Longest signal mast arm

[DuskDarf1]

I was driving around in central FL today. I saw some pretty long signal mast arms. What is/are the longest mast arms you have seen?

[SilverMustang2011]

It's safe to say Florida loves putting giant mast arms all over the place, so here's a few that come to mind:

- The new DDI at SR 56 in Wesley Chapel has this one: https://goo.gl/maps/JFWh3kCprEWHjTLv6
- Anything on John Young Parkway south of the Turnpike: https://goo.gl/maps/un8Q6CCcJmHqVAhe9
- This one by Disney Springs with three large mast arms from the same support column: https://goo.gl/maps/KBDUvemCyRfbEoHY7

[1995hoo]

US-1 at Glebe Road in Arlington, Virginia, comes to mind: https://goo.gl/maps/DPC3tLHzsWR1zPCw8

I'll give an honorable mention to Stringfellow Road at Poplar Tree Road in Chantilly, Virginia (https://goo.gl/maps/QYBDfNNDQV2SBucp6), and to the Fairfax County Parkway at Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, Virginia (https://goo.gl/maps/DBPapLauvyygKL2d8). Neither of those are really "mast arms," although they serve the same function and they're definitely massive-looking when you see them in person compared to a standard mast arm.


Somehow I think we've done this topic before because I remember mentioning the light on US-1 at Glebe in the context of having a long mast arm that looks kind of unbalanced because it's so much longer than the support column.

Edited to add: I found the following old thread.
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=14940.msg2048292#msg2048292

[andrepoiy]

Given that the majority of Ontario traffic signals are one-signal-per-arm, usually that means mast arms are not particularly long.

However, there are certain exceptions to that, usually when a road doesn't have the right-of-way to include a median, but it's too wide to just put one signal on each side of the road. That's where an American-style mast arm will be used.

Thus, unless there's any other example, this should be one of Ontario's longest mast arms:



Link: https://goo.gl/maps/K2BpxX83sNrnuxNg7



However, the longest mast arms that isn't American-style would maybe be these:



Link: https://goo.gl/maps/zttf5EqnGWWHu8bP7

[Big John]

^^ Unrelated, but that is the first time I've seen an Ontario signal without a backplate.

[Caps81943]

I'll give an honorable mention to Stringfellow Road at Poplar Tree Road in Chantilly, Virginia (https://goo.gl/maps/QYBDfNNDQV2SBucp6), and to the Fairfax County Parkway at Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, Virginia (https://goo.gl/maps/DBPapLauvyygKL2d8). Neither of those are really "mast arms," although they serve the same function and they're definitely massive-looking when you see them in person compared to a standard mast arm.

That Stringfellow/Poplar Tree light is so ridiculously overbuilt. Granted I've never seen it in person, just on Streetview and its been talked about on this site, but there are countless nearly identical suburban intersections around NoVA that use the standard medium-length VDOT mast.

Now FCP/Sunrise Valley is perhaps a bit overbuilt too, but it is a very large intersection. I have driven through it in person a couple times and while it stands out for sure and I don't like it, the setup does sort of work for the intersection.

[andrepoiy]

^^ Unrelated, but that is the first time I've seen an Ontario signal without a backplate.

Transit signals (and bicycle signals) usually do not get any backplates.

However, the times when a regular signal there aren't any backplates are usually because the signal is old, or if the signal is directly behind another signal with a backplate (although these are getting replaced).

Example of signal where it is directly behind another signal with a backplate (gone since 2015):


https://goo.gl/maps/n3sAgPU5Donw18V1A

For example, here is a (very) old signal:


https://goo.gl/maps/BrMb4eCZdbuPxpJD9

For some reason, Windsor also has a bunch of missing backplates at random intersections - in Windsor, I just don't know if they were never there at all, or if they somehow fell off and just never got replaced.



During construction, the temporary signals don't have backplates at all (and they're also single-wired as opposed to double-wired used by the rest of Ontario):


https://goo.gl/maps/L1pV8NpfVhCWrWZU6

[steviep24]

These could be the longest mast arms installed by NYSDOT region 4 thus far

NY 252 at Hylan Dr.
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0870307,-77.6292992,3a,75y,276.54h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sUBKEIX5SB_6vXILFjNKpHQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?authuser=0&entry=ttu

This intersection previously had a cross span wire setup.

