US 69 Improvements in Oklahoma

[Scott5114]

Yes.

[sparker]

While on a weekend trip this week, I noticed that (most of) the US 69 (and US 69-US 75) exits have been numbered since my last trip up that way.  Anyone know when it was done and if any reason was given at the time?

As they enter the state together from the south, I'm curious as to whether both the US 69 freeway sections north of McAlester and any US 75 freeway segments in the Tulsa area will reflect mileage from that common entry point? 

[Road Hog]

While on a weekend trip this week, I noticed that (most of) the US 69 (and US 69-US 75) exits have been numbered since my last trip up that way.  Anyone know when it was done and if any reason was given at the time?

No idea, but I did notice the last time I was up that way that the mileage posts along US 69 had been pulled.

[Ned Weasel]

ODOT occasionally pretends to believe in the MUTCD.

https://goo.gl/maps/RcYFSZzTubwefxn8A
https://goo.gl/maps/KwMUKnpdCyy2LDuq6
https://goo.gl/maps/Vv72qkANj8uZPkoJ7
https://goo.gl/maps/wm3yX4dixYooiKa76
https://goo.gl/maps/u4tjAm6kKRMUk1bn6
https://goo.gl/maps/exo14HQr6zWoBex5A
https://goo.gl/maps/SwDApiwPvNZvMJhz9
https://goo.gl/maps/24xQPi4UfTc314Mq8

[US71]

ODOT occasionally pretends to believe in the MUTCD.

https://goo.gl/maps/RcYFSZzTubwefxn8A
https://goo.gl/maps/KwMUKnpdCyy2LDuq6
https://goo.gl/maps/Vv72qkANj8uZPkoJ7
https://goo.gl/maps/wm3yX4dixYooiKa76
https://goo.gl/maps/u4tjAm6kKRMUk1bn6
https://goo.gl/maps/exo14HQr6zWoBex5A
https://goo.gl/maps/SwDApiwPvNZvMJhz9
https://goo.gl/maps/24xQPi4UfTc314Mq8

Those are relatively new (within the last 2 years). ODOT reconfigured the service roads

[Ned Weasel]

Those are relatively new (within the last 2 years). ODOT reconfigured the service roads

I know, and they're gems of questionable sign design!  Except for the last one, which is beautiful, except for the lack of the exit numbers US 69 was supposed to be getting, and the "2nd Exit" text in the ground-mounted sign being in destination-style mixed-case text, rather than an action message.

Edit:  Oh, I also love this!
https://goo.gl/maps/RPj4JeWbTrG7Rbjb9
https://goo.gl/maps/n44Q2VmTeaEcqCxD6
https://goo.gl/maps/HkAT23JSUieCqyn88
https://goo.gl/maps/6AfwfMtinjMH9AaT7

The one-third-mile guide sign lists Eufala for US 69, but neither of the subsequent signs say which direction to go for Eufala.  Classy!

[Scott5114]

I cannot imagine what sort of failure in logic made Oklahoma think an exit tab was supposed to be blue.

I mean, hell, if they wanted to they could have gone down to Texas and used something like this as an example.

[Ned Weasel]

I cannot imagine what sort of failure in logic made Oklahoma think an exit tab was supposed to be blue.

It's not just that it's blue.  On those exit gore signs, it's on the left, and it repeats the word "EXIT."  My brain lit up in flames, flipped 180 degrees, and exited from itself the first time I saw that.

[rte66man]

You could have this:

[US71]

You could have this:

Must be on a non-freeway route?

[sparker]

You could have this:

Must be on a non-freeway route?

Wonder what they're paying their sign shop crews?  Maybe not enough to get them to look at the order sheet carefully -- or too much, and they just don't bother to care any more.  Either way, the situation illustrated above is ludicrous! 

[Scott5114]

You could have this:

Must be on a non-freeway route?

No, that's I-35 north of Ardmore.

[US71]

You could have this:

Must be on a non-freeway route?

No, that's I-35 north of Ardmore.

There are so many things wrong here

[Road Hog]

Remember, this is the state that brought us the Craig County Frankensign.

[Ned Weasel]

You could have this:

Holy crap, I didn't notice it until the second time!

[Scott5114]

The sad thing is, other than the exit tab, that sign is pretty nice for Oklahoma. Margins are adequate, interline spacing is more-or-less correct, text is centered properly, kerning is correct.

