News:

The AARoads Wiki is live! Come check it out!

Main Menu

Louisiana

Started by Alex, January 20, 2009, 12:43:48 AM

Previous topic - Next topic

wriddle082

Been working in the Baton Rouge area the past few weeks, and unfortunately have had to commute in from Hammond or Covington due to pretty much no hotel vacancies anywhere in East Baton Rouge or Livingston Parishes.

A co-worker told me the other day that either the city of Walker or Denham Springs, or both, is/are considering suing the DOTD, claiming that the 6' tall barrier wall on I-12 created a dam during the recent floods that held the flood waters in their cities, not allowing them to naturally flow away, and thus aggravating the disaster in the cities.

Through my travels in the area, I've seen the flood waters have affected many areas.  From the north side of Baton Rouge in East Baton Rouge Parish, to pretty much most areas of Livingston Parish, as well as many areas of Ascension Parish, well south of I-12.  So not many areas were immune west of I-55, east/northeast of US 61, or south of the Livingston/St. Helena Parish line.

*BUT* yesterday afternoon I did notice that the barrier along I-12 didn't have drainage culverts next to it except at bridges, and the pavement appeared to be crowned at the barrier and sloping towards either outside shoulder.  So did DOTD design the recent I-12 widening projects with no drainage culvert underneath the barrier wall?

Also, I have to say, most of the inside lane of I-12 in Baton Rouge proper in both directions, which are concrete and may date back to the 80's, are in deplorable condition!  Lots of asphalt patches all over the place.  The middle and outside lanes (possibly original concrete) seem to be a little bit better, but not by much.  I'm wondering if they're planning on adding a fourth lane in each direction in this area, or at least asphalting over all of it, sometime in the near future?


jbnv

I would assume that the drainage system in Denham Springs was designed around bringing water to the Amite River. The area received an enormous amount of rain in a short time, and it all went into the Amite watershed.
🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

cjk374

https://youtu.be/8i0qaekBs3Q

Has anyone else seen this? I thought it was cool.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

Watching the make signs is cool. Watching them make those hideous post-Clearview signs that are popping up everywhere is not.
🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

cjk374

Quote from: jbnv on October 10, 2016, 09:55:14 PM
Watching the make signs is cool. Watching them make those hideous post-Clearview signs that are popping up everywhere is not.

Amen! Has anyone ever seen the DOTD...or any other highway department...do a partial replacement of an extruded sheet sign? It has been nothing but total sign replacents as far as I have seen.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

If all of the signs are made in the shop in Baton Rouge, why is there so much fluctuation among state-highway shields?
🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

cjk374

Quote from: jbnv on October 11, 2016, 09:41:53 PM
If all of the signs are made in the shop in Baton Rouge, why is there so much fluctuation among state-highway shields?

As in why do some shields have peeling digits and some don't? Good question.

My question...is black sheeting really cheaper than green? It may be, but if they cut back the amount of black ordered...or change vendors?
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

Brian556

Did you touch the sign to see if it is black film or screen print ink? In Texas, they screen print route marker signs without the number, and add in the number later with black film.

I personally dislike black film because it deteriorates and curls up way before the sheeting deteriorates

jbnv

Looks like the blank is screen-printed and the number is film.

Whatever they use for the numbers, it doesn't work very well.

🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

cjk374

I checked my new addition to my collection awhile ago. It is screenprint with cut-film numbers applied. I have noticed lately that some bridge weight-posted signs have peeling numbers as well. I'll try to get pics soon.

Anyone know how the screenprinting technique works & what they use?
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

formulanone

#1010
Quote from: jbnv on October 14, 2016, 11:45:35 AM
Looks like the blank is screen-printed and the number is film.

Whatever they use for the numbers, it doesn't work very well.



Quote from: Brian556 on October 14, 2016, 02:14:19 AM
Did you touch the sign to see if it is black film or screen print ink? In Texas, they screen print route marker signs without the number, and add in the number later with black film.

I personally dislike black film because it deteriorates and curls up way before the sheeting deteriorates

Texas has this widespread problem of peeling text; I think going back to physically hand-painting the number would last a lot longer and be less resource-wasteful in the process.