I wouldn't be surprised if the longest mast arms in America are in Las Vegas on the strip.

[SeriesE]

California has lots of very long mast arms: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3522674,-121.9686916,3a,75y,184.58h,93.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1so-BiNVFz8yoLF1ZotfITdg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[1995hoo]

I'll give an honorable mention to Stringfellow Road at Poplar Tree Road in Chantilly, Virginia (https://goo.gl/maps/QYBDfNNDQV2SBucp6), and to the Fairfax County Parkway at Sunrise Valley Drive in Reston, Virginia (https://goo.gl/maps/DBPapLauvyygKL2d8). Neither of those are really "mast arms," although they serve the same function and they're definitely massive-looking when you see them in person compared to a standard mast arm.

That Stringfellow/Poplar Tree light is so ridiculously overbuilt. Granted I've never seen it in person, just on Streetview and its been talked about on this site, but there are countless nearly identical suburban intersections around NoVA that use the standard medium-length VDOT mast.

....

I remember the first time I saw it my reaction was sort of, "What in the world...????!!!!!" I've occasionally wondered whether there have ever been any crashes there involving speeding kids from the nearby Chantilly High School that might have knocked over conventional mast arms. (The high school is not the one right on that corner–that one is Rocky Run, which is a junior high and thus doesn't have kids of legal driving age.) That's completely speculation on my part, of course, but I certainly remember when I was in high school there were a lot of kids going way too fast on eastbound Route 236 in the afternoons, so I wouldn't be surprised to see the same on Stringfellow. The more I ponder it, though, the more I doubt that's the reason for the setup, because if it were I would expect to see the same near some of the other high schools, yet the only other one I know of in the area is the other one I linked, and it's not near a school.

[PColumbus73]

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.8423425,-78.6617619,3a,75y,63.76h,95.32t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sxn4ya9TmC2ploYXmmPSM3Q!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?entry=ttu

This mast arm in my area is pretty long. That left turn signal might also have a record for the most loneliest traffic light. The mast arm on the opposite side is pretty long, too.

[Big John]

^^ And using Georgia standard double red arrows.

[jakeroot]

California has lots of very long mast arms: https://www.google.com/maps/@37.3522674,-121.9686916,3a,75y,184.58h,93.98t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1so-BiNVFz8yoLF1ZotfITdg!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

I have never seen three overhead through signals on a California mast arm before. Even three or four through lanes usually get two overhead, one post-mounted far right, and often one post-mounted near right.

[SeriesE]

Las Vegas Blvd/Tropicana Ave has very long mast arms too. 4 through lanes + 3 left turn lanes

[PColumbus73]

^^ And using Georgia standard double red arrows.

South Carolina has been using double-reds since the 90s, for as long as I can remember, if not longer. I think Georgia only started using them in the last decade or so.

[US 89]

^^ And using Georgia standard double red arrows.

South Carolina has been using double-reds since the 90s, for as long as I can remember, if not longer. I think Georgia only started using them in the last decade or so.

Are the standards in the two states the same? In GA, they're used at protected lefts with only one overhead signal, as their standards require that every fully protected left have two red arrows for redundancy. If it's a multi-lane left turn with two or more overhead 3-section signals, no double arrow is needed since there are already two red arrows.

[PColumbus73]

^^ And using Georgia standard double red arrows.

South Carolina has been using double-reds since the 90s, for as long as I can remember, if not longer. I think Georgia only started using them in the last decade or so.

Are the standards in the two states the same? In GA, they're used at protected lefts with only one overhead signal, as their standards require that every fully protected left have two red arrows for redundancy. If it's a multi-lane left turn with two or more overhead 3-section signals, no double arrow is needed since there are already two red arrows.

It sounds like Georgia and South Carolina have similar standards. In South Carolina, they use the double-red 'dollys' for single-lane protected lefts. I don't know the history of GDOT's standards, but it appears that up until recently, Georgia preferred using two 3-sections for protected lefts, regardless of the number of lanes. On Google, I've mostly seen the double-reds around the northern Atlanta suburbs and parts of Savannah.

