Need photos: US 218 truncated in Owatonna, MN

Started by usends, November 30, 2012, 02:17:34 PM

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usends

Received a report saying the northernmost 3 miles of US 218 have been truncated.  The part that used to be co-signed with US 14 to the former terminus at I-35 is now signed as "TO US 218".  So now US 218 ends at its junction with US 14 (again, this is according to signage - I don't think MNDOT hasn't formalized this with AASHTO).  If anyone is able to get photos of the signs at these junctions, I'll update the page at usends.com
http://usends.com/10-19/218/218.html
usends.com - US highway endpoints, photos, maps, and history


iowahighways

I was up that way in May, and the "END US 218" assembly was not posted at I-35 or the US 14 split... but rather the interchange in between the two, at County Road 45: North end of US 218.

For the record, the first assembly east of I-35 had a "TO" sign above the US 218 shield, but the one after it (which I don't have a photo of) had a "NORTH" banner.

I'm not sure if things have changed since then, since I was up there before the new US 14 west of I-35 opened.
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Alex

I emailed Chris Kalina (I94RoadRunner) about it and he said he will get down there soon.

QuoteI was down to drive the new US 14 freeway just before Thanksgiving, but never noticed any changes to US 218 .....

agentsteel53

there is a possibility, albeit slight, that I will be there Dec 15th.  if so, I will get the relevant photos.

(I'm driving from MSP airport to Clear Lake, SD.  so far I'm thinking a straight shot across on US-212 is the way to go.)
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Mdcastle

I wouldn't count the field signage as the final word on where a Minnesota trunk highway ends, as we've found it's been wrong before. All the signs in the area were replaced as part of the US 14 freeway extension to the west, and it's possible they just made them up with "to" on for some reason with nothing actually changed. I don't think US 218 ends now or ever ended where the assembly is at the county road, the official MN/Dot county map definitely shows the ending at I-35, and there's be no reason to cut it back just to the county road that hasn't been a trunk highway for many decades. I think they just put the end asssembly well in advance to avoid clutter at the cloverleaf and it just happened to fall about where the county road is.

Molandfreak

I was the one who sent you that message. I'll be taking a trip to Tyler today, and I might be through the area. Are night pictures ok?
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

froggie

I just checked MnDOT's Logpoint, which was updated last month.  US 218 still ends at the I-35/US 14 interchange.

Molandfreak

Quote from: froggie on December 08, 2012, 03:52:58 PM
I just checked MnDOT's Logpoint, which was updated last month.  US 218 still ends at the I-35/US 14 interchange.

Dang. Sorry for wasting everyone's time...
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

usends

Quote from: Molandfreak on December 11, 2012, 07:06:34 PM
Sorry for wasting everyone's time...

Well, (tell me if I'm wrong), the fact remains that MN DOT appears to have been very intentional about changing references to US 218 when the new US 14 expressway was opened.  For example, I think you said US 218 is no longer signed from I-35, correct?  (other than a "218 follow 14 east" sign?) 
usends.com - US highway endpoints, photos, maps, and history

Molandfreak

Quote from: usends on December 12, 2012, 11:09:31 AM
Quote from: Molandfreak on December 11, 2012, 07:06:34 PM
Sorry for wasting everyone's time...

Well, (tell me if I'm wrong), the fact remains that MN DOT appears to have been very intentional about changing references to US 218 when the new US 14 expressway was opened.  For example, I think you said US 218 is no longer signed from I-35, correct?  (other than a "218 follow 14 east" sign?)

Yep, the sign is in the flickr pictures posted by iowahighways. Unfortunately, the day I took the trip to Owatonna was a foggy day and I couldn't get a shot. The next opportunity I have to get better photos is a couple weeks away. :-/
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

Molandfreak

Quote from: Molandfreak on December 12, 2012, 11:47:09 AM
Quote from: usends on December 12, 2012, 11:09:31 AM
Quote from: Molandfreak on December 11, 2012, 07:06:34 PM
Sorry for wasting everyone's time...

Well, (tell me if I'm wrong), the fact remains that MN DOT appears to have been very intentional about changing references to US 218 when the new US 14 expressway was opened.  For example, I think you said US 218 is no longer signed from I-35, correct?  (other than a "218 follow 14 east" sign?)

Yep, the sign is in the flickr pictures posted by iowahighways. Unfortunately, the day I took the trip to Owatonna was a foggy day and I couldn't get a shot. The next opportunity I have to get better photos is a couple weeks away. :-/

Dang. I was wrong. The specific sign I was talking about wasn't in the pictures, just the "To 218" sign.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

froggie

QuoteWell, (tell me if I'm wrong), the fact remains that MN DOT appears to have been very intentional about changing references to US 218 when the new US 14 expressway was opened.  For example, I think you said US 218 is no longer signed from I-35, correct?  (other than a "218 follow 14 east" sign?)

As I recall from the project sign plans (which I got a glimpse of last time I was home), on I-35 was going to be a secondary guide sign stating something along the lines of "TO US 218 SOUTH, Austin, Exit 40A".

I believe the "END US 218" sign was posted where it was in order to reduce confusion with all the I-35 exit signage approaching that interchange.

Molandfreak

Quote from: froggie on December 18, 2012, 08:03:02 AM
QuoteWell, (tell me if I'm wrong), the fact remains that MN DOT appears to have been very intentional about changing references to US 218 when the new US 14 expressway was opened.  For example, I think you said US 218 is no longer signed from I-35, correct?  (other than a "218 follow 14 east" sign?)

