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Weirdest Quirks of Your State DOT?

Started by i-215, January 17, 2019, 10:22:27 PM

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jakeroot

Quote from: kphoger on January 18, 2019, 04:16:35 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 18, 2019, 03:56:17 PM
If it would make you happy, once I'm home from work, I'd be happy to find a provincial install.

(1)  I'm not unhappy as it is.
(2)  You don't need to worry about making me happy.
(3)  It probably wouldn't make me any happier anyway.

Hahaha no no, I'm not trying to be facetious or anything. I'm only saying that because you made a very good point. If I was going to bring up a weird quirk of my province, it's not a ridiculous expectation that I might link to a example of a provincial install.


Revive 755

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 17, 2019, 11:05:39 PM
MN:
"Bypass Lanes"  to allow traffic on two-lane roads to pass cars waiting to turn left.

Those aren't unique to Minnesota. I can recall a few in Nebraska; there are a couple in Illinois in Lake County (example on a county road, example on IL 59); and I want to say a few other states use them.


Not my state, but for Nebraska it would be diagrammatic junction signs.

hotdogPi

Quote from: Revive 755 on January 18, 2019, 10:26:22 PM
Not my state, but for Nebraska it would be diagrammatic junction signs.

I see those all the time in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. They're used all over the country.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

oscar

Quote from: 1 on January 18, 2019, 10:29:04 PM
Quote from: Revive 755 on January 18, 2019, 10:26:22 PM
Not my state, but for Nebraska it would be diagrammatic junction signs.

I see those all the time in Massachusetts and New Hampshire. They're used all over the country.

Not nearly often enough, and rare in my part of the country. Nebraska's routine use of diagrammatic junction signs is something I really like about that state's highways.
my Hot Springs and Highways pages, with links to my roads sites:
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Revive 755

^ They use them in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for non-freeway junctions?  Nebraska example since I wasn't clear enough in my post.

hotdogPi

Quote from: Revive 755 on January 18, 2019, 10:40:06 PM
^ They use them in Massachusetts and New Hampshire for non-freeway junctions?  Nebraska example since I wasn't clear enough in my post.

I was thinking of freeway junctions. Sorry.
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Ben114


froggie

^ Having driven all of New Hampshire's state highway system, I agree they do exist, but I'd say they're uncommon.

Pink Jazz

I don't think I have ever seen a stippled arrow diagrammatic on an ADOT-maintained road, however, I have read somewhere ADOT used to have one somewhere near the end of the US 60 Superstition Freeway in Apache Junction (possibly an experimental use).  There is one in Downtown Tempe near ASU on a City of Tempe road.

Interestingly as of last year ADOT has adopted APL signage despite not using diagrammatics.

renegade

Lighted "left turn" signs at traffic signals in Michigan.
Don’t ask me how I know.  Just understand that I do.

jakeroot

Quote from: renegade on January 19, 2019, 01:16:54 AM
Lighted "left turn" signs at traffic signals in Michigan.

The internally-lit case signs that Michigan uses are definitely not something I've seen anywhere else. I've seen backlit signs but not used in the same way nor nearly as often.

Scott5114

Quote from: DaBigE on January 17, 2019, 11:39:39 PM
Square route marker arrow shapes/boundaries, regardless of the arrow size/design[/li][/list]

Oklahoma shares this tendency. We also don't use the standard JCT plate, instead preferring one the same size as the directional banners.

Left turn lanes/slip ramps are absent more often than not in Oklahoma, for whatever reason. So are No Passing Zone pennants.

Double yellow lines are placed much closer together in Oklahoma than they are in other states.
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

wanderer2575

Quote from: renegade on January 19, 2019, 01:16:54 AM
Lighted "left turn" signs at traffic signals in Michigan.

They're not lit in Oakland County, I assume as a cost-savings measure.  They're not even wired up.  For example:  https://goo.gl/maps/VBxN687xdAm

bcroadguy

Quote from: jakeroot on January 18, 2019, 03:56:17 PM
Quote from: kphoger on January 18, 2019, 02:10:50 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 17, 2019, 10:59:16 PM
In British Columbia ... Intersections with multiple signal body colors aren't uncommon either.

Are those provincial installations, though?

That's a city install, but I have seen mixed color signals on roads that were maintained by other authorities as well. I assume the MOTI is at least partly responsible for the standards that led to their usage. If it would make you happy, once I'm home from work, I'd be happy to find a provincial install. I'm sure there's more than a few out there, although they're still pretty rare. My point was simply that I've never seen mixed color signal bodies in the US or other parts of Canada at one intersection, that wasn't just a one-off thing.

Quote from: TheStranger on January 18, 2019, 02:01:05 AM
California:

- 24 hour carpool lanes in parts of LA

- "Freeway Entrance" signs and its variations (i.e. "Toll Crossing Entrance" for ramps to I-80 in the South of Market neighborhood) at onramps

You can see these in other western states as well. WSDOT maintains four different freeways with 24-hour HOV lanes, and "freeway entrance" signs are used in at least WA and NV, though only the latter has similar standards for route markers on the same post.




WA-99, a surface arterial for most of its length, has a significant stretch of 24-hour HOV lanes along the curb. Are there other states with surface roads that have 24-hour HOV lanes?

For some reason, lots of cities in BC switched from black to yellow signals (kinda the opposite of what seems to be happening in most of the US). So when one individual signal needs replacing but not the whole intersection, lots of cities will just replace that individual signal with a yellow one. I'm guessing that's what happened in jakeroot's link. You'll probably never find anything like that in a city that still installs black signals (Surrey for example).

