) type of shield:



Straying from the topic, but since you mentioned it, this must be the guide sign you have in mind?  The old version is here.  The all-upper case green signs are being phased out, slowly.  (And yes, that former Exxon-branded gas station at the bottom of Kingsbury became a Chevron a few months ago.)

[Brandon]

Wow, it feels strange to see the mileage turned sideways! And the black-on-white does not help matters either.

You have to keep in mind that these are postmiles and not mileposts.

The postmile system, used in Nevada and California (not sure if they're used anywhere else), are primarily used for maintenance purposes and the distance displayed is measured from the county line.  When a route crosses into another county, the mileage resets to 0.  What Nevada seems to have done is made them bigger and replaced the "SR 318" text with a route shield.  "LN" is the two letter code for Lincoln county.  Orienting the digits sideways is standard in both Nevada and California.

Nevada uses both systems while California only uses the postmile system except on portions of US 6 and CA-58 where both systems are used.

Illinois uses the same system, but a vastly different marker.

[KEK Inc.]

Are postmiles used in urban settings?  I don't recall seeing any on the strip a few weeks ago when I was there (most of the major roads on the strip are unmarked state highways).

[myosh_tino]

Are postmiles used in urban settings?  I don't recall seeing any on the strip a few weeks ago when I was there (most of the major roads on the strip are unmarked state highways).

I don't recall seeing any postmiles on urban streets in the Las Vegas area.

I believe California did put up postmiles on city streets that were also state highways.  Before the CA-85 freeway was built, CA-85 was routed down De Anza Blvd in Cupertino and Saratoga-Sunnyvale Road in Saratoga (they're the same street but with two different names) and there were postmiles posted along the route.  IIRC, there may be one or two still in existence even though CA-85 was moved off of city streets 20 years ago.

[KEK Inc.]

Interesting; however, I don't recall seeing postmiles on CA-82.


iPhone

[roadfro]

Wow, it feels strange to see the mileage turned sideways! And the black-on-white does not help matters either.

You have to keep in mind that these are postmiles and not mileposts.

The postmile system, used in Nevada and California (not sure if they're used anywhere else), are primarily used for maintenance purposes and the distance displayed is measured from the county line.  When a route crosses into another county, the mileage resets to 0.  What Nevada seems to have done is made them bigger and replaced the "SR 318" text with a route shield.  "LN" is the two letter code for Lincoln county.  Orienting the digits sideways is standard in both Nevada and California.

Nevada uses both systems while California only uses the postmile system except on portions of US 6 and CA-58 where both systems are used.

NDOT refers to white panels as "mileposts", but the implementation is exactly the same as California's county postmiles. (Nevada does not use postmile prefixes like California does--NDOT has been very actively reviewing highway data and correcting field mileposts in the last few years to avoid outdated panels.) The original smaller version is now the "standard milepost"--these include mileage is to the hundredth decimal place, and are placed at structures, intersections and county lines. The new ones seen here are the "enhanced milepost", and are only posted at integer mileage points in rural areas on non-Interstate highways.

NDOT uses the term "reference panel" to refer to the MUTCD-style mileposts. These are are only used on Interstate Highways to track statewide mileage (standard mileposts are still used at all integer mileages, structures, and county lines). The document I linked previously seems to indicate that NDOT will be moving to enhanced reference panels on the Interstates--the only place these are currently used is on I-215/CC-215 in Vegas, which wasn't an NDOT installation.

Are postmiles used in urban settings?  I don't recall seeing any on the strip a few weeks ago when I was there (most of the major roads on the strip are unmarked state highways).

I don't recall seeing any postmiles on urban streets in the Las Vegas area.

Where used, urban mileposts are of the standard size and format. Mileposts on urban streets used to be pretty rare, in any part of Nevada. However, with NDOT's recent effort of revamping mileposts on highways across the state, they are becoming more common.

Instead of metal milepost signs posted every mile or so, the newer urban mileposts are adhesive signs affixed to light/signal mast poles at intersections. Older (and mostly outdated) mileposts in the Reno-Sparks area have been posted this way for some time. Newer milepost stickers at major intersections are usually affixed on the mast pole just above or below where the mast arm attaches--here's an example from Cheyenne Ave at US 95 (the western terminus and 0 point of SR 574) in Las Vegas.

BTW: The Strip itself is no longer a state-maintained highway, except for a short section less than 1000 feet in length encompassing the Tropicana Avenue intersection. Russell, Tropicana, Flamingo and Sahara are the only state-maintained roads that intersect the Strip portion of Las Vegas Blvd.

[andy3175]

Straying from the topic, but since you mentioned it, this must be the guide sign you have in mind?  The old version is here.  The all-upper case green signs are being phased out, slowly.  (And yes, that former Exxon-branded gas station at the bottom of Kingsbury became a Chevron a few months ago.)

Yup, that is the one. Thanks for sharing these photos now that the construction at the west end of 207 is now complete.

