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Mergingtraffic:
US-6 expressway ends signs will be sheet metal. Every project as of late, the CT DOT has replaced a previous extruded aluminum sign with a sheet metal sign. Stop being cheap. I pay my exorbitant taxes, please use extruded aluminum. The state def has the money now.
Also of note: The logo services signs are included in this project too, just like the I-84 one. Makes me wonder if they will continue to replace them in future projects.
I've wondered when they'd replace the button copy logo service signs considering they're not state maintained when they're put up.
shadyjay:
--- Quote from: Mergingtraffic on September 21, 2023, 09:58:55 PM ---US-6 expressway ends signs will be sheet metal. Every project as of late, the CT DOT has replaced a previous extruded aluminum sign with a sheet metal sign. Stop being cheap. I pay my exorbitant taxes, please use extruded aluminum. The state def has the money now.
--- End quote ---
The east end of I-384 is getting extruded signs, it appears, but they're cheaping out on the Jct US 6/44 signage. Why not US 6?
Okay, town line signs I can see being sheets. Most states have used sheets for town lines for years. I do miss the "TOWN/NEXT # EXITS" signs. If there are more than 3 exits in a town, it would be nice to have such a sign, like "Manchester Next 3 Exits". Exit services could be sheets, but it would be nicer to have the sheets attached to the bottom of the 1 or 1/2 mile sign, kind of like what Maine has done in the past on the Maine Turnpike.
And onramp signage should be extruded aluminum... not the flimsy sheets. Or, if you're going to use sheets, use individual blades and route markers like what VT uses.
shadyjay:
Not the best shot, but I got this at the reconstructed onramp from Colt Highway to I-84 East at Exit 38 in Farmington, CT last weekend...
84EBonramp-Exit38 by Jay Hogan, on Flickr
This is one of the very few onramp signs with US 6 included, and the only one with "TO CT 9". Previously, there was no extruded sign here... just some aluminum shield/town signs.
The US 6 West trailblazer just beyond the onramp is a little premature, as US 6 West has yet to merge into Colt Highway from I-84 West.
Mergingtraffic:
Suprised it's extruded. As we know CT is being on the cheap with it.
So, I drove I-691 today and noticed there are some button copy signs on the westbound side still.
A sign that was put up as one of the recent 20 spot locations projects has been removed westbound. The "Exit 6 - Lewis Ave TO 71 3/4 Mile" sign is gone.
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5438449,-72.7916542,3a,75y,268.86h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sM45ZGugyjAVpSlhCaFJKTA!2e0!5s20220801T000000!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu
However, Preston Ave remains on the Exit 1 advance signage eastbound.
But what really gets me:
All 4 extruded aluminum "expressway ends" signs have been removed on the eastbound side. Only one flimsy "expressway ends 1/4 Mile" sheet metal sign is there.
Westbound, the "right lane ends" extruded sign is gone and only a sheet metal diamond road narrows sign is there.
How is that more safe for motorists?
I-84 EB, a new sign:
shadyjay:
I-691 Westbound... The Exit 2-A gantries have yet to be replaced, and as of a couple weeks ago, the Exits 1B-C gantries are also not replaced yet. I know the two Exit 2-A gantries (including the one linked above) are due to be modified as part of the 91N->691W improvment project, whose plans were released last week. The plans show the new signs on a new gantry, and the signs will be replaced. Yup... the signs that aren't even up yet will be replaced again in a project that most likely will kick off with boots on the ground in the spring of 2024. Makes about as much sense as the removal of the former Exit 6 sign from the former Exit 7 gantry... seriously, do these different departments/desks at DOT communicate with each other? You'd think someone from the "major projects" division would have reviewed the 20 spot sign locations and been like "Hey, we're replacing the signs next year anyway, so you don't have to put this one up". Or... "just put up a sheet, a la RIDOT, and we'll put a permanent one up later". I'm not a fan of making each direction have the same signage, regardless if its logical or not. Preston Ave should remain Preston Ave. Advertising former Exit 6 for "71/Chamberlain Hwy" is just wrong. And we replaced "Broad St" with "Downtown" so now we have "Downtown Meriden" and "Meriden". That eliminates confusion and makes perfect logical sense.... NOT!
Instead, we get extruded signs that seem to last a year before they're replaced, and then they cry poverty, claiming they don't have enough money to do extruded signs on the on-ramps, expressway ends signs, or even exit services/park & rides. And that adding a service bar would put too much weight onto the sign. How 'bout just tacking the symbols on sheet aluminum at the bottom of the 1 or 1/2 mile extruded sign. Then, maybe, they won't get hit by renegade vehicles or knocked over in the wind. Can't wait to see what damage the plows do to them.
Now I can see the town line signs going to sheets... most states have been doing that for years (if they even post town line signs.. I don't think the NYS Thruway does). What I do miss is that if there's multiple exits in a town, then there should be a "[town name] / NEXT ## EXITS" sign. Like "Meriden/Next 8 Exits".
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