Interestingly, I don't see as many peeling numbers on FM and RRs compared to SH, Loop, Spur, and US routes.

jbnv

Quote from: formulanone on October 16, 2016, 10:51:29 AM
Texas has this widespread problem of peeling text; I think going back to physically hand-painting the number would last a lot longer and be less resource-wasteful in the process.

With today's printing technology, hand-painting shouldn't be necessary.
🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

sparker

Quote from: jbnv on October 16, 2016, 10:59:53 AM
Quote from: formulanone on October 16, 2016, 10:51:29 AM
Texas has this widespread problem of peeling text; I think going back to physically hand-painting the number would last a lot longer and be less resource-wasteful in the process.

With today's printing technology, hand-painting shouldn't be necessary.
It seems the concept here is to stock blank signs at district/regional corporate yards, with stick-on film numbers applied as needed for signage replacement or addition.  Out here in CA Caltrans does this -- and by and large someone needs to teach the district employees how to assemble a sign with properly placed and kerned numbers.  I would guess that in LA, with its high humidity levels, the adhesive backing of stick-on numbering would give way much sooner than out this way.  Nevertheless, I don't think that in general highway departments would give up the flexibility afforded by the adhesive-number method -- including the ability to re-use the basic signs -- for more permanent number application such as printing or painting.



cjk374

Quote from: sparker on October 16, 2016, 06:59:20 PM
Quote from: jbnv on October 16, 2016, 10:59:53 AM
Quote from: formulanone on October 16, 2016, 10:51:29 AM
Texas has this widespread problem of peeling text; I think going back to physically hand-painting the number would last a lot longer and be less resource-wasteful in the process.

With today's printing technology, hand-painting shouldn't be necessary.
It seems the concept here is to stock blank signs at district/regional corporate yards, with stick-on film numbers applied as needed for signage replacement or addition.  Out here in CA Caltrans does this -- and by and large someone needs to teach the district employees how to assemble a sign with properly placed and kerned numbers.  I would guess that in LA, with its high humidity levels, the adhesive backing of stick-on numbering would give way much sooner than out this way.  Nevertheless, I don't think that in general highway departments would give up the flexibility afforded by the adhesive-number method -- including the ability to re-use the basic signs -- for more permanent number application such as printing or painting.

LADOTD has been making signs all these years & this is the first time I have seen peeling digits. I think it's the new materials they have been using lately.
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

Quote from: sparker on October 16, 2016, 06:59:20 PM
Quote from: jbnv on October 16, 2016, 10:59:53 AM
Quote from: formulanone on October 16, 2016, 10:51:29 AM
Texas has this widespread problem of peeling text; I think going back to physically hand-painting the number would last a lot longer and be less resource-wasteful in the process.

With today's printing technology, hand-painting shouldn't be necessary.
It seems the concept here is to stock blank signs at district/regional corporate yards, with stick-on film numbers applied as needed for signage replacement or addition.  Out here in CA Caltrans does this -- and by and large someone needs to teach the district employees how to assemble a sign with properly placed and kerned numbers.  I would guess that in LA, with its high humidity levels, the adhesive backing of stick-on numbering would give way much sooner than out this way.  Nevertheless, I don't think that in general highway departments would give up the flexibility afforded by the adhesive-number method -- including the ability to re-use the basic signs -- for more permanent number application such as printing or painting.

Let's compare:

Consistency:
Sticking or hand-painting: Poor.
Printing: Great.

Cost:
Sticking or hand-painting: Low.
Printing: Perhaps substantial up-front to buy printing machines.* Materials for each sign should be low.

Convenience:
Sticking: Pick up a blank, pick up numbers, apply numbers to blank.
Hand-painting: Pick up a blank. Get the paint and the appropriate stencil. Paint the numbers. Don't touch the thing while it dries.
Printing: Tell a computer program the blank and the number. Feed blank into printer. Tell the program to go.

Looks like convenience is a wash. The consistency is a big sell, and perhaps the convenience, if the up-front cost doesn't scare away the buyer.

