Massachusetts milepost exit numbering conversion contract

[bob7374]

Google Maps Street View has updated their imagery along I-91 North in MA to November 2021, capturing the exit renumbering between I-90 and the VT border. I have taken some screen grabs of these images, such as the 1 mile advance sign for the MA 9 exit:


I have posted images from I-90 to MA 2/2A in Greenfield so far, and these are available at:
https://malmeroads.net/mass21c/neexitrenumbering.html#i91signs2

The rest will be posted in the next couple of days.

[PHLBOS]

It's been a little while since I chimed in on here & such has been stated before; MassDOT dropped the ball the most with the interchange renumbering along I-290... particularly with those enhanced I-395 mile-markers.  Such have both confused my brother & his wife (Sturbridge residents who utilize this road a lot) when they first encountered such.

IMHO (granted, I still believe that MassDOT should've used the I-290 mileage for the interchange numbers but such is water under the bridge now), it would've been better for MassDOT just to do with I-290 what PTC did with the enhanced mile-markers along the I-276 stretch of the PA Turnpike; just have erect the enhanced mile markers that simply show the I-290 shields but listing the longer I-395 mileage.

[abqtraveler]

It's been a little while since I chimed in on here & such has been stated before; MassDOT dropped the ball the most with the interchange renumbering along I-290... particularly with those enhanced I-395 mile-markers.  Such have both confused my brother & his wife (Sturbridge residents who utilize this road a lot) when they first encountered such.

IMHO (granted, I still believe that MassDOT should've used the I-290 mileage for the interchange numbers but such is water under the bridge now), it would've been better for MassDOT just to do with I-290 what PTC did with the enhanced mile-markers along the I-276 stretch of the PA Turnpike; just have erect the enhanced mile markers that simply show the I-290 shields but listing the longer I-395 mileage.

The problem would be easier solved if MassDOT reset the mileage to zero where I-395 ends and I-290 begins.

[yakra]

or just started I-290 @ mile > 0

[PurdueBill]

It's been a little while since I chimed in on here & such has been stated before; MassDOT dropped the ball the most with the interchange renumbering along I-290... particularly with those enhanced I-395 mile-markers.  Such have both confused my brother & his wife (Sturbridge residents who utilize this road a lot) when they first encountered such.

IMHO (granted, I still believe that MassDOT should've used the I-290 mileage for the interchange numbers but such is water under the bridge now), it would've been better for MassDOT just to do with I-290 what PTC did with the enhanced mile-markers along the I-276 stretch of the PA Turnpike; just have erect the enhanced mile markers that simply show the I-290 shields but listing the longer I-395 mileage.

Such is the same as the eastern end of the Ohio Turnpike where I-76's enhanced mile markers show the Turnpike mileage, not 76's mileage (which would repeat numbers from out near Toledo).  I still don't get why Mass didn't have 290 pick up with 395's mile markers.  If need be, they could have "officially" moved the start of 290 to the state line (although I bet that would never have made it past AASHTO) to make mile 0 of 290 be at 395's mile 0.  The dual mileposting on 290 is the worst thing they could have chosen (worse too than restarting with mile 0 where 290 meets 90), unless their game is to turn 290 into 395 eventually.  Which would orphan 190 from another x90 unless it changed too.  Sigh.

[ran4sh]

If the Ohio Turnpike mileage is used for the I-76 section, then in my opinion an Ohio Turnpike marker should be used in the enhanced milepost sign instead of the I-76 marker, so that it is clear that the mileage refers to the turnpike and not the interstate.

[kramie13]

I was on Rte. 6 along the Cape recently and noticed that the "old exit xx" signs are green instead of yellow.  Was this a compromise because Cape politicians resisted the changing of the numbers so hard?

[MATraveler128]

I was on Rte. 6 along the Cape recently and noticed that the "old exit xx" signs are green instead of yellow.  Was this a compromise because Cape politicians resisted the changing of the numbers so hard?

I'm not sure about that. I know the ground mount signage was a compromise (IMO it looks way better) but don't remember why the Cape uses green.

[bob7374]

I was on Rte. 6 along the Cape recently and noticed that the "old exit xx" signs are green instead of yellow.  Was this a compromise because Cape politicians resisted the changing of the numbers so hard?

I'm not sure about that. I know the ground mount signage was a compromise (IMO it looks way better) but don't remember why the Cape uses green.

Yes, this was a compromise with Cape Cod officials who thought that yellow signs were 'out of character' for the Mid-Cape Highway. Guess MassDOT was willing to give them something since they weren't blocking the project this time, unlike in 2016.

