Information Overload!

[webny99]

I couldn't find a general thread for signs that make you do a double-take and say whoa, too much information!
So I thought I'd start one off with this masterpiece... complete with not only six destinations accessible via two different routes, but each of those routes also being represented by two different route shields!

(On the left side, they should have axed Windsor (seriously?) and used NYC instead, but that's for a different topic...)

[STLmapboy]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

Also a bit aggressive with the shields here in Greensboro, and more control cities.

Lots to comprehend in East St Louis, though it's better than a few years ago.

KC alphabet loop.

Express lanes can result in a lot of additional signage, as on the LBJ expressway in Dallas.

[Roadrunner75]

Completely unnecessary second tier (600 series) county shield overload on this BGS:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8428722,-75.1879041,3a,75y,69.61h,103.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sI_O8A3-DAeInygCB3y48Iw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[ilpt4u]

Lots to comprehend in East St Louis, though it's better than a few years ago.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6407899,-90.1337093,3a,75y,221.85h,101.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sprdnauhONtB4QegRBZoRBg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Another in E St Louis that I think is a bit overloaded. 6 Shields for the Thru Route, including I-44 which doesn't exist until traffic reaches Missouri, and also the use of the Great River Road Shield. IL 3 would be just fine. And if the need to include the Great River Road Shield is really necessary, at least use the Green Text on White Background version. Green Shield with White Text on a BGS is pretty worthless, imho

[MCRoads]

Lots to comprehend in East St Louis, though it's better than a few years ago.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6407899,-90.1337093,3a,75y,221.85h,101.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sprdnauhONtB4QegRBZoRBg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Another in E St Louis that I think is a bit overloaded. 6 Shields for the Thru Route, including I-44 which doesn't exist until traffic reaches Missouri, and also the use of the Great River Road Shield. IL 3 would be just fine. And if the need to include the Great River Road Shield is really necessary, at least use the Green Text on White Background version. Green Shield with White Text on a BGS is pretty worthless, imho

What is that construction?! That looks dangerous.

[mapman]

Completely unnecessary second tier (600 series) county shield overload on this BGS:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8428722,-75.1879041,3a,75y,69.61h,103.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sI_O8A3-DAeInygCB3y48Iw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Jeez - at least they could put the county route numbers in numerical order!   

[ilpt4u]

Lots to comprehend in East St Louis, though it's better than a few years ago.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.6407899,-90.1337093,3a,75y,221.85h,101.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sprdnauhONtB4QegRBZoRBg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Another in E St Louis that I think is a bit overloaded. 6 Shields for the Thru Route, including I-44 which doesn't exist until traffic reaches Missouri, and also the use of the Great River Road Shield. IL 3 would be just fine. And if the need to include the Great River Road Shield is really necessary, at least use the Green Text on White Background version. Green Shield with White Text on a BGS is pretty worthless, imho

What is that construction?! That looks dangerous.

The construction in the first GSV link in East St Louis? Right after crossing into Illinois from Missouri across the Poplar Street Bridge on 55 NB/64 EB. I-55/64 "splits"  into basically an Express/Local setup for 1 mile or so, for 2 overpowered Freeway-style Y interchanges for previously cancelled Freeways. From the Mississippi River going east that picture is right before the exit for IL 3 SB, a Freeway-Y style interchange. The next exit is also that style, for E St Louis surface streets. Thru Traffic can use either carriageway, but all exiting/entering traffic must use the right lanes carriageway

https://goo.gl/maps/tVoze1NakRZmqDGF6

Since I-64 exits the Freeway at the far side of this Dual Carriage setup, I've always thought these BGSs should direct I-55 and I-70 Thru Traffic for Chicago/Indianapolis to use the "Express" /Left Carriageway and I-64 Thru Traffic for Louisville and Local Traffic to use the "Local" /Right Carriageway

That way, when traffic gets back to a single carriageway just before Exit 3, I-64's traffic is already defaulted to the right side, and I-55's traffic is already defaulted to the left side. But alas, that is not how IDOT D8 has it signed

It would also cut down on the information overload per BGS – less shields and no more than 2 Controls per BGS, hopefully limit weaving on the far side of the carriageway split

[JoePCool14]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

I think this one takes the cake for me. NCDOT can make a good-looking sign, but this is truly overkill. My biggest question is, what is that stray NORTH on the bottom of the sign there for? There are already 2 EASTs, another NORTH, and a WEST.

[sprjus4]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

I think this one takes the cake for me. NCDOT can make a good-looking sign, but this is truly overkill. My biggest question is, what is that stray NORTH on the bottom of the sign there for? There is already 2 EASTs, another NORTH, and a WEST.

The northern part of Raleigh.

[jmacswimmer]

Lots of different routes to keep track of at this intersection in Roanoke VA.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

[1995hoo]

Lots of different routes to keep track of at this intersection in Roanoke VA.