As I recall from the project sign plans (which I got a glimpse of last time I was home), on I-35 was going to be a secondary guide sign stating something along the lines of "TO US 218 SOUTH, Austin, Exit 40A".

I believe the "END US 218" sign was posted where it was in order to reduce confusion with all the I-35 exit signage approaching that interchange.

Correct, that's the sign I'm referring to on I-35!
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on December 05, 2023, 08:24:57 PM
AASHTO attributes 28.5% of highway inventory shrink to bad road fan social media posts.

I94RoadRunner

Quote from: Alex on November 30, 2012, 10:08:27 PM
I emailed Chris Kalina (I94RoadRunner) about it and he said he will get down there soon.

QuoteI was down to drive the new US 14 freeway just before Thanksgiving, but never noticed any changes to US 218 .....

Last time I was in Owatonna, there was no End shield for US 218. If one ever appears, I will take a photo of it!
Chris Kalina

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TheHighwayMan3561

Quote from: I94RoadRunner on November 19, 2013, 08:08:42 PM
Quote from: Alex on November 30, 2012, 10:08:27 PM
I emailed Chris Kalina (I94RoadRunner) about it and he said he will get down there soon.

QuoteI was down to drive the new US 14 freeway just before Thanksgiving, but never noticed any changes to US 218 .....

Last time I was in Owatonna, there was no End shield for US 218. If one ever appears, I will take a photo of it!

That implies they removed the one that was there, which would be weird...
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I94RoadRunner

Quote from: TheHighwayMan394 on November 20, 2013, 11:31:45 PM
Quote from: I94RoadRunner on November 19, 2013, 08:08:42 PM
Quote from: Alex on November 30, 2012, 10:08:27 PM
I emailed Chris Kalina (I94RoadRunner) about it and he said he will get down there soon.

QuoteI was down to drive the new US 14 freeway just before Thanksgiving, but never noticed any changes to US 218 .....

Last time I was in Owatonna, there was no End shield for US 218. If one ever appears, I will take a photo of it!

That implies they removed the one that was there, which would be weird...

It must be on westbound US 14 where US 218 was multiplexed. I typically am headed eastbound when down there .....
Chris Kalina

“The easiest solution to fixing the I-238 problem is to redefine I-580 as I-38

usends

For whatever reason, MNDoT has been very meticulous about using County 45 as the terminus for US 218 signage, and not just along the US 14 freeway.  For traffic on northbound and southbound 45, US 218 is signed only to the east: http://www.usends.com/218.html
usends.com - US highway endpoints, photos, maps, and history

froggie

Yet, Logpoint still shows the terminus as the I-35/US 14 interchange...

NE2

Was 218 north signed from CR 45 prior to the change? Or have signs always only marked 218 south there?
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TheHighwayMan3561

#19
Quote from: NE2 on August 27, 2017, 12:57:13 AM
Was 218 north signed from CR 45 prior to the change? Or have signs always only marked 218 south there?

Previously, the signs on 45 at the interchange did show US 218 going west on 14 toward I-35. When the new US 14 alignment opened, these signs were replaced with the current setup. So indeed this is another indicator that MnDOT really wants to suggest CR 45 is now the US 218 endpoint rather than I-35.
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froggie

Or they're just de-empthasizing it.  If they really were truncating it, they'd have updated Logpoint by now.

The Ghostbuster

Why was US 218 co-signed with US 14 in the first place? Was it so 218 ended at an Interstate highway?

usends

I emailed MNDoT, asking about the discrepancy between route description and route signage.  Here is the relevant portion of the response I received:

Quote
Thanks for taking the time to note and explain what you saw. We appreciate it. It appears this was changed when the new US TH 14 was constructed and US 218 beginning and ending locations should not have been changed.

We will be moving the WB TH 14 sign closer to I-35 and then EB TH 14 we will remove the "TO" above the US 218 route marker with a "SOUTH" plaque.  We are preparing the work orders to do this.

We try to catch most changes -- and we've got a great batting average in doing so -- but sometimes something gets past us as we try to monitor, maintain or replace nearly 50,000 in our 11-county district. We appreciate the extra set of eyes and the willingness to spend a few moments to ask the question.
usends.com - US highway endpoints, photos, maps, and history

DandyDan

One thing I have noticed is approaching US 14 southbound on I-35, there is a sign which says US 218 Austin for that particular exit. More to the point, it does not have a TO in front of it.
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triplemultiplex

Quote from: usends on August 29, 2017, 08:48:53 PM
I emailed MNDoT, asking about the discrepancy between route description and route signage.  Here is the relevant portion of the response I received:

Quote
Thanks for taking the time to note and explain what you saw. We appreciate it. It appears this was changed when the new US TH 14 was constructed and US 218 beginning and ending locations should not have been changed.

We will be moving the WB TH 14 sign closer to I-35 and then EB TH 14 we will remove the "TO" above the US 218 route marker with a "SOUTH" plaque.  We are preparing the work orders to do this.

We try to catch most changes -- and we've got a great batting average in doing so -- but sometimes something gets past us as we try to monitor, maintain or replace nearly 50,000 in our 11-county district. We appreciate the extra set of eyes and the willingness to spend a few moments to ask the question.

Wow, they're actually going to fix it because of your email.  That's pretty cool.
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