[kramie13]

I drove up I-93 North from Montvale Ave (exit 27) in Stoneham up to River Rd (exit 42) in Andover this morning.  I've noticed a lot of exit gore signs have been replaced, but there are some weird oddities:

• There is a new Exit 28A gore sign for I-95/Rte 128 north, but not for Exit 28B.  The Exit 28B sign was knocked down a few months ago but rather than install a new sign, the old one was re-installed, with really small "28B" text.  You can see the outline of the old exit number on the sign, "37B".  And even more, there is no more yellow "old exit 37B" sign below the gore sign!
• New exit gore signs were installed for exits 34, 35, 38, 39, 40A, and 42 (all consecutive interchanges!).  But not for exit 40B (I-495 South).  It still has its old gore sign with a "tacked on" 40B plate.  The Exit 34 and 38 signs are missing their yellow "old exit xx" signs beneath them.

[5foot14]

Those exit gore signs being replaced on 93 north is all the result of the signs being knocked down or one of the posts being clipped and damaging the sign. They weren't all replaced at the same time. (42 was replaced first last year, not long after the exit number was changed; 39 and 38 were replaced together earlier this year) As for the yellow old exit signs? Maybe they figure it's close enough to 2 years, or maybe they just don't care. Honestly I'm over the old numbers, take down the yellow signs and be done with it.

But yeah, Mass drivers are terrible...

SM-A515U

[kramie13]

As for the yellow old exit signs? Maybe they figure it's close enough to 2 years, or maybe they just don't care. Honestly I'm over the old numbers, take down the yellow signs and be done with it.
SM-A515U

The I-93 exit numbers were changed in May 2021.  MassDOT promised the "old exit XX" signs would stay up for "at least 2 years" so for this stretch of highway it wouldn't be until June 2023 at the earliest that these signs would go down "as promised".

But I never regularly drove on this stretch of road until a few months ago, so the old I-93 exit numbers don't come to mind for me when I pass one of these exits.  However, if I'm driving on I-495, I-95, or MA-24, I still associate interchanges with their old exit numbers, most likely because I grew up in that area.

[DrSmith]

On the Pike eastbound at 495, someone took out most of the exit sign. So now there is a thin slice of the old sign that shows Exit 11A. Some of the top and bottom pieces of the extruded aluminum panels are gone and I guess they figured it was close enough to tack up instead of putting in a temporary sign while a new one is fabricated.

[bob7374]

Google Maps has updated their Street View coverage of the Mass Pike, at least west of Lee, to June 2022 finally showing the exit renumbering that took place in early 2021. I've added Street View images to my Exit Renumbering website which includes this of the 1/2 mile advance for the US 20 exit, notice something wrong?


This sign may have not been put up until after the exit renumbering occurred, but you would think someone would have noticed by now. The rest of the signs for Old Exits 1 and 2 have had their exit numbers changed, and photos are available at: https://malmeroads.net/mass21c/neexitrenumbering.html#i90signs3

[vdeane]

^ It looks like that sign structure was taken down and only recently put back up.  The sign shows up in the August 2018 GSV and is on the ground in the October 2018 GSV.

[roadman]

^ It looks like that sign structure was taken down and only recently put back up.  The sign shows up in the August 2018 GSV and is on the ground in the October 2018 GSV.

That is exactly correct vdeane.  Massachusetts has had a long standing pratice whereby when a sign is knocked down or other roadside hardware (like guardrail or lighting poles) is damaged or destroyed, and the driver of the involved vehicle can be identified, the repair/replacement is handled by a group called Accident Recovery.  The flaw in the system is that the price for repairs must be negotiated between the driver's insurance company and the state before any repairs can be effected.  This often results in a noticeable delay in getting the repairs or replacement completed.  In most cases for guide signs, MassDOT will usually install smaller temporary guide signs until a sign structure is replaced.

[JWF1959]

Not sure if this has been discussed, but it looks like 395N is now concurrent with I-290 all the way from it's old end point (at I-290 and the Mass Pike) to I-495.

The mile markers now show the mileage points for both I-290 and I-395.

However, the signage still shows "End 395, Begin 290" at 290/MA Pike interchange.

didn't see any recent messages related to this topic, so sorry if i missed them.

Just recently (10/8/22) traveled up 395 to 290 in Worcester, and noticed that those dual 290/395 mile markers have now been taken down.  Seems like a waste of money.  Anyway, the markers now say "290" but the mileage itself seems to include the 395 portion as well.  Noticed that as I passed by Holy Cross, the mileage marker said 290/15.0 miles (or something close to that), when in reality, Holy Cross is probably no more than 5 miles from the start of 290.

[MATraveler128]

Not sure if this has been discussed, but it looks like 395N is now concurrent with I-290 all the way from it's old end point (at I-290 and the Mass Pike) to I-495.

The mile markers now show the mileage points for both I-290 and I-395.

However, the signage still shows "End 395, Begin 290" at 290/MA Pike interchange.

didn't see any recent messages related to this topic, so sorry if i missed them.

