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Massachusetts

Started by hotdogPi, October 12, 2013, 04:50:12 PM

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bob7374

Quote from: Pete from Boston on May 22, 2014, 09:44:27 PM
Almost more puzzling is this sign a few hundred yards north of there on Mt. Vernon St>:

http://goo.gl/maps/KOYkQ

Route 3?  When was the last time Route 3 ran separately from 93?
That sign was probably replaced at the same time the other signs in the area, like the one below, were, earlier this year. The previous ones in this area had all been installed before I-93 was routed along the Expressway.


SidS1045

Quote from: Pete from Boston on May 22, 2014, 09:28:16 PM
Are the speeds calculated by cell phone signals?  And if so, are they rounded down to the speed limit?

Last I heard, they used Bluetooth signals.  They're not necessarily rounded down, either.  A few days ago I encountered a travel-time VMS on the MassPike which stated "27 MILES - 24 MINUTES."  That's 67.5mph in a 65 zone.
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves." - Edward R. Murrow

hotdogPi

Quote from: SidS1045 on May 23, 2014, 11:52:14 AM
They're not necessarily rounded down, either.  A few days ago I encountered a travel-time VMS on the MassPike which stated "27 MILES - 24 MINUTES."  That's 67.5mph in a 65 zone.

VMS times going above the speed limit is not new. I have seen "16 miles 14 minutes".
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Pete from Boston

I don't know -- those distances at 65mph are reached in the times posted plus sone fraction.  I'm not saying this is how they do it, but based on these examples if they do drop the fraction it works out. 

Alps

Depends on the state. NJ won't go above the limit, but it DOES average 55 and 65 zones (I-287 south from I-80: 14 miles, 14 minutes). Some states intentionally underestimate at 50-55 in a 65, other states just tell it like it is (I think Chicagoland is honest) regardless of speeding.


Quote(I think Chicagoland is honest)
EDIT: I think that's the first time anyone has typed that unironically.

bob7374

Is this another case of a DCR (Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, former MDC) Parkway Unit sign goof? The BBS (Big Brown Sign) on Soldiers Field Road westbound, seen below, recently replaced a BGS with the same info. I know there is some sort of educational institution near Harvard Square, but does the Square itself (or Cambridge as a whole) merit a completely brown sign?

cl94

Quote from: Alps on May 23, 2014, 07:58:42 PM
Depends on the state. NJ won't go above the limit, but it DOES average 55 and 65 zones (I-287 south from I-80: 14 miles, 14 minutes). Some states intentionally underestimate at 50-55 in a 65, other states just tell it like it is (I think Chicagoland is honest) regardless of speeding.


Quote(I think Chicagoland is honest)
EDIT: I think that's the first time anyone has typed that unironically.

As an aside, New York goes above the limit on Long Island. I've seen a VMS on the Northern State with a time that is only possible if you're going 70 (in a 55). No matter how I rounded it, you'd be speeding. Not that people actually go 55 on that road...
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

Travel Mapping (updated weekly)

roadman

#82
Quote from: bob7374 on July 12, 2014, 10:15:13 PM
Is this another case of a DCR (Dept. of Conservation and Recreation, former MDC) Parkway Unit sign goof? The BBS (Big Brown Sign) on Soldiers Field Road westbound, seen below, recently replaced a BGS with the same info. I know there is some sort of educational institution near Harvard Square, but does the Square itself (or Cambridge as a whole) merit a completely brown sign?
AFAIK, per current DCR Parkway signing standards, this sign should be green, not brown.  Even if the intent of the sign was to point people to Harvard University, it would still be green.  For signing purposes, colleges and universities are not considered historic (no matter how many decades they've been around), cultural, or recreational facilities.

fixed quoting -I
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

Pete from Boston

I don't think the dcr or MDC before it has ever viewed sign standards as particularly important.

KEVIN_224

These three pictures were from I-95 North by the Merrimack River, in or near Newburyport and Amesbury, MA on June 17, 2014. There's a huge bridge replacement project going on in that region right now.




Pete from Boston

I completely forgot I had pics of this somewhere to post.  Huge project–looks like lane realignments over 2-3 miles to accommodate staging construction with the current bridge there.

That blue I-beam, it should be noted, is about 10 feet tall.

This is a pretty large project to have so little chatter about here, much like the Crosby's Corner relocation, which I'll also post pics of if I ever get around to it.

Alps

Quote from: Pete from Boston on July 26, 2014, 08:50:51 PM
I completely forgot I had pics of this somewhere to post.  Huge project–looks like lane realignments over 2-3 miles to accommodate staging construction with the current bridge there.

That blue I-beam, it should be noted, is about 10 feet tall.

