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Aging road signs

Started by Billy F 1988, December 26, 2012, 12:18:18 AM

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Stephane Dumas

There still a old BBS(big blue sign) soldiering on A-10 east near PQ-235 http://goo.gl/maps/HGv29  Installed back when A-10 was a toll road.


Billy F 1988

Quote from: NE2 on December 30, 2012, 07:19:10 AM
Quote from: Billy F 1988 on December 30, 2012, 05:05:19 AM

This sign plate dates back to the very late 60's to mid 70's when US 10 was still in commission. The underpass in Frenchtown is named after Henry Lavoie, thus "LAVOIE UNDERPASS". Much of the "UNDERPASS" lettering has fallen off over time, and parts of the border have fallen off, too.
Is it just me, or did someone modify this to say UNDERPANTS?

Only some crazy fool near town would do that. Thankfully, that wasn't the case. Might be that white residue that caught your attention thinking someone said UNDERPANTS and not UNDERPASS.
Finally upgraded to Expressway after, what, seven or so years on this forum? Took a dadgum while, but, I made it!

NE2

OK, if it's not for UNDERPANTS, why is there a third S?
pre-1945 Florida route log

I accept and respect your identity as long as it's not dumb shit like "identifying as a vaccinated attack helicopter".

ftballfan

Quote from: Billy F 1988 on December 30, 2012, 05:05:19 AM

Uber-aged US 10 shield painted on the old Milwaukee Road trestle that crossed over Old US 10 (present day Nine Mile Road).


There's the bridge I'm talking about. The US 10 shield is on the right.


This sign plate dates back to the very late 60's to mid 70's when US 10 was still in commission. The underpass in Frenchtown is named after Henry Lavoie, thus "LAVOIE UNDERPASS". Much of the "UNDERPASS" lettering has fallen off over time, and parts of the border have fallen off, too.
Are these all by each other?

Billy F 1988

#29
Quote from: ftballfan on December 30, 2012, 02:57:17 PM
Quote from: Billy F 1988 on December 30, 2012, 05:05:19 AM

Uber-aged US 10 shield painted on the old Milwaukee Road trestle that crossed over Old US 10 (present day Nine Mile Road).


There's the bridge I'm talking about. The US 10 shield is on the right.


This sign plate dates back to the very late 60's to mid 70's when US 10 was still in commission. The underpass in Frenchtown is named after Henry Lavoie, thus "LAVOIE UNDERPASS". Much of the "UNDERPASS" lettering has fallen off over time, and parts of the border have fallen off, too.
Are these all by each other?

Separate. That Lavoie Underpass plate runs along Houle Creek Road in Frenchtown, MT, the US 10 bridge on Nine Mile Road is near Huson, MT. Two different locations.
Finally upgraded to Expressway after, what, seven or so years on this forum? Took a dadgum while, but, I made it!

Alps


Billy F 1988

Tim Brown must be in Alanland right at this very moment. Or he could be in Perkins Union. I'd check there.

Anyways, moving right along:


A cream white stop sign just in the front of Sentinel High School flanking Bancroft Street. Yep. No joke. All the red is gone. I'm surprised to see the border and letters reflect from the flash off of my camera even after the octagon lost all of its former color. Pretty easy to just invert it and make a black-on-white stop sign, eh?


This one is already in the sign gallery thread, but I'll show this one here, too. This gantry overlooking Brooks Street and Stephens Avenue was installed around late 1984 to mid 1985. That sign lamp doesn't work somehow, mainly because the wiring for the lamp has frayed over time.


This assembly dates back to around '85 or '86. This one is also along Brooks Street and Stephens Avenue where US 12 and US 93 Business depart from their concurrency.
Finally upgraded to Expressway after, what, seven or so years on this forum? Took a dadgum while, but, I made it!

hbelkins

Doesn't really show too well in the picture, but this PA 132 sign has been around awhile.



But it's not as old as these right before it:







Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Roadsguy

On the frontage roads of Woodhaven Road (PA 63) in NE Philadelphia at Thornton Road, there are a bunch of old, button copy BGSes as old as the expressway itself. But the frontage roads are city-maintained, even though Woodhaven is PennDOT-maintained. Naturally, PennDOT and the city are arguing over who doesn't have to replace them, as the city says PennDOT put them up, but PennDOT says they're on city right-of-way (which they are).

I say just turn over the frontage roads to PennDOT. :P
Mileage-based exit numbering implies the existence of mileage-cringe exit numbering.

Truvelo

There's fading signs over here too such as this. Names are supposed to be white and route numbers yellow.
Speed limits limit life

Quillz

Quote from: Billy F 1988 on December 28, 2012, 04:59:51 PM
My guess is just as good as anyone else's. My guess is that it's a 24x24 '61 series cutout.

The I-70, US 151 and Tennessee triangle signs are one of my favorites.
It's not. I've made a '61-spec cutout and it doesn't look like that. It seems to be a style that was only used in Ohio and Virginia, with the exception of one US-6 route shield in Bishop, CA.