Sometime I should post a thread of "average" work by OK. Signs that commit errors that are not eye-bleach level but just...kind of crummy. There's a ton of signs that use the wrong type of arrow, for instance. Or where the centering or spacing is off by a foot or so. These sorts of signs make up the majority of what we have to look at here.

[sparker]

Didn't know ODOT was still using Clearview.  Just adding to the general weirdness of that particular sign!

[okroads]

Didn't know ODOT was still using Clearview.  Just adding to the general weirdness of that particular sign!

That sign has been around since at least March 2014. It was replaced sometime between March 2012 & March 2014.

[US71]

Didn't know ODOT was still using Clearview.  Just adding to the general weirdness of that particular sign!

That sign has been around since at least March 2014. It was replaced sometime between March 2012 & March 2014.

I didn't think it had been that long.

[sparker]

Didn't know ODOT was still using Clearview.  Just adding to the general weirdness of that particular sign!

That sign has been around since at least March 2014. It was replaced sometime between March 2012 & March 2014.

I didn't think it had been that long.

Looks to be in pretty good condition for a sign in that part of the country -- considering the weather it endures -- that's been up for six years.  Signage "anomalies" aside, does ODOT actually have an active maintenance program for their signage (and if they do, could they please let Caltrans in on their "secret"?)?

[Scott5114]

Not as far as I can tell. My commute involves going through a patch of 80s/90s button copy, then an interchange with brand new signs from 2015 or so, an interchange with some Clearview from 2012, then retroreflective signs from the 2000s the rest of the way.

Usually we get new signs whenever interchange or other reconstruction work happens, or when one gets damaged by a vehicle strike. Everything stays mismatched in terms of style for a while, until ODOT lets a sign contract that does something like 50 miles worth of interstate in one fell swoop.

[US71]

Not as far as I can tell. My commute involves going through a patch of 80s/90s button copy, then an interchange with brand new signs from 2015 or so, an interchange with some Clearview from 2012, then retroreflective signs from the 2000s the rest of the way.

Usually we get new signs whenever interchange or other reconstruction work happens, or when one gets damaged by a vehicle strike. Everything stays mismatched in terms of style for a while, until ODOT lets a sign contract that does something like 50 miles worth of interstate in one fell swoop.

ODOT has upgraded most of the signs on US 69 south of I-40 (including Business OK 69 at McAlester). North of I-40 seems to be hit and miss, though, especially north of Muskogee

[sparker]

Not as far as I can tell. My commute involves going through a patch of 80s/90s button copy, then an interchange with brand new signs from 2015 or so, an interchange with some Clearview from 2012, then retroreflective signs from the 2000s the rest of the way.

Usually we get new signs whenever interchange or other reconstruction work happens, or when one gets damaged by a vehicle strike. Everything stays mismatched in terms of style for a while, until ODOT lets a sign contract that does something like 50 miles worth of interstate in one fell swoop.

ODOT has upgraded most of the signs on US 69 south of I-40 (including Business OK 69 at McAlester). North of I-40 seems to be hit and miss, though, especially north of Muskogee

That might be an indication that if ODOT elects, down the road a bit, to bite the bullet regarding local obstacles and commences planning for a continuous freeway along US 69 and/or 75 -- particularly if TX makes moves to drag I-45 up US 75 to the state line -- that such an effort will be limited to a facility south of I-40, particularly with the Muskogee backlash a couple of years back.  That would be about as much as the agency could handle in the near term; extending such a concept northward would need to wait for a more favorable atmosphere coincident with funding availability.  Getting both in the same timeframe might be a stretch; I wouldn't expect any similar improvement north of Checotah for at least another 25-30 years at the earliest.   

[Scott5114]

I don't think you can reasonably predict what ODOT will do based on any sort of past action. It's like watching a Roomba. While you can tell internally it has some sort of plan, and the job usually gets done eventually, the route it takes is hard to predict and makes no apparent sense to an untrained observer.

[rte66man]

Didn't know ODOT was still using Clearview.  Just adding to the general weirdness of that particular sign!

That sign has been around since at least March 2014. It was replaced sometime between March 2012 & March 2014.

I didn't think it had been that long.

I took the photo in 2016 so that fits.  Yes, it is still there as of 6 weeks ago.