The sign on the right is a nice older sign. The state route shield on that sign looks so much better than the more modern blobular versions that have become the norm.

[roadman]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

I think this one takes the cake for me. NCDOT can make a good-looking sign, but this is truly overkill. My biggest question is, what is that stray NORTH on the bottom of the sign there for? There is already 2 EASTs, another NORTH, and a WEST.

The northern part of Raleigh.

Shouldn't that be "North (or N.) Raleigh instead?

[PurdueBill]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

I think this one takes the cake for me. NCDOT can make a good-looking sign, but this is truly overkill. My biggest question is, what is that stray NORTH on the bottom of the sign there for? There is already 2 EASTs, another NORTH, and a WEST.

The northern part of Raleigh.

The all-caps cardinal direction makes no sense applied like that.  That kind of direction belongs with a route shield or a street name.

[-- US 175 --]

By the time I could read all that, there'd already be a ticket on my windshield! 

[jeffandnicole]

Completely unnecessary second tier (600 series) county shield overload on this BGS:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.8428722,-75.1879041,3a,75y,69.61h,103.45t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sI_O8A3-DAeInygCB3y48Iw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

Jeez - at least they could put the county route numbers in numerical order!   

There's meaning to the order.

When you exit here, the signs match up to the first split.  631/644/642 keep left, then 640 keeps right.  https://goo.gl/maps/VyupVtkXoVjhs6Sq6

When you get off at Exit 22 for the 3 routes, you are immediately on CR 631.  At the first intersection, the crossroad is CR 644.  At the 2nd intersection, the crossroad is CR 642.

In the past, there was only 3 county routes on this sign.  They added the 4th a couple of years back.  If they added the cardinal direction or "TO" to the sign, it would probably make a little more sense.

Most people probably wouldn't catch on to the placement of the signs, but there is a very subluminal order to it.

[mrsman]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

I think this one takes the cake for me. NCDOT can make a good-looking sign, but this is truly overkill. My biggest question is, what is that stray NORTH on the bottom of the sign there for? There is already 2 EASTs, another NORTH, and a WEST.

The northern part of Raleigh.

I think all of the signs in this thread should be submitted to "Redesign This" on the Illustrations Forum so that our sign makers can have a crack at doing something better!

But specifically for the sign at 40/540 outside of Raleigh, this seems to make no sense.

First, do people take 540 to go to Raleigh from here?  Perhaps a local can chime in, but it seems that the central part of town is reached by continuing on I-40.  I-540 east needs a new control city.  Perhaps the name of a northern suburb of Raleigh, Wake Forest,  or Rocky Mount.  I would strongly prefer a second control city then seeing all of those additional roads that I-540 east connects to.  And it isn't clear from the sign that I-540 connects to US 70, US 1, and US 64 and NC-540 connects to TOLL NC-540.

A far simpler organization for this sign would be as follows:

EAST    WEST

I-540    NC-540

Wake Forest
Feltonville

And any other information about TOLL-540, US 64, US 70, and US 1 can be on supplemental signage.

If the control is supposed to be "Raleigh NORTH", then please rename this to North Raleigh on one line.  (and include signage that I-40 goes in to Raleigh).   I (and many others here) view all caps as a cardinal direction for the highway, not a place name.  But I prefer a real town name than just northern Raleigh. 







Given that

[sprjus4]

First, do people take 540 to go to Raleigh from here?  Perhaps a local can chime in, but it seems that the central part of town is reached by continuing on I-40.  I-540 east needs a new control city.

If the control is supposed to be "Raleigh NORTH", then please rename this to North Raleigh on one line.  (and include signage that I-40 goes in to Raleigh).   I (and many others here) view all caps as a cardinal direction for the highway, not a place name.  But I prefer a real town name than just northern Raleigh.

North Raleigh is an area in the city of Raleigh.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/North+Raleigh,+Raleigh,+NC/@35.8856128,-78.6191228,12.5z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89ac5775e81ffc29:0x9321cea9ccfa2daa!8m2!3d35.8812082!4d-78.6258319

Perhaps the name of a northern suburb of Raleigh, Wake Forest,  or Rocky Mount.

See above, North Raleigh is a northern section inside the city of Raleigh.

Reasonably though, Wake Forest and Holly Springs / Apex would be appropriate control cities for either side of the loop.

Wake Forest is used at its eastern interchange with I-87, and "To US-1 South" Sanford is used at the NC-147 junction just west of the interchange in question.

I would strongly prefer a second control city then seeing all of those additional roads that I-540 east connects to.  And it isn't clear from the sign that I-540 connects to US 70, US 1, and US 64 and NC-540 connects to TOLL NC-540.

I don't even see the need to distinct NC-540 from TOLL NC-540. It should just be TOLL NC-540, even if the small section between NC-54 and I-40 isn't tolled. Here in Hampton Roads, both VA-168 and US-17 carry TOLL banners at the I-64 junction even though US-17 goes a couple miles before the toll portion, and VA-168 goes several miles before the toll portion.