Central Avenue

This probably isn't as old as it looks, since Ohio was one of the last states to use button copy, but it seems to be the one remaining button copy sign in a long stretch of ClearviewHwy:



(Also, as Google Street View can attest, it's actually a very faded brown--it only looks green here because I tried to correct for the weird tint a windshield tends to give photos.)
Routewitches. These children of the moving road gather strength from travel . . . Rather than controlling the road, routewitches choose to work with it, borrowing its strength and using it to make bargains with entities both living and dead. -- Seanan McGuire, Sparrow Hill Road

PHLBOS

In Boston, along westbound Soldiers Field Road, there's an 80s-MDC-spec'd overhead BGS that features a very faded I-90 shield (just before the Cambridge St. exit).  One only sees a white I-shield on it.
GPS does NOT equal GOD

Billy F 1988



Talk about aging! What the hell happened to these boys?! Did someone just happen to sandblast them?! *just kidding!* I mean, look at the I-72 shield assembly! 97% of the blue is stripped nearly to the aluminum primer! Thankfully, the US 36 shield aged more gracefully.
Finally upgraded to Expressway after, what, seven or so years on this forum? Took a dadgum while, but, I made it!

US71

Quote from: Billy F 1988 on January 06, 2013, 04:45:18 AM


Talk about aging! What the hell happened to these boys?! Did someone just happen to sandblast them?! *just kidding!* I mean, look at the I-72 shield assembly! 97% of the blue is stripped nearly to the aluminum primer! Thankfully, the US 36 shield aged more gracefully.

Could the 36 shield be newer?
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

deathtopumpkins











Just a couple I've found around.
Thanks to Steve Alpert for finding the last one.
Disclaimer: All posts represent my personal opinions and not those of my employer.

Clinched Highways | Counties Visited

US71


Along US 65 (original alignment) north of Harrison
Date on the back says 1973.


old 69/54 split at Fort Scott, KS


Pontiac, IL


Old US 54, Deerfield, MO


Berryville, AR (long since replaced)


US 412 west of Tulsa
Like Alice I Try To Believe Three Impossible Things Before Breakfast

US12

Cranston Road, Beloit Wisconsin dates back at least pre i 39



Billy F 1988

Quote from: US71 on January 06, 2013, 09:13:33 AM
Quote from: Billy F 1988 on January 06, 2013, 04:45:18 AM


Talk about aging! What the hell happened to these boys?! Did someone just happen to sandblast them?! *just kidding!* I mean, look at the I-72 shield assembly! 97% of the blue is stripped nearly to the aluminum primer! Thankfully, the US 36 shield aged more gracefully.

Could the 36 shield be newer?

The US 36 shield may have been installed as recently as circa 1987.
Finally upgraded to Expressway after, what, seven or so years on this forum? Took a dadgum while, but, I made it!

national highway 1

"Set up road signs; put up guideposts. Take note of the highway, the road that you take." Jeremiah 31:21

Scott5114

Quote from: Billy F 1988 on January 06, 2013, 03:14:57 PM
Quote from: US71 on January 06, 2013, 09:13:33 AM
Quote from: Billy F 1988 on January 06, 2013, 04:45:18 AM


Talk about aging! What the hell happened to these boys?! Did someone just happen to sandblast them?! *just kidding!* I mean, look at the I-72 shield assembly! 97% of the blue is stripped nearly to the aluminum primer! Thankfully, the US 36 shield aged more gracefully.

Could the 36 shield be newer?

The US 36 shield may have been installed as recently as circa 1987.

My guess for why the 36 shield is apparently in better shape is because the blank ink used on the 36 shield is more durable than whatever was used for the blue on the 72. Blue has to be partially transparent to allow light through the retroreflective layer underneath. Black doesn't have to have that. (Jake might be able to explain this better.)
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

hbelkins



Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

agentsteel53

indeed, blue is a very thin layer of translucent ink, while black tends to be quite substantial, precisely to preserve its opacity.

the "honeycomb" high-intensity sheeting was notorious for flaking off like that.  the black would protect it well, while the blue would offer negligible protection.  what you are seeing there (mistakenly referred to as "aluminum primer") is actually the lowest layer of the sheeting, which ostensibly held the reflective elements in place.  as far as I know, retroreflective sheeting is applied to bare aluminum which is simply cleaned off - no primer layer is needed for optimal adhesion. 

the lowest-layer adhesion is working fine; it is the internal adhesion between the lowest layer and the reflective layer which has failed in this case.
live from sunny San Diego.

http://shields.aaroads.com

jake@aaroads.com

Bud8Amp88

http://goo.gl/maps/sLuhd
NS-322 NB. This [JCT] [207] has seen way better days. It's actually one of the few old-style Collector Route shields still kicking around the Halifax area, most of them having been replaced with These slightly blander versions.

http://goo.gl/maps/UpXDY
NS-102 NB at Fall River. The [318] shield has clearly been replaced fairly recently, but the other shields are definitely starting to show their age. Also kind of odd since most, if not all of the older BGS's around the city have been replaced over the last few years.
I'm a roadgeek...and I have the cramps in my neck to prove it...

Dr Frankenstein

Quote from: Stephane Dumas on December 30, 2012, 10:37:44 AM
There still a old BBS(big blue sign) soldiering on A-10 east near PQ-235 http://goo.gl/maps/HGv29  Installed back when A-10 was a toll road.

What's more, the signs on Hwy 235 for A-10 are also just as old. The signs on the ramps themselves were replaced this summer.



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