Just recently (10/8/22) traveled up 395 to 290 in Worcester, and noticed that those dual 290/395 mile markers have now been taken down.  Seems like a waste of money.  Anyway, the markers now say "290" but the mileage itself seems to include the 395 portion as well.  Noticed that as I passed by Holy Cross, the mileage marker said 290/15.0 miles (or something close to that), when in reality, Holy Cross is probably no more than 5 miles from the start of 290.

They took down the dual mile markers? What a waste of time that was installing those, but weren’t those supposed to be temporary until the public got used to the new numbers? I’ve also noticed some of the yellow “Old Exit XX” signs come down in the past few months. Also, the Exit 106 sign that was knocked over still hasn’t been replaced when I drove by it last night and still reads Exit 11A.

[Alps]

Not sure if this has been discussed, but it looks like 395N is now concurrent with I-290 all the way from it's old end point (at I-290 and the Mass Pike) to I-495.

The mile markers now show the mileage points for both I-290 and I-395.

However, the signage still shows "End 395, Begin 290" at 290/MA Pike interchange.

didn't see any recent messages related to this topic, so sorry if i missed them.

Just recently (10/8/22) traveled up 395 to 290 in Worcester, and noticed that those dual 290/395 mile markers have now been taken down.  Seems like a waste of money.  Anyway, the markers now say "290" but the mileage itself seems to include the 395 portion as well.  Noticed that as I passed by Holy Cross, the mileage marker said 290/15.0 miles (or something close to that), when in reality, Holy Cross is probably no more than 5 miles from the start of 290.

this is great news. I'm guessing they are doing this to keep exit numbers continuous

[kramie13]

Not only are the exit numbers on I-290 including mileage along I-395 from the CT border, but many of the exits in Worcester don't match the "new" mile markers at all!  From Rte. 9 in Worcester to Rte. 140 in Shrewsbury, the exit numbers are all off by at least 1 mile!  In some cases, they're off by 3!

You also have this sign that includes "old exit 19" and "old exit 20" signs right before old exit 17!  I'm sure some drivers will be confused here...

And worst of all, the exits for I-190, MA 70, Plantation St (EB only) and Main St (Shrewsbury) ALL could have retained their old (sequential) numbers, as they already closely matched the "I-395" mile markers!  WTF, MassDOT??????????      

[jp the roadgeek]

The numbers on I-290 and I-91 are fudged a bit to use what would be unused numbers just to avoid an alphabet city.  CTDOT is following suit on CT 9 renumbering, such as numbering the I-91 ramps as 29-30 rather than 29 A-B because the next exit is at MP 31.  It's also the reason why I-291 and I-391 were skipped altogether.

[kramie13]

The numbers on I-290 and I-91 are fudged a bit to use what would be unused numbers just to avoid an alphabet city.

Why does MassDOT hate alphabet soup?  Going east on 290, the exits could have easily been 17A-17B-17C (Shrewsbury St, EB only), 18A-18B (Rte 9 exit).  Going west, they would have gone 18B-18A-17B-17A.

On I-91, they really screwed up keeping exits 1 (SB only) and 2 (NB only) "as is" when they're both between miles 3 and 4.  Yet on the Mass Pike and I-84, they properly renumbered sequential exit 1 to exit 3.

[vdeane]

I don't understand why CT 9 is using 29 and 30 for I-91.  It's one interchange.  Using the same number with letter suffixes is standard for such situations even in sequential.

I'm in agreement about exit 1 on I-91.  It really should have been a southbound exit 2.  That would have still let MassDOT avoid alphabet soup (a common complaint of mile-based numbers in this part of the country) while only being off by 1 rather than 2.

[jp the roadgeek]

I don't understand why CT 9 is using 29 and 30 for I-91.  It's one interchange.  Using the same number with letter suffixes is standard for such situations even in sequential.

From CTDOT:

Q: How are the new exit numbers determined?

A: Exit numbers will be determined based on the mileage contained in the CTDOT Linear Referencing System. Mileage typically runs from south to north and west to east.
- No Exit 0
- Mileage 0.00 — 1.49 = Exit 1
- Mileage 1.50 — 2.99 = Exit 2
- Mileage 3.00 — 3.99 and beyond.
+ Round down to the nearest whole mile
- In some cases, the CTDOT may round up or down to the next nearest whole mile to reduce suffix letters or utilize the existing exit number.
- Splits on off-ramps will not be designated as separate numbers/suffix letters.

[shadyjay]

I drove I-290 West today from I-190 down to Auburn and noticed the new whole-mile markers... they are a slightly darker shade of green than all the others.  Granted, they couldn't use the previously-installed (and much hated, apparently) dual markers since they would have had to be modified (change the route marker and direction).