Unique, Odd, or Interesting Signs aka The good, the bad, and the ugly

[kphoger]

According to Wikipedia, Utah and Nevada call them High-T intersections, but I don't think I've ever actually heard that term used.

Being from Nevada, my earliest memory of this type of intersection being referred to by a name was indeed "high-T intersection". City of Las Vegas has actually put this wording on some warning sign plaques at a few locations.

Now I have "The Fox" stuck in my head.  ...  ♪♫ High-T, High-T, High-T, Ho! ♪♫

[jakeroot]

I don't know if I'm confusing this with another type od intersection but the Mineke (misspelled) rd, Tualatin Sherwood Road, and Langer Farms road intersection all have dedicated right turn lanes to yield with a useful type island.

I may be overthinking this again though.

The 99W/Meinecke Road junction is just a standard four-way junction with slip lanes on all four corners. An efficient way to handle right turns, but not quite the same concept as a seagull intersection (the Tualatin-Sherwood and Langer Farms intersections also feature slip lanes, but still not quite the same).

A seagull intersection allows traffic proceeding straight through a T-intersection to continue through at all times, without having to stop. Traffic coming from the side road merges into the middle of the road.

In the first image, we can see that the blue lines intersect, but in the second image, they do not. That's because in the second image, they merge together after the intersection. This allows the top-side movement to proceed at all times (the first image allows pedestrians to cross, but that can be allowed on the seagull intersection with a signal that activates only for pedestrians):

[kphoger]

I've seen a few of these in Mexico, except that there's no physical island between the through lanes and the turning lanes–just painted stripes or Mexican overgrown Bott's dots.  The one I immediately thought of looks like it's been changed from the overgrown Bott's dots to just a plain four-lane section.  I wonder if turning vehicles were swinging wide and hitting the through traffic in the next lane.

Here is GSV of the way it used to look in 2009.  But slide the timeline over to 2014 and you can see they removed the quasi-island, overgrown Bott's dots, and yellow striping.

[jakeroot]

I've seen a few of these in Mexico, except that there's no physical island between the through lanes and the turning lanes–just painted stripes or Mexican overgrown Bott's dots.  The one I immediately thought of looks like it's been changed from the overgrown Bott's dots to just a plain four-lane section.  I wonder if turning vehicles were swinging wide and hitting the through traffic in the next lane.

Here is GSV of the way it used to look in 2009.  But slide the timeline over to 2014 and you can see they removed the quasi-island, overgrown Bott's dots, and yellow striping.

It looks like there's still a merge lane, except they did away with the painted porkchop island. The left lane starts just before the intersection, and ends just afterwards.

At unsignalised T-intersections in Washington State, both the before and after treatments above are common:

With painted porkchop island (before treatment): https://goo.gl/ABQuug
No porkchop island (after treatment): https://goo.gl/8Mf8Fa

Neither seem to be more common than the other, though I prefer painted or solid porkchop islands to reduce the navigable room inside an intersection (and solidify the meaning of the inside lane).

[Max Rockatansky]

I thought this CA 219 shield was intriguing:

219CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

First off, the shape of the shield is wrong, the numeric font is weird, and it was the only 219 shield I could find eastbound for the entire route.

[MNHighwayMan]

I thought this CA 219 shield was intriguing:

219CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

First off, the shape of the shield is wrong, the numeric font is weird, and it was the only 219 shield I could find eastbound for the entire route.

I feel like I'm in Silent Hill, or something, after looking at that picture.

[Max Rockatansky]

I thought this CA 219 shield was intriguing:

219CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

First off, the shape of the shield is wrong, the numeric font is weird, and it was the only 219 shield I could find eastbound for the entire route.

I feel like I'm in Silent Hill, or something, after looking at that picture.

I had Silent 41 as my messanger status at work for awhile but nobody got the reference.  Pretty thick Tule Fog in places Saturday. 

[freebrickproductions]

I thought this CA 219 shield was intriguing:

219CAa by Max Rockatansky, on Flickr

First off, the shape of the shield is wrong, the numeric font is weird, and it was the only 219 shield I could find eastbound for the entire route.

Not to mention the kerning on S a l i d a. 

[1995hoo]

Apparently this was posted on I-15 within the past few days and other similar signs are showing up around the state (it's apparently not a photoshop). Methinks Caltrans will not be amused.

[cjk374]

Apparently this was posted on I-15 within the past few days and other similar signs are showing up around the state (it's apparently not a photoshop). Methinks Caltrans will not be amused.

Somebody sure spent a lot of money.