* There's an opportunity for printer makers to make printers specifically for printing route shields. Figure about 400 sites across the U.S. and Canada. With at least two machines on each site, that's a domestic market of 800 machines. Could such a machine be produced at a low-enough price point to make cost a non-factor for state, provincial and local DOTs?
🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

formulanone

Quote from: jbnv on October 16, 2016, 10:59:53 AM
With today's printing technology, hand-painting shouldn't be necessary.

With today's technology, crap production values aren't necessary, either.

bassoon1986

I am making a spreadsheet of all the Louisiana state highways and their distances to see how much I have traveled within the state. I'm using a combination of the state log posted on aaroads and the Wikipedia list because parts of that seem to be more updated as I compare highway mileage on Google maps.

Can any of the other Louisianians tell me anything about LA 182-2? It's on the Wikipedia page but with no descriptions. I know about 182-1, but I'm trying to figure out if 182-2 exists or if it is a proposed route.

Alex

Quote from: bassoon1986 on October 17, 2016, 11:37:21 AM
I am making a spreadsheet of all the Louisiana state highways and their distances to see how much I have traveled within the state. I'm using a combination of the state log posted on aaroads and the Wikipedia list because parts of that seem to be more updated as I compare highway mileage on Google maps.

I tried to get an updated log from LADOTD in 2007 to update the site then but was told no. Guess I found the right person back in 2003.

cjk374

#1018
Quote from: cjk374 on October 14, 2016, 04:04:11 PM
I checked my new addition to my collection awhile ago. It is screenprint with cut-film numbers applied. I have noticed lately that some bridge weight-posted signs have peeling numbers as well. I'll try to get pics soon.

Here are the bridge posting signs I was referring to that also had peeling digits.

20161017_134636 by Jess Kilgore, on Flickr

20161017_134759 by Jess Kilgore, on Flickr
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

brownpelican

Quote from: jbnv on October 11, 2016, 09:41:53 PM
If all of the signs are made in the shop in Baton Rouge, why is there so much fluctuation among state-highway shields?

Each district decides on the appearance of its signs.

brownpelican

Quote from: cjk374 on October 11, 2016, 10:11:31 PM
My question...is black sheeting really cheaper than green? It may be, but if they cut back the amount of black ordered...or change vendors?

Yes, black is cheaper than green.

jbnv

Quote from: brownpelican on October 22, 2016, 01:46:56 AM
Quote from: jbnv on October 11, 2016, 09:41:53 PM
If all of the signs are made in the shop in Baton Rouge, why is there so much fluctuation among state-highway shields?

Each district decides on the appearance of its signs.

Then people in certain districts need to be slapped. (Such as whoever in Baton Rouge decided to put a wide gap in between digits.)

🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

cjk374

Texas goal posts have made their way to north Louisiana. Is this the first time ever or just my first time seeing it?

20161027_143015 by Jess Kilgore, on Flickr
Runnin' roads and polishin' rails.

jbnv

Not the first altogether (example), but maybe the first in north Louisiana.
🆕 Louisiana Highways on Twitter | Yes, I like Clearview. Deal with it. | Redos: US | La. | Route Challenge

cenlaroads

Quote from: bassoon1986 on October 17, 2016, 11:37:21 AM
I am making a spreadsheet of all the Louisiana state highways and their distances to see how much I have traveled within the state. I'm using a combination of the state log posted on aaroads and the Wikipedia list because parts of that seem to be more updated as I compare highway mileage on Google maps.

Can any of the other Louisianians tell me anything about LA 182-2? It's on the Wikipedia page but with no descriptions. I know about 182-1, but I'm trying to figure out if 182-2 exists or if it is a proposed route.

I know from experience that the mileage for LA 15 is incorrect on the AARoads log, which says that the mileage is 264.56.  Wikipedia says 194.52, which is accurate from what I remember when I drove it and checked it on Google maps.  I have my own spreadsheet like the one you mention, but only with state routes I have clinched.  I usually just used the AARoads log mileage though, unless it was obviously incorrect.

I am not aware of any hyphenated routes for LA 182.  Where is LA 182-1?  If I discover 182-2 I will let you know.



Opinions expressed here on belong solely to the poster and do not represent or reflect the opinions or beliefs of AARoads, its creators and/or associates.