This is a pretty large project to have so little chatter about here, much like the Crosby's Corner relocation, which I'll also post pics of if I ever get around to it.
I'm upset about that truss disappearing, but shoulders are nice. Not just the bridge being reconstructed, but several small structures on either side of it. No chatter because it's a fairly cut-and-dried project with little intrigue and not a major new highway.

hotdogPi

I want a picture of something.

It's a VMS southbound on I-93, just a few feet after the "Exit 42" sign.

Notice the duplicated letters on the top row. What you see below is not exact, but it's close.

NIGHHT
WORK
AHEAD

M'CYCCLE
USE
CAUTION

MILLLED
SURFACE
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

KEVIN_224

Yes...that blue I-Beam was freakin' HUGE! Also, those three pictures were in order heading north on I-95. The first picture was in Newburyport, MA, north of Exit 57 (MA Route 113) and south of the Merrimack River.

There was this tiny picture heading southbound later that day:



I couldn't help but notice that the state seal things are gone above each side of the road on the old bridge.

Pete from Boston


Quote from: Alps on July 26, 2014, 09:00:04 PM
Quote from: Pete from Boston on July 26, 2014, 08:50:51 PM
I completely forgot I had pics of this somewhere to post.  Huge project–looks like lane realignments over 2-3 miles to accommodate staging construction with the current bridge there.

That blue I-beam, it should be noted, is about 10 feet tall.

This is a pretty large project to have so little chatter about here, much like the Crosby's Corner relocation, which I'll also post pics of if I ever get around to it.
I'm upset about that truss disappearing, but shoulders are nice. Not just the bridge being reconstructed, but several small structures on either side of it. No chatter because it's a fairly cut-and-dried project with little intrigue and not a major new highway.

Not much intrigue, but still something interesting to see.  The new bridge, it seems, will at least echo the arch of the old one, but with more style than substance:

http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/newburyport-whittier-bridgei-95-project-work-update/

Pete from Boston

Today's Globe reports that further remnants of the abandoned I-95 project in Saugus are being removed after 40 years.  Sand from the 90-foot-wide berm across Rumney Marsh is being trucked down the road to replenish Winthrop Beach:

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/regionals/north/2014/07/26/state-driving-million-winthrop-beach-rumney-marsh-project/67XgkGLSjw1NoQeO7O4fRK/story.html

I believe part was already removed in the 1990s as part of the agreements permitting the Big Dig to proceed, but the article doesn't mention that.

roadman

Quote from: 1 on July 26, 2014, 09:00:36 PM
I want a picture of something.

It's a VMS southbound on I-93, just a few feet after the "Exit 42" sign.

Notice the duplicated letters on the top row. What you see below is not exact, but it's close.

NIGHHT
WORK
AHEAD

M'CYCCLE
USE
CAUTION

MILLLED
SURFACE

Saw that VMS myself last Thursday, but couldn't snap a picture.  Glad to know I wasn't imagining things.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

bob7374

Changing topics slightly to variable messages for motorists from permanent sign placements, or the lack of them. Coming back from a family trip to the Cape last weekend, we stopped to eat in Plymouth taking Exit 6 off of MA 3 North. If MassDOT is not considering decommissioning US 44 east of MA 3, then they are doing a good job in hiding the route's existence. While the pull through signs on MA 3 put up during the last sign replacement contract do indicate US 44 and MA 3 run between exits 6 and 7, the paddle signage at the end of the Exit 6 ramp only indicated Samoset Street East and West. There were also no US 44 shields between MA 3 and MA 3A with the lone exception of an End US 44 sign approaching MA 3A. Heading west from Plymouth there is an old paddle sign on Samoset approaching 3A indicating US 44 West is straight ahead, but the new signs put up on 3A itself refer to West MA 44. There were, again, no US 44 shields west of 3A to 3, except for a lone trailblazer for US 44 west at the MA 3 on-ramp. The paddle signs at the intersection only refer to MA 3 North. There was also only a MA 3 reassurance marker after Exit 6. Don't know if the same sign patterns occur for the southbound Exit 6A ramp. For US 3 fans, (or those who would prefer US 3 south of Boston) there still is an erroneous South US 3 route marker southbound after the MA 14 exit in Duxbury (an erroneous North US 3 sign put up during a bridge replacement after Exit 14 in Rockland last year has been replaced).

bob7374

Another photo I took over the weekend was one of the two greened-over and updated paddle/guide signs for the intersection of MA 53 and Derby Street in Hingham. Derby Street was officially MA 228 (and before that 128) up until at least 10 years ago. The signs have been up for at least 20 years indicating that MA 228 (North or South, depending on the sign) turned left onto Derby Street to get to MA 3. These were updated last month, and look like this now:

However, none of the related trailblazer/reassurance markers at the intersection have been taken down, even the one a few feet behind where the photo was taken. One of the trailblazers in fact has even had its North banner replaced in the last couple years (that's the one you can see the back of across the intersection in the photo). It appears MassDOT can only fix one type of sign at a time.