Few cities do this, but the Ministry of Transportation often installs yellow overhead signals with black supplementary post-mounted signals on purpose (they almost never do yellow post mounted signals). If there's a median left turn signal, the color kinda seems to be whatever they felt like doing that day. Example: https://www.google.com/maps/@48.4552568,-123.5193679,3a,49y,45.34h,87.66t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1shXyh_F_EjZyo3A5sl2wtYQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656. I don't think there's any provincial installs with completely random signals being different colors (e.g. a black overhead signal next to a yellow one).

Idk where else to post this, but its kinda related so I'm gonna do it here. Look at this nasty signal that's part yellow and part black: https://www.google.com/maps/@49.2450966,-123.0651965,3a,24y,290.39h,92.34t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1swRn7OrWDEgKuOdftaCN25g!2e0!5s20180701T000000!7i16384!8i8192

froggie

Quote from: jakeroot on January 19, 2019, 02:02:59 AM
Quote from: renegade on January 19, 2019, 01:16:54 AM
Lighted "left turn" signs at traffic signals in Michigan.

The internally-lit case signs that Michigan uses are definitely not something I've seen anywhere else. I've seen backlit signs but not used in the same way nor nearly as often.

I've seen them in Virginia Beach.

Buck87

Not sure if this is unique to Ohio or not, but how about our plain black on white mile markers on non freeways. They don't have any wording on them, so it's not obvious what they are, and the numbers reset for each county. 

1995hoo

Quote from: Revive 755 on January 18, 2019, 10:26:22 PM
Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on January 17, 2019, 11:05:39 PM
MN:
"Bypass Lanes"  to allow traffic on two-lane roads to pass cars waiting to turn left.

Those aren't unique to Minnesota. I can recall a few in Nebraska; there are a couple in Illinois in Lake County (example on a county road, example on IL 59); and I want to say a few other states use them.

....

I like that. It'd be nice if more states would do that sort of thing, recognizing traffic counts don't always warrant it.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

NWI_Irish96

Indiana:

Separate state highways with the same number.  Some original due to the grid system and others due to the transfer of state highways in urban areas to cities (another quirk).
Indiana: counties 100%, highways 100%
Illinois: counties 100%, highways 61%
Michigan: counties 100%, highways 56%
Wisconsin: counties 86%, highways 23%

RobbieL2415

ConnDOT:
- State name on Interstate shields
- use of different thickness line markings on secondary SRs. I think VA DOT does it also.
- No border around exit tabs on old BGSs
- colored overhead sign mounts
-Cheap flimsy signposts
-Cheap flimsy guard rails (though they are being replaced)
-Use of wooden wire guard rails on some secondary SRs
-Significant use of left exits.
MASSDOT:
- use of wooden signposts in environmentally sensitive areas, usually the South Coast and the Cape.
- Double-stacked guard rails for medians.
- Odd advisory speed limits ("Thickly Settled" etc.)
- Prolific use of rotaries
- flashing green lights
- Lack of dashed lane markings for on and off-ramps. This is especially bad when the drivers of the Commonwealth don't know how to merge.
-Yield signs used on on-ramps where there is clearly room to negotiate a merge.

RI DOT:
-Non cut-out shields
-Some non-standard signage uses a bold font

PA DOT:
-Those stupid "begin turn here" signs.
- Traffic enforcement zone signs

Bitmapped

Quote from: Buck87 on January 19, 2019, 11:27:23 AM
Not sure if this is unique to Ohio or not, but how about our plain black on white mile markers on non freeways. They don't have any wording on them, so it's not obvious what they are, and the numbers reset for each county.

West Virginia has the same, except WVDOH makes theirs out of individual numbers attached together rather than a single sign.

sharkyfour

Quote from: jakeroot on January 17, 2019, 10:59:16 PM
In Washington State, WSDOT has a few odd quirks: inset, center-aligned exit tabs (except in SW); welded-box sign gantries (never seen this anywhere else); black-on-white HOV signs (once common but now a party of one). There's also no sign salads on state routes. All route guidance is through guide signs.

In British Columbia, flashing green orbs for pedestrian crossings; 8-inch arrows are still the norm as well, at least near-side. Intersections with multiple signal body colors aren't uncommon either.

Connecticut still uses black-on-white for HOV lane signage.

One quirky thing that always catches my attention when travelling in Pennsylvania is their excessive use of "Bridge Freezes Before Road" signs.  I can maybe see an occasional reminder, but having two before each an every bridge seems like a waste.  PA is the only place I've seen them as frequently as they have them there.

MNHighwayMan

#46
Alright, for something different that I would say is pretty unique to MnDOT: sign post braces, and especially the 2 + 1 sign post setup. Two vertical posts, and one angled brace post.

Example

Perhaps other states do use brace posts, but I know of no other DOT that uses them as commonly as MnDOT does.

KeithE4Phx

Quote from: cabiness42 on January 19, 2019, 11:52:59 AM
Indiana:

Separate state highways with the same number.  Some original due to the grid system and others due to the transfer of state highways in urban areas to cities (another quirk).

The three sections of IN 48 were never connected to each other, AFAIK.  In fact, there is no direct road between any of the segments.  They occupy roughly the same latitude, but that's about all they have in common.
"Oh, so you hate your job? Well, why didn't you say so? There's a support group for that. It's called "EVERYBODY!" They meet at the bar." -- Drew Carey

Max Rockatansky

California; wildly varying levels of apathy regarding route signage up keep. 

Occidental Tourist

Quote from: Max Rockatansky on January 19, 2019, 06:55:16 PM
California; wildly varying levels of apathy regarding route signage up keep. 
Bingo.



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