[andy3175]

Instead of metal milepost signs posted every mile or so, the newer urban mileposts are adhesive signs affixed to light/signal mast poles at intersections. Older (and mostly outdated) mileposts in the Reno-Sparks area have been posted this way for some time. Newer milepost stickers at major intersections are usually affixed on the mast pole just above or below where the mast arm attaches--here's an example from Cheyenne Ave at US 95 (the western terminus and 0 point of SR 574) in Las Vegas.

Interesting. The white mile markers I've seen in the Reno area tend to be at eye level or maybe a bit taller when affixed to a traffic signal. The white mile markers I've seen in Las Vegas are usually up high, above the signal light such as the one you've shown here. It will be interesting to see if they replace these urban markers with the new state outline markers; if they do, it may be another way of demonstrating more visibly that a particular street is actually a state highway.

[roadfro]

It will be interesting to see if they replace these urban markers with the new state outline markers; if they do, it may be another way of demonstrating more visibly that a particular street is actually a state highway.

They're only doing enhanced mileposts in rural areas...at least, according to the document on NDOT's website.

[Kniwt]

The giant postmiles have appeared on another section of state highway: this time, on NV 147 (Lake Mead Blvd.) east of North Las Vegas, where a few miles of the road were recently reconstructed. Photo taken today:

[Kniwt]

Also spotted today on a recently resurfaced section of US 95 in Nye and Clark counties. Apologies for the poor photo quality.

[roadfro]

Also spotted today on a recently resurfaced section of US 95 in Nye and Clark counties. <photo removed>

Interesting that they're using an inverse color image for the US 95 shield, but they aren't doing that for state route shields.

(If I recall correctly, NDOT usually has internal crews take care of mileposts, not contractors. The previous two photos are from the same district, so theoretically there should be consistency.)

[roadfro]

Also spotted today on a recently resurfaced section of US 95 in Nye and Clark counties. Apologies for the poor photo quality.

Bumping. I drove down to Vegas for the holidays this year and saw enhanced mileposts for the first time in person. I rather like them.

US 95 had two sections with the enhanced posts: This set (around the Mercury interchange, roughly between SR 160 and somewhere north of Indian Springs), and another roughly 20-mile stretch just south of Beatty. The set near Beatty had the typical black-on-white outline shield on the markers, as opposed to the white-on-black style (pictured above) used with for the Mercury set.

Having seen the two styles in both daytime and night, I don't remember any discernible difference in visibility, but liked the normal style better. I'm guessing the black shields might be a one-off.

[oscar]

Looking for an update on enhanced mileposts. When this last was discussed, they were in the "trial" phase. Are they now in more widespread use, including on the shorter or less significant rural state routes?

Last I was in Nevada, in mid-2020, I saw many of them on major rural routes, between the Las Vegas and Ely areas. One of them, on short NV 173, was belatedly added to one of Nevada's newer state routes, created when I-11 was extended to the Arizona state line and a short segment of US 95 was rerouted onto I-11 (that segment is now NV 173; it was unsigned in 2019, but got an enhanced milepost and other route signage by my next visit to Vegas). I also saw some enhanced mileposts on NV 157 to Mt. Charleston in Clark County, including one error US 157 enhanced milepost. OTOH, I don't recall seeing any on NY 168 or NV 169 in Clark County, or NV 490 to the state prison in Ely. 

[roadfro]

Looking for an update on enhanced mileposts. When this last was discussed, they were in the "trial" phase. Are they now in more widespread use, including on the shorter or less significant rural state routes?

Last I was in Nevada, in mid-2020, I saw many of them on major rural routes, between the Las Vegas and Ely areas. One of them, on short NV 173, was belatedly added to one of Nevada's newer state routes, created when I-11 was extended to the Arizona state line and a short segment of US 95 was rerouted onto I-11 (that segment is now NV 173; it was unsigned in 2019, but got an enhanced milepost and other route signage by my next visit to Vegas). I also saw some enhanced mileposts on NV 157 to Mt. Charleston in Clark County, including one error US 157 enhanced milepost. OTOH, I don't recall seeing any on NY 168 or NV 169 in Clark County, or NV 490 to the state prison in Ely.

We've probably touched on enhanced mileposts briefly in other threads on this board since the last post in this topic. But yes, NDOT has adopted the enhanced milepost as the new standard for posting the integer mile location along US & state highways in rural areas of Nevada.

Initially for the first few years, enhanced mileposts were only implemented as part of larger enhancement projects (widenings, repavings, sign replacement projects, etc.), so they were somewhat sporadic. I think there has been some effort lately to try and get them posted along some of the more traveled rural routes. For example, as of my drive to Vegas and back in December 2020/January 2021, almost all of US 95 between Las Vegas and Fallon now has them (I think there was just one long stretch in Esmeralda County without) — this is despite the fact that a few sections of the route did not look like they'd had any major improvement projects performed within the last several years.

You'll also see MUTCD-style green enhanced reference location signs posted at integer mile locations along Interstate highways in Nevada. This standard was adopted at the same time (but does not yet seem to be as widespread as the NDOT milepost in my casual observation).