State-named interstate shields

[Revive 755]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

Iowa used to, though they seem to have taken a good number down before the streetview vans went through.

[1995hoo]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

DC used to do that (not "state" named, of course, but same idea). I'm not sure if any overhead ones still exist, other than one LGS, but there's at least one wall-mounted BGS with "District of Columbia" spelled out. There have been a lot of sign replacements in DC in the past few years, especially with I-695 finally making an appearance, and that's resulted in the loss of most of the "D.C."-named shields.

[briantroutman]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

PA does have a few on overhead signs.  I know of a few for I-81 (starting with that BGS and I think the next two also have them), and one for I-279 (however, it's on PA-28).

I saw a few in the vicinity of Breezewood today for I-70 and I-76.

I'll give a third vote for Pennsylvania, although as has been mentioned, it's not with any regularity, and the state-named shields on guide signs are well outnumbered by neutered ones–even more so as time goes by. A few examples that I recall offhand:

Many of the guide-mounted I-80 shields on US 15 near New Columbia had state names up until about a 5-10 years ago. Here's one barely legible example from 2009: https://goo.gl/maps/bvGotmob5SK2 Most of these guides were replaced by Clearview monstrosities around 2010, at which time the shields were neutered (and given supersized digits).

Many of the I-180 guide signs through the City of Williamsport featured state-named shields until back-to-back reconstructions of both the Market Street Bridge and I-180 itself resulted in numerous '70s-era button copy signs being replaced.

On US 22 at PA 33 near Easton–directing those who lost track of I-78 west of Allentown back on course: https://goo.gl/maps/R2USwg3L1yL2

Though not exactly guide signs, many US and state routes intersecting I-80 are posted with blue signs just prior to the interchange area alerting motorists to the presence of highway advisory radio on I-80. Without exception, every one of these that I've seen has a state-named shield. Here's one: https://goo.gl/maps/VCNXpaaxQXE2

[thefraze_1020]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

Dis-regarding the little-green signs with all the state-named shields in Seattle, there are a couple of BGS' with state-named interstate shields in Washington:

This one is in Tukwila (very faded, see right BGS), EB along the South Boeing Access Road:


And this one is in suburban Pierce County (likely the last state-named shield in Pierce County), SB along Canyon Road as it approaches WA-512:

But for Washington, it has not been standard practice for a long time. I'd venture to guess that the signs on Boeing Access Rd date to when I-5 first opened there in 1967.

Yummm, button copy.

[cl94]

I noticed the I-80 signs today as well when I was cutting over to US 219 after clinching I-99. Quite a few. Other than I-99, I saw a ton of state name shields for most of the PA Interstates I was on today, whether they be stand-alone or on larger signs.

White neutered signs definitely outnumber non-neutered, there are more than enough to be noticeable. Heck, Breezewood alone might have more state name shields than all of Upstate New York.

[thenetwork]

I am not trying to pick this apart, I am just having a hard time differentiating the yellow and the green states since in my experience, I would consider them the same.  Little help.

Green - neutered shields are rare
Yellow - mostly state name, but plenty of neutered mixed in

I'd put Colorado as a yellow state then.  I have seen some newer neutered signs along I-70, but they don't look like they are a part of a massive replacement program.

Bonus points for Colorado for using state named shields on many of their BGSs.

[ekt8750]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

This was put up early last year:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0065399,-75.1938061,3a,75y,220.47h,104.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shuBYsNfVGQM2UXiJHoJxQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[froggie]

While Seattle's city department occasionally crafts state named shields, I'd still say the state should be red. Maybe hatch work for the state, add another color category for states with local jurisdictions still posting them, or just put an orange dot over Seattle

Vermont still has quite a few state name shields around, even with the mass replacement. Noticed a bunch along I-91 when I was through there this weekend.

Ooooh I'd love to know where? PM me if you wish.

I-91 south of I-89, SB side. Don't know about NB. One is immediately south of I-89. As you can see, it is in very good shape.

And also on the endangered list.  VTrans has a signing project slated that stretch of I-91 next year.

