New signage on Historic Columbia River Highway

[xonhulu]

A couple weekends ago, I took a day trip up the Columbia River Gorge, and I was pleasantly surprised to see a major expansion of the Historic US 30 signage for the Historic Highway. 











A little background: these are a bit inaccurate historically since the old Columbia River Highway (completed from Portland to Hood River by 1916)  pre-dates US 30 by a good decade.  The Historic Highway Commission went to these signs because they felt the older signs were too hard to read while driving by.  While I don't know if I agree with that, I do welcome the new signs as a de facto restoration of an old segment of US 30.

[corco]

That is very cool- especially the one on the green sign!

That looks so nice and classy on a green sign- why can't all states just use that as the default design?

[agentsteel53]

now I see where you got your avatar from - apparently I'm not the only one out there with the old fonts still lying around!

the one on the green sign is similar to what Arizona does sometimes for 66, except Oregon puts the state name.  Though my favorite is the classic shield, which is only the second state to have ever gotten it right.  California, on occasion, replicates their US markers correctly, but most often does not.

now if only they could slip in a couple of historic Oregon I-80N shields!

[xonhulu]

now I see where you got your avatar from - apparently I'm not the only one out there with the old fonts still lying around!

They had a couple up last year, and I stole the avatar from one of those.  All of the above are pretty recently-installed, like in the last 2 months.

now if only they could slip in a couple of historic Oregon I-80N shields!

That would truly be epic, but I don't think there are any historic bypassed freeway segments to sign them on!

[agentsteel53]

That would truly be epic, but I don't think there are any historic bypassed freeway segments to sign them on!

well, then invent the world's first Oregon I-84 shield for the trailblazers off the historic route!

[xonhulu]

well, then invent the world's first Oregon I-84 shield for the trailblazers off the historic route!

Good idea.  I wonder if I can talk ODOT into using them...

[Bickendan]

now I see where you got your avatar from - apparently I'm not the only one out there with the old fonts still lying around!

They had a couple up last year, and I stole the avatar from one of those.  All of the above are pretty recently-installed, like in the last 2 months.

now if only they could slip in a couple of historic Oregon I-80N shields!

That would truly be epic, but I don't think there are any historic bypassed freeway segments to sign them on!

If the Mt Hood Freeway ever got built, the Banfield Freeway from I-5 to I-205 could get the Historic I-80N shields.

[luokou]

Looks like I'll have to make a stop by there this summer and snap a few pics for myself :] definitely digging the one on the green sign, it'd be great if that style was a little more common as corco suggested.

[xonhulu]

You'll find the green sign at the eastern end of the Sandy River Bridge.

[KEK Inc.]

Is that FHWA Series C?  Anyways, that's really cool.  I live by the gorge, and I haven't driven in the gorge in many months.    I should take another drive (though the Washington side is much more fun to drive on).

[Tarkus]

Is that FHWA Series C?  Anyways, that's really cool.  I live by the gorge, and I haven't driven in the gorge in many months.    I should take another drive (though the Washington side is much more fun to drive on).

It is.  ODOT, for some reason or another, has taken to using FHWA Series C a fair bit recently.  I first noticed it along US-26 when the stimulus project there was finished last year--the signs for the Rock Creek and McKay Creek crossings were in Series C.  I also was going along OR-224 near Carver on StreetView the other day and noticed there was a ton of Series C guide signs there as well.

I have to say I rather like it--it's got a good clean look to it.  I'm kind of curious as to why ODOT's taken to it as of late, though. 

-Alex (Tarkus)

[Scott5114]

The 2009 MUTCD seriously restricts the use of all-caps on signage due to FHWA studies that show upper-and-lowercase text is more legible than just upper case. A lot of agencies use Series C in all-caps for signs like this, and Series C looks a lot better in mixed case than Series D, so we're seeing a lot more of it in places that aren't using Clearview.

[Tarkus]

Scott, thanks for the great explanation!  I figured it might have been something along those lines. 

I'm almost wondering if this is a sign (no pun intended) that ODOT isn't jumping on the Clearview bandwagon?