[thenetwork]

Apparently this was posted on I-15 within the past few days and other similar signs are showing up around the state (it's apparently not a photoshop). Methinks Caltrans will not be amused.

Somebody sure spent a lot of money.

Maybe it was the same people who disguised themselves as Caltrans employees and added the I-5 to the overhead on the Harbor Freeway.

[jakeroot]

^^
The only giveaway that it's not real is the corner radii of the sign. The outer white border has a corner radius that's too sharp.

[Max Rockatansky]

Someone will steal it soon enough. 

[jakeroot]

Someone will steal it soon enough.

The sign on the 15 coming from Nevada has already been removed by Caltrans, but apparently, another one exists on the 40 coming from Arizona, and another on the Malibu city limits sign, with slightly different wording:

http://fxn.ws/2CteZih

[kkt]

^^
The only giveaway that it's not real is the corner radii of the sign. The outer white border has a corner radius that's too sharp.

That and the political message that Caltrans would never use.  And Caltrans doesn't put the California state seal on signs much.  (Watch, now other forum members will come out of the woodwork posting photos of Caltrans signs with the state seal on them....)

[Hurricane Rex]

Apparently, this was posted on I-15 within the past few days and other similar signs are showing up around the state (it's apparently not a photoshop). Methinks Caltrans will not be amused.

It is like a political ad and the corners of the signs aren't like a normal freeway sign. If it is real, they could get cited.

Glad to see Caltrans removing it but how did it get through in the first place?

[jakeroot]

Glad to see Caltrans removing it but how did it get through in the first place?

It didn't really "get through". Some funnymen just made their own road sign and posted it without permission.

^^
The only giveaway that it's not real is the corner radii of the sign. The outer white border has a corner radius that's too sharp.

That and the political message that Caltrans would never use.  And Caltrans doesn't put the California state seal on signs much.  (Watch, now other forum members will come out of the woodwork posting photos of Caltrans signs with the state seal on them....)

Well, the message is certainly not something that Caltrans (or any agency) would ever put on a road sign. But, if the rest of the sign was otherwise to spec, one could theorise that it could have passed through an official sign shop, just "off the books".

[Max Rockatansky]

Apparently, this was posted on I-15 within the past few days and other similar signs are showing up around the state (it's apparently not a photoshop). Methinks Caltrans will not be amused.

It is like a political ad and the corners of the signs aren't like a normal freeway sign. If it is real, they could get cited.

Glad to see Caltrans removing it but how did it get through in the first place?

Someone pulls over to the side of the highway and just mounts it to the sign posts.  Its actually fairly easy to do with a decent socket wrench set. 

[TBKS1]

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.7486698,-92.3921809,3a,15y,100.87h,96.63t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2V2-eP0aIhKZChLgkqIDtQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

I don't know how common BRSs (Big Red Signs) are.

I'll try to take a picture of this later.

[PHLBOS]

I don't know how common BRSs (Big Red Signs) are.

Here's another BRS.

[1995hoo]

I don't know how common BRSs (Big Red Signs) are.

Here's another BRS.

That one strikes me as more unusual than the one TBKS1 posted.

Around here, we still have a few of the old BRS-style "Do Not Enter" signs, but there aren't many left. The one seen in the first link below is not long for this world (it might already be gone), as the assembly will be replaced as part of the I-395 HO/T project. These two signs date back to the 1970s.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.8116716,-77.147836,3a,75y,238.82h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sRV5h7CrsE0pYD7ajLj_drQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

The newer similar sign seen in the following link probably has a little longer, but it too will likely meet its end as part of the I-66 Outside the Beltway HO/T project.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.859903,-77.3594859,3a,75y,82.92h,81.9t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1szzGfKWpDjCUBmvUOUZTOLQ!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[kphoger]

There used to be red overhead warning signs on the highway between Puebla and Orizaba, Mexico.  They have since been replaced with yellow signs.

Old GSV here (translation: VEHICLES WITHOUT BRAKES / FOLLOW THE RED LINE)

[Mapmikey]

I don't know how common BRSs (Big Red Signs) are.

Here's another BRS.

Tennessee and Kentucky also have these regarding the US 25E tunnel at Cumberland Gap.

[MNHighwayMan]

I don't know how common BRSs (Big Red Signs) are.

Here's another BRS.

Tennessee and Kentucky also have these regarding the US 25E tunnel at Cumberland Gap.

There's also similar signage regarding hazardous materials through the Lowry Hill tunnel on I-94.

[TBKS1]

So let me get this straight...

It seems like most BRSs are used either for tunnels or giant "Do Not Enter/Wrong Way" signs.