Regarding I-91 mainline shields...I can't think of any offhand that remain on northbound I-91.  Southbound still has a few as cl94 noted, but most of those are in the section undergoing sign replacement next year.

[PHLBOS]

This was put up early last year:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0065399,-75.1938061,3a,75y,220.47h,104.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shuBYsNfVGQM2UXiJHoJxQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Actually, those BGS are at least now almost 5 years old and I mentioned those in Page 4 of this thread.

Sept. 2011 GSV of those BGS'

[Ian]

This was put up early last year:
https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0065399,-75.1938061,3a,75y,220.47h,104.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shuBYsNfVGQM2UXiJHoJxQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Actually, those BGS are at least now almost 5 years old and I mentioned those in Page 4 of this thread.

Sept. 2011 GSV of those BGS'

The old signs at this location looked a lot better.

[paulthemapguy]

Skimmed through the thread and tried to update things according to people's requests.
Alex, thanks for trying to be helpful in making this map as accurate as possible.  I'm thinking of putting an orange dot on Seattle and converting Washington state to red...and doing something similar for NYC.  If NYC had a colored dot, what color would it be?  In other words, how common are state-named shields in NYC?

Also, I think it's interesting that there are 4 blue states and 4 brown states, which are circumstantially opposites XD

[cl94]

How common are state-name shields in NYC? One borough probably has more than all of Upstate at this point. R11 hasn't replaced many shields and NYCDOT occasionally installs a new one. It is the only part of New York that should be orange. After the sign replacements, I can count all of the ones Upstate that I can confirm on one hand. There are probably more, but their number is so small that you have to go looking for them in most cases. Unless it has been replaced within the past year (very possible), I know of one that remains on a NYSDOT road Upstate (US 20/NY 5 EB at Exit 58).

[jakeroot]

I'm thinking of putting an orange dot on Seattle and converting Washington state to red...and doing something similar for NYC.

I wouldn't. The map would start getting really busy if you started to put dots + city names wherever there's an oddity. Try and come up with another pattern...or, just stick to using orange. Maybe burnt orange, signifying "virtually none, except in specific locales"?

[freebrickproductions]

I don't know if Alabama would be green or yellow. The vast majority of the shields are state-named, but if you drive on any interstate in the state, you pretty much have a guaranteed chance of seeing at least one neutered shield that isn't on a BGS somewhere along and/or near the route, at least from what I've seen.

[froggie]

I'd classify Mississippi as orange...definitely not blue.  They used state-name shields for awhile, then stopped for 10-15 years or so, then slowly started it up again.

[Alex]

I don't know if Alabama would be green or yellow. The vast majority of the shields are state-named, but if you drive on any interstate in the state, you pretty much have a guaranteed chance of seeing at least one neutered shield that isn't on a BGS somewhere along and/or near the route, at least from what I've seen.

I know of none for Interstate 10. There were at least three on the mainline in the early 2000s.

I'd classify Mississippi as orange...definitely not blue.  They used state-name shields for awhile, then stopped for 10-15 years or so, then slowly started it up again.

There are still several neutered shields in Mississippi, but the bulk (outside I-220) are state-named.
For instance, the only neutered shields I saw for I-10 on the mainline were the double shields posted by the Ocean Springs exit.

Skimmed through the thread and tried to update things according to people's requests.
Alex, thanks for trying to be helpful in making this map as accurate as possible.  I'm thinking of putting an orange dot on Seattle and converting Washington state to red...and doing something similar for NYC.  If NYC had a colored dot, what color would it be?  In other words, how common are state-named shields in NYC?

Also, I think it's interesting that there are 4 blue states and 4 brown states, which are circumstantially opposites XD

The blue color was more for states that re-added the state name to their signing policy. Obviously it will take several years for the ratio to switch from mostly neutered to mostly state named (Louisiana is a good case for this as I-59 is still devoid of a state named shield). Prior to 2009 or so, there had been only Colorado to re-add state names, and that was circa 2002.