-Alex (Tarkus)

[xonhulu]

Here are some new signs along westbound I-84 I spotted yesterday:

[Quillz]

The shield on the green guide sign looks awkward without the usual outer white border.

[Stephane Dumas]

I can't wait to see other historic signs, will ORDOT put some "Historic US-99/US-99W/US-99E"?

[xonhulu]

I can't wait to see other historic signs, will ORDOT put some "Historic US-99/US-99W/US-99E"?

I'd be surprised, since those routes are still signed as state routes with the same numbers.  See my first post to see why this one got that treatment.

[sp_redelectric]

I wonder if ODOT will switch to the "Historic" signs on the Cascade Locks, Hood River and The Dalles local road segments still signed as U.S. 30 (plus whatever local roads further east that still are designated U.S. 30).

[corco]

I wonder if ODOT will switch to the "Historic" signs on the Cascade Locks, Hood River and The Dalles local road segments still signed as U.S. 30 (plus whatever local roads further east that still are designated U.S. 30).

Doubtful, since those roads are still US-30. If the roads are currently US-30, why would they sign them as Historic US-30?

[deathtopumpkins]

I wonder if ODOT will switch to the "Historic" signs on the Cascade Locks, Hood River and The Dalles local road segments still signed as U.S. 30 (plus whatever local roads further east that still are designated U.S. 30).

Doubtful, since those roads are still US-30. If the roads are currently US-30, why would they sign them as Historic US-30?

Same reason Virginia DOT is currently signing US 1 as Historic Route 1 - to promote "road tourism"

[nexus73]

Aside from the signage, driving Historic US 30 and the actual remaining segments of US 30 between Portland and The Dalles will open up views that one never gets from I-84.  I'm a native Oregonian and when I was going east of Portland, it was all Point A to Point B driving until my best friend and I drove on the old sections of US 30 and got the views of a lifetime.  It only took me 55 years to do this!  I hope those of you who can make the drive do so sooner than that.  It is worth it.

Then if a person is staying in the Portland area, cross the Columbia River at The Dalles via US 197 and come back west along Washington State Route 14.  There's not as much on 14 itself to see other than a nice string of tunnels but the long view of the Columbia and the background will add more perspective to the part of the countryside that has then been traveled.

Rick

[agentsteel53]

interestingly, I've never done old 30 west of 97.  I just did (over Memorial Day) a segment from 97 to OR-7, which was a segment I had not previously done.  Lots of coverage to be done - maybe someone can even turn up an 80N shield!

[Alps]

Vermont 7A has been signed Historic 7A for a long time. Not Historic 7, though that's really what it is by a strict definition.

[agentsteel53]

similarly, the Cabrillo Parkway portion of CA-163 is signed as Historic 163, with a white spade (1957-1964 standard) - never mind that it got renumbered to 1963 in 1967, and at the time of the white spade, it was US-395! 

[xonhulu]

Bumping this topic because I saw yesterday that Historic US 30 signage has now been placed on the section of historic highway between Mosier and The Dalles.  This is heading west from The Dalles:



Heading the other way, there's an "END" sign:



What's unusual here is that this section is also still the actual US 30, and is still signed as such:



Along the length of the road, there are actually more brown Historic signs than standard US 30 shields, but I think that's largely because there weren't that many 30 shields before.  However, it's not impossible some standard shields were replaced by the brown signs, but not to the extent that I can believe there is any plan to decommission this as US 30 in favor of the historic 30 status.

ODOT and Oregon State Parks are making a push to reconnect all the remaining historic highway segments into a State Trail by 2016, the centennial of the opening of the original highway, so I think the signing of this segment is part of that effort.  I attended the dedication of the newest open segment 2 weeks ago (a 1.6 mile segment a little west of Bonneville Dam that completes the trail between Troutdale and Cascade Locks), and the officials spoke pretty confidently they'll pull it off, even though I'm pretty sure they haven't secured funding for it all yet.  One of the remaining projects will be to recreate the Mitchell Point Tunnel, so they're not lacking for ambition, that's for sure!