My personal opinion is first, I-540 / NC-540 should be signed as "Inner" and "Outer" similar to Charlotte. Currently I-540 / NC-540 is east-west from NC-54 to I-87, and then NC-540 is north-south from NC-54 to NC-55. Better to eventually eliminate those all together and make it "Inner" and "Outer".

As for control cities at the interchange in question, Wake Forest for the inner loop, and Holly Springs / Apex for the outer loop. On supplementary signage, once the southern extension to I-40 is completed in a few years, use "To I-87 North" Rocky Mount for the inner loop, and "To I-40 East" Wilmington, for the outer loop, with perhaps an additional sign for "To US-1 South" Sanford if desired. Only mention I-540 and TOLL NC-540 at the actually interchange.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

From 2003-2012...




Nowadays, they've reduced it to 4 signs across...
https://goo.gl/maps/NNgdV3cWRsNNgD2V9

Meanwhile, over on I-270, between Gahanna & the airport (for the last 10 months or so)...


You would thought ODOT district 6 & Columbus would have learned their lesson...

[roadman]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

I think this one takes the cake for me. NCDOT can make a good-looking sign, but this is truly overkill. My biggest question is, what is that stray NORTH on the bottom of the sign there for? There is already 2 EASTs, another NORTH, and a WEST.

The northern part of Raleigh.

I think all of the signs in this thread should be submitted to "Redesign This" on the Illustrations Forum so that our sign makers can have a crack at doing something better!

But specifically for the sign at 40/540 outside of Raleigh, this seems to make no sense.

First, do people take 540 to go to Raleigh from here?  Perhaps a local can chime in, but it seems that the central part of town is reached by continuing on I-40.  I-540 east needs a new control city.  Perhaps the name of a northern suburb of Raleigh, Wake Forest,  or Rocky Mount.  I would strongly prefer a second control city then seeing all of those additional roads that I-540 east connects to.  And it isn't clear from the sign that I-540 connects to US 70, US 1, and US 64 and NC-540 connects to TOLL NC-540.

A far simpler organization for this sign would be as follows:

EAST    WEST

I-540    NC-540

Wake Forest
Feltonville

And any other information about TOLL-540, US 64, US 70, and US 1 can be on supplemental signage.

If the control is supposed to be "Raleigh NORTH", then please rename this to North Raleigh on one line.  (and include signage that I-40 goes in to Raleigh).   I (and many others here) view all caps as a cardinal direction for the highway, not a place name.  But I prefer a real town name than just northern Raleigh. 

NCDOT seems to have a thing about using the word TO with every trailblazer shield on a BGS, instead of using a single TO placed to the left of all the shields.

[1995hoo]

I suspect–I don't know this for sure–that the NCDOT use of "NORTH" there is something they're doing to be consistent with their use of "DOWNTOWN," which they do on a lot of signs all over the state (e.g., a short distance back on I-40 from the sign seen above, you can find BGSs for the Durham Freeway that say "Durham" and then underneath that they say "DOWNTOWN"). I suspect the use of "NORTH" in this respect is meant to be similar.

[SSR_317]

Shield overload in Raleigh.

Also a bit aggressive with the shields here in Greensboro, and more control cities.

Lots to comprehend in East St Louis, though it's better than a few years ago.

KC alphabet loop.

Express lanes can result in a lot of additional signage, as on the LBJ expressway in Dallas.

Too many "TO"s on that first one!

[amroad17]

I couldn't find a general thread for signs that make you do a double-take and say whoa, too much information!
So I thought I'd start one off with this masterpiece... complete with not only six destinations accessible via two different routes, but each of those routes also being represented by two different route shields!

(On the left side, they should have axed Windsor (seriously?) and used NYC instead, but that's for a different topic...)

Windsor is used only because I-86 currently ends there.  Yes, NYC (180)* should have been used.  If NYSDOT really wanted to be bold, they could have listed Scranton, Harrisburg (around 180 miles also, ), and New York for I-81/I-86.

*- the reason 180 is listed is because I remember seeing a mileage sign in the 1970's on I-81 east of Broad Ave listing Scranton (53) and New York (179).

[csw]

Lots of different routes to keep track of at this intersection in Roanoke VA.

The sign on the right is a nice older sign. The state route shield on that sign looks so much better than the more modern blobular versions that have become the norm.

There aren't too many of those older-spec overheads left (which, by the way, I think are some form of demountable copy) - the only other one I know of in Roanoke was removed recently. Photo from January.

[bcroadguy]

Unfortunately Streetview never captured this sign in its very short-lived original state, but I think you can imagine how insane this sign was before half the information was greened out:

https://www.google.ca/maps/@49.3511224,-123.2468247,3a,44.6y,340.44h,100.55t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sHUerXyijwagTfqFbOui60g!2e0!5s20181001T000000!7i13312!8i6656