For brown, Iowa in particular was very consistent with using all state names, and they were done with the classic specs no less. Then they bypassed the 1970 standard state named shield design and went straight to neutered. So the brown is more to show that a state that went from 100% (or nearly 100%) signing state named shields to 0% new state named shields. For Missouri, they had neutered shields here and there, but now are 100% neutered as well.

[paulthemapguy]

I'd classify Mississippi as orange...definitely not blue.  They used state-name shields for awhile, then stopped for 10-15 years or so, then slowly started it up again.

I could make the map more "pure" by eliminating the blue/brown and coloring every state strictly according to the frequency of state-named signs.  I could have a sliding scale, a spectrum from green to red, kind of like how weather stations display their doppler radar pictures...since people want to split between colors so much on this thread  (what do you expect from a bunch of analytical-types, which I am also so I know how it is)

The blue color was more for states that re-added the state name to their signing policy. Obviously it will take several years for the ratio to switch from mostly neutered to mostly state named (Louisiana is a good case for this as I-59 is still devoid of a state named shield). Prior to 2009 or so, there had been only Colorado to re-add state names, and that was circa 2002.

For brown, Iowa in particular was very consistent with using all state names, and they were done with the classic specs no less. Then they bypassed the 1970 standard state named shield design and went straight to neutered. So the brown is more to show that a state that went from 100% (or nearly 100%) signing state named shields to 0% new state named shields. For Missouri, they had neutered shields here and there, but now are 100% neutered as well.

See my above statement...plus, I realize there have been states that flip-flopped.  For blue/brown I'm choosing whichever changeover was the most recent.  If a state changed from one style of sign to the other long ago, it'll probably be colored according to the red-orange-yellow-green scale.  Goes back to my question of "how recent is recent?"  But yeah you're exactly right...it takes a while for the ratio to adjust once the switch is made.

[freebrickproductions]

I could make the map more "pure" by eliminating the blue/brown and coloring every state strictly according to the frequency of state-named signs.  I could have a sliding scale, a spectrum from green to red, kind of like how weather stations display their doppler radar pictures...since people want to split between colors so much on this thread  (what do you expect from a bunch of analytical-types, which I am also so I know how it is)

I think that'd be a lot easier.

[RobbieL2415]

ConnDOT did not use state-name shields for I-395s most recent sign replacement.

[HTM Duke]

To date, these are the only "off-interstate" VA I-495 shields that I know still stand:

Northbound Gallows Rd approaching VA-7
VA-7 eastbound at I-495
VA-7 westbound at I-495

[bzakharin]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

This was put up early last year:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0065399,-75.1938061,3a,75y,220.47h,104.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shuBYsNfVGQM2UXiJHoJxQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Wow, so close to me too, but never had any reason to be coming from that direction

[mariethefoxy]

there are a lot of plain interstate shields on I-95 and 91 in CT, I dont think they put state named ones up anymore.

As for PA, state named shields are rare there nowadays, I only spotted a couple here and there but NONE on any of the mainline interstates and none at all for I-99 that I saw while driving back from Pittsburgh

[TravelingBethelite]

Do any states put state named shields on BGSs? I ask because, though I've seen plenty of standalone state named shields in NJ and PA, I am pretty sure I've never seen one on an overhead sign (same goes for county routes in NJ. They're all neutered on overheads).

This was put up early last year:

https://www.google.com/maps/@40.0065399,-75.1938061,3a,75y,220.47h,104.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shuBYsNfVGQM2UXiJHoJxQA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Wow, so close to me too, but never had any reason to be coming from that direction

Look closely, this one is on I-81 SB in Wilkes-Barre:

[Ian]

To date, these are the only "off-interstate" VA I-495 shields that I know still stand:

Northbound Gallows Rd approaching VA-7
VA-7 eastbound at I-495
VA-7 westbound at I-495

I photographed the one on VA 7 eastbound today...



And I saw the one going westbound as well, but I didn't stop to get a photo of that one.

[hbelkins]

I can confirm that the one in Wytheville is still standing (photographed yesterday)