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The Best of Road Signs

Started by Mergingtraffic, September 21, 2010, 06:36:08 PM

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Scott5114

#2275
Quote from: jakeroot on April 27, 2018, 08:41:56 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on April 26, 2018, 12:46:40 AM
Yeah, that's Series A. Great find!

Indeed! I have never seen Series A in the flesh before. I thought all previous examples were removed (and that NZTA was the only agency world-wide still using the glyphs).

It still lives in Oklahoma, on the very first sign you see at the beginning of US-277 (before you've even gotten off the ramp from I-44):


How the US-62 shield managed to get replaced in 2002 and the 277 remained unscathed, I have no idea...This was still posted as of March.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef


MNHighwayMan

Hopefully because the crew that did sign replacements saw that beauty and decided to spare it from the scrap heap. :)

Scott5114

Either that, or they brought a wide 277 out there and couldn't figure out how to make it fit (and didn't feel like replacing the pole)...
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

MNHighwayMan

#2278
Quote from: Scott5114 on May 01, 2018, 05:35:49 AM
Either that, or they brought a wide 277 out there and couldn't figure out how to make it fit (and didn't feel like replacing the pole)...

That didn't stop one particular contractor that did a sign replacement for MnDOT. Solution: punch new holes in the wide shields.


Max Rockatansky

US 99 at the ramp for the Alaska Way Viaduct in downtown Seattle on Columbia Street:

0 by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

thefraze_1020

#2280
Some more gems from the Evergreen State:

Northbound US 101 (W Wishkah Street) at N Jefferson Street in Aberdeen:
IMG_7688 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

Altoona-Pillar Rock Road in Rosburg. This road was SR 403 until it was decommissioned in 1992:
IMG_7723 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

This one was posted at an old abandoned bridge at the intersection of US 12 and Tucannon Road north of Dayton. The Washington State Department of Highways became WSDOT in 1977, so this sign dates at least to the mid-1970's, if not older.
IMG_8103 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

On Hume Road at the turnoff to Steptoe Butte. Hume Road is a Whitman County road, and this sign likely was posted by the county years ago, but I really like the way it looks.
IMG_8377 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

Rosalia on S Whitman Ave (old US 195). This sign was made by Washington State Parks, but it definitely has been around awhile.
IMG_8432 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

Spokane is a mecca for old road signs. This one is on W 2nd Ave at S Adams Street. I-90 in the west end of Spokane was opened to traffic in 1965. I'm willing to bet this sign dates to when it was opened. It appears to have de-mountable lettering, but not button copy.
IMG_8463 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

The Maple Street Bridge in Spokane was opened to traffic in 1958, it was a toll bridge until 1990. These signs at the bridge's south end look like they date to the bridge's early days.
IMG_8467 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
IMG_8468 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
IMG_8469 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
IMG_8474 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

This one is on S Stevens Street approaching 2nd Ave (in Spokane), and likely dates to the 1960's.
IMG_8515 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
I don't think these are as old as the previous sign, but they have been around awhile. Spokane on 2nd Ave at Browne Street.
IMG_8519 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

This sign is at the east end of Sunnyside on the Yakima Valley Highway, which was US 12 until I-82 was opened circa 1981. It is button copy except for the patch on the lower half. I would love to see what is under that patch!
IMG_8831 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

This one is also on the Yakima Valley Highway, at Granger. I imagine that under the patch on the top, it reads US 12 Yakima, straight.
IMG_8841 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

Who knows how old this sign is, but it is on Yakima Valley Highway, which was old US 12. I-82 opened in this area around 1980, so this sign is older than that (US 12 was moved to the freeway when it opened, and Yakima Valley Highway was transferred to Yakima County). But Zillah was bypassed by the modern Yakima Valley Highway circa 1960, so the sign dates to the 60's or 70's.
IMG_8876 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

I reckon this sign is original to when I-82 opened through Zillah around 1980:
IMG_8879 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

This is in Tukwila, on what used to be SR 99 south approaching SR 518. SR 518 fully opened between I-5/ I-405 to SR 509 circa 1972. I am willing to bet this sign is from then.
IMG_9074 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr

These signs are on Boeing Access Road on the boundary between Seattle and Tukwila. I-5 opened in this area in late 1967, and I have a feeling these signs are that old.
IMG_9082 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
Alright, this is how it's gonna be!

thefraze_1020

I have one more sign from Zillah, WA. It is on the Yakima Valley Highway approaching I-82. As mentioned before, I-82 opened here around 1980. This sign is pretty interesting because the message on it has been changed at least once. Obviously the "Yakima" is not standard formatting. I can tell that it once said "left" under "JCT", and there once was a US shield (almost certainly US 12) just to the right of the faded-beyond-recognition I-82 shield.

With that said, I believe that I-82 to the left (east) was opened a few years before I-82 to the right (west). I think in the first few years of this sign's existence, it read "US 12 EAST, Richland, Left 1/4 Mile". However, when the freeway was opened in the westerly direction, "EAST" was taken down and replaced with "YAKIMA", the US 12 shield was replaced with I-82, and "Left" was replaced with "JCT".

IMG_8875 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
IMG_8874 by Cameron Frazer, on Flickr
Alright, this is how it's gonna be!

freebrickproductions

It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

thenetwork

^^ Man do I miss old button-copy, non-interstate shields!!!

jakeroot

I always used to think that California was the only state that used button copy around the edge of route markers, and along the numerals. I've recently realized that this is not the case, as the sign above (in addition to others that I've seen) is a dead-ringer for anything in California up to the 90s. Just lovely.