southshore720

It's about time they fixed this!  I alerted MA DOT to this about 5 years ago and they were in complete shock when I told them.  They said they would take care of it.  Who knew it would be 5 years later!

bob7374

Quote from: bob7374 on August 01, 2014, 02:44:17 PM
Another photo I took over the weekend was one of the two greened-over and updated paddle/guide signs for the intersection of MA 53 and Derby Street in Hingham. Derby Street was officially MA 228 (and before that 128) up until at least 10 years ago. The signs have been up for at least 20 years indicating that MA 228 (North or South, depending on the sign) turned left onto Derby Street to get to MA 3. These were updated last month, and look like this now:

However, none of the related trailblazer/reassurance markers at the intersection have been taken down, even the one a few feet behind where the photo was taken. One of the trailblazers in fact has even had its North banner replaced in the last couple years (that's the one you can see the back of across the intersection in the photo). It appears MassDOT can only fix one type of sign at a time.
Thought I'd provide a photo of the shields remaining beyond the intersection southbound:

These date from the 1980s, the directional banner is at least 10 years older. All the photos referred to above are on my Misc. Mass sign page:
http://www.gribblenation.net/mass21/miscsigns.html

Mergingtraffic

How old are these signs? they're on the ramp from I-290 to I-190.

I thought the date on the front said 5-85 but that seems too late as I-190 opened in 1983 but the ramps might have been built as early as 1975.  If 5-85 is the correct date, it seems kinda late for non-reflective button copy.






Off topic: Why does MASS put button copy interstate shields on BGSs?  Is it because button copy is brighter than demountable?
I only take pics of good looking signs. Long live non-reflective button copy!
MergingTraffic https://www.flickr.com/photos/98731835@N05/

roadman

@doofy103  Massachusetts started putting button copy numerals on overhead sign Interstate shields in the mid 1980s.  This was after MassDPW had some bad experiences with numerals on silk screened shields prematurely fading.  For several years after the manufacturing of button copy was officially discontinued, at least one of MassHighway's sign fabricators continued to make the numerals in-house.

Most overhead signs on Massachusetts roadways with button copy numeral Interstate shields were installed during the "second generation" signing replacement projects completed between the early 1990s and the early 2000s.

In the late-2000s, MassDOT recognized that continued use of button copy numerals was impractical, and then changed their specifications to now require demountable HIP numerals on overhead sign Interstate shields instead.
"And ninety-five is the route you were on.  It was not the speed limit sign."  - Jim Croce (from Speedball Tucker)

"My life has been a tapestry
Of years of roads and highway signs" (with apologies to Carole King and Tom Rush)

PHLBOS

Quote from: doofy103 on August 11, 2014, 09:11:40 PM
How old are these signs? they're on the ramp from I-290 to I-190.

I thought the date on the front said 5-85 but that seems too late as I-190 opened in 1983 but the ramps might have been built as early as 1975.  If 5-85 is the correct date, it seems kinda late for non-reflective button copy.





For a brief period, some DPW projects used button-copy lettering for its BGS'; the BGS' now being replaced along the Southeast Expressway (I-93) were installed in the mid-80s also had button-copy lettering but used reflective backgrounds.

As far as those I-290 BGS' were concerned; the selection of non-reflective button-copy (lettering only) may have been done in order to match in kind with the older BGS' along I-290 beyond the interchange so there would be a more uniform look... if such was indeed erected in the mid-80s.

IMHO, I have to wonder if that 5-85 datestamp was a mistake and should've been 5-75
GPS does NOT equal GOD

roadman65

I was just browsing around the internet reading up (and of course virtually traveling the roads via GSV) and noticed a few things interesting about MA roads. 

First of all, I noticed that after reading the article on the Sumner Tunnel in Boston on Wikipedia that MA 1A is sort of discontinuous at its southern terminus with its parent in North Park, Boston since the Big Dig.  I see now the SB Sumner Tunnel defaults into either NB I-93 & US 1 or MA 3 NB (Storrow Drive), but has no ramps connecting to SB US 1 (or I-93 either).  Motorists are to use either the Ted Williams Tunnel or make a turnabout at the Government Center.

Second, I noticed that the MA- RI border on US 1 is signed as it was a simple town line as no mention of the states except NB where US 1 crosses under I-95 one half mile north of the actual state line.  Instead a two sided black on white sign reads Entering Pawtuckett going SB and Entering Attleboro going NB.

Finally the fact that Massachusetts will not allow for US 1A to be a US designation in Attleboro.  US 1A is not connected at its northern end except via 2 miles of MA Route 1A (Newport Avenue) which I find interesting as well.  Though many northerners do not care about designations like in the south many do not notice it, but I would figure that AASHTO would and force MA to sign it as US 1A and not its own alternate being that it is commissioned in Rhode Island as US 1 Alternate.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe



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