AFAIK, Washington never did more than button copy the sign edge, text, and arrow: https://goo.gl/osaBgY (the shields were never touched)

freebrickproductions

Quote from: jakeroot on July 19, 2018, 02:00:31 AM
I always used to think that California was the only state that used button copy around the edge of route markers, and along the numerals. I've recently realized that this is not the case, as the sign above (in addition to others that I've seen) is a dead-ringer for anything in California up to the 90s. Just lovely.

AFAIK, Washington never did more than button copy the sign edge, text, and arrow: https://goo.gl/osaBgY (the shields were never touched)
ALDOT dropped the use of button-copy on shields sometime after I-65 was completed through Birmingham. Since then, most of the button copy shields have been replaced with newer ones, so there aren't many left in the state. In fact, other than the button-copy I-65 shields in Birmingham and the ones posted above in Montgomery, I'm personally not aware of any button-copy shields left here in Alabama.
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

formulanone

The US 43/80 button copy shields in Demopolis have been gone since 2013, and the I-20/59 shields around near I-65 disappeared after recent construction.

That pretty much just leaves the trio of southbound I-65 button copy shields just south of the I-20/59 interchange and those posted above. There's a few button copy signs scattered around the state, but with painted shields. Maybe there's an obscure corner we've overlooked.

US 89

Here are a couple from Utah that I'd say qualify for this thread.

This is one of the very few button copy signs in Utah, and probably dates back to the construction of I-15 in the early 1970s.



And here's a cutout US 89 shield on I-70. When US 89 was moved onto I-70 in 1992, apparently the entire concurrency was signed with these cutouts. This is probably the only one still standing.


cjk374

I love those old US 80 button copy signs from Montgomery! Excellent shots freebrick!
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

freebrickproductions

Quote from: cjk374 on July 22, 2018, 10:51:00 AM
I love those old US 80 button copy signs from Montgomery! Excellent shots freebrick!
Thanks!
It's all fun & games until someone summons Cthulhu and brings about the end of the world.

I also collect traffic lights, road signs, fans, and railroad crossing equipment.

(They/Them)

csw


jakeroot

Was that sign originally black-on-white? Or is it just insanely faded?

csw

GSV in the area is really low quality, but it looks like it was black and white to begin with.

csw

#2293
Anyone have a better photo of these two arrows? It looks like they've got button reflectors on them but I can't tell for sure.

https://goo.gl/maps/FDseuMvm5Gn

I'm also confused by this ramp, does it switch directions at different times of day?

edit: probably would've been better in the good, bad and ugly thread, my b.

vdeane

Yeah, it looks like it goes to/from reversible express lanes.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

jakeroot

Quote from: csw on September 27, 2018, 11:17:20 AM
Anyone have a better photo of these two arrows? It looks like they've got button reflectors on them but I can't tell for sure.

https://goo.gl/maps/FDseuMvm5Gn

WSDOT has used arrows like that before, though the buttons were just simulated: https://goo.gl/pZsxGZ

I'm also not sure if the buttons on your sign are real or not, but the side view on Street View seems to suggest they are also simulated.

Roadsguy

Post-Clearview PennDOT and the PTC seem to have signage figured out. Everyone loved this sign from southbound I-283 when I posted it in the Pennsylvania thread:



The new batch from the PTC at the I-95/PA Turnpike interchange are great, too:







Or maybe at this point anything looks good to me after all the Clearview.
Mileage-based exit numbering implies the existence of mileage-cringe exit numbering.

PHLBOS

Quote from: Roadsguy on September 28, 2018, 05:09:45 PMOr maybe at this point anything looks good to me after all the Clearview.
At least the I-shields on those signs look decent and are consistent in terms of the font types & numeral sizes.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Roadsguy

Quote from: PHLBOS on September 28, 2018, 05:15:19 PM
Quote from: Roadsguy on September 28, 2018, 05:09:45 PMOr maybe at this point anything looks good to me after all the Clearview.
At least the I-shields on those signs look decent and are consistent in terms of the font types & numeral sizes.

Indeed. Most of the shields that I've seen from PennDOT and the PTC have been consistent, even if the entire rest of the sign is messed up.
Mileage-based exit numbering implies the existence of mileage-cringe exit numbering.

tckma

Quote from: jakeroot on July 29, 2018, 01:35:13 AM
Was that sign originally black-on-white? Or is it just insanely faded?

When I was in college (1996-2000), I remember there was ONE exit sign (BGS) on the Cross-Island Parkway approach to the Whitestone Bridge that was black on white instead of white on green.  The last time I was through that area, it was replaced.  All I remember is that it was between the Throgs Neck and Whitestone Bridges on the Cross Island.  (I believe I had an ongoing argument with my father about whether it was better to take the Throgs Neck or Whitestone bridge when I went from our Nassau County home to I-80 in NJ and on to I-81 up to Ithaca.  I preferred the Whitestone, he swore by the Throgs Neck.)

I used to wonder if ALL BGS's where originally BWS's, and I thought the old-looking sign was neat.  I don't think GMSV has it, but does anyone here have a photo?  (It might have been the Grand Central Parkway near LaGuardia Airport, now that I think about it.  I try to block out any memories I have of living on Lawn Guyland.)

Also, I do remember exit numbers on NY-27's surface intersections somewhere in Brooklyn back then.



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