North Carolina used to have double-reds like SC and GA, but they were phased out by the late-2000s. You can still see them in 2007/2008 Google Streetviews around Raleigh, Greensboro/Winston-Salem and Salisbury, NC

[SilverMustang2011]

Definitely not the longest mast arm I've seen, but probably the longest relative to how long should be:

https://goo.gl/maps/v18GBJFhNh3f9F7EA

[Big John]

Definitely not the longest mast arm I've seen, but probably the longest relative to how long should be:

https://goo.gl/maps/v18GBJFhNh3f9F7EA

Certain highway agencies call for mast arms of unneeded length in case they decide to add protected-only left signals at the end of the arm sometime in the future.

[1995hoo]

Definitely not the longest mast arm I've seen, but probably the longest relative to how long should be:

https://goo.gl/maps/v18GBJFhNh3f9F7EA

It looks to me like the intent is that the road is to be widened at some future date. I've seen several places around Florida where a two-lane road was built with a lot of grass to one side and then later widened to four lanes with a median, so maybe in that Street View they already had that in mind and built the lights for it.

[SilverMustang2011]

Definitely not the longest mast arm I've seen, but probably the longest relative to how long should be:

https://goo.gl/maps/v18GBJFhNh3f9F7EA

It looks to me like the intent is that the road is to be widened at some future date. I've seen several places around Florida where a two-lane road was built with a lot of grass to one side and then later widened to four lanes with a median, so maybe in that Street View they already had that in mind and built the lights for it.

I've seen that before as well and I thought that too, until I saw the other direction: https://goo.gl/maps/BuwWMyGbmXDWQnuPA. If they want to widen the road someday, at least that span on that mast arm will need to be relocated, although all the other mast arm set-ups look like they're built for future expansion.

[jakeroot]

Definitely not the longest mast arm I've seen, but probably the longest relative to how long should be:

https://goo.gl/maps/v18GBJFhNh3f9F7EA

It looks to me like the intent is that the road is to be widened at some future date. I've seen several places around Florida where a two-lane road was built with a lot of grass to one side and then later widened to four lanes with a median, so maybe in that Street View they already had that in mind and built the lights for it.

I've seen that before as well and I thought that too, until I saw the other direction: https://goo.gl/maps/BuwWMyGbmXDWQnuPA. If they want to widen the road someday, at least that span on that mast arm will need to be relocated, although all the other mast arm set-ups look like they're built for future expansion.

It's possible the existing L-shaped mast arm is meant to hold either (a) supplemental signals due to the curve, or more likely (b) future dedicated left turn signals (exactly like this example).

[bcroadguy]

^^ Unrelated, but that is the first time I've seen an Ontario signal without a backplate.

Transit signals (and bicycle signals) usually do not get any backplates.

However, the times when a regular signal there aren't any backplates are usually because the signal is old, or if the signal is directly behind another signal with a backplate (although these are getting replaced).

Example of signal where it is directly behind another signal with a backplate (gone since 2015):


https://goo.gl/maps/n3sAgPU5Donw18V1A

For example, here is a (very) old signal:


https://goo.gl/maps/BrMb4eCZdbuPxpJD9

For some reason, Windsor also has a bunch of missing backplates at random intersections - in Windsor, I just don't know if they were never there at all, or if they somehow fell off and just never got replaced.



During construction, the temporary signals don't have backplates at all (and they're also single-wired as opposed to double-wired used by the rest of Ontario):


https://goo.gl/maps/L1pV8NpfVhCWrWZU6

Ottawa used to have a ton of 8-8-8 secondary signals without backplates. If you look at 2009 Streetview, you will see many of them.

Also, I think Ontario is the only place that puts pedestrian and bike signals on mast arms, so it probably has the longest *pedestrian* signal mast arm: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6562844,-79.3809426,3a,32.1y,88.72h,90.62t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soWYi5rrqYLQQcMb6v8RBMA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

[roadfro]

Las Vegas Blvd/Tropicana Ave has very long mast arms too. 4 through lanes + 3 left turn lanes

I think these two mast arms at SB Las Vegas Blvd & Harmon Ave (two separate mast arms for a singled direction of travel, with primary signals in the background and secondary signals in the foreground, due to the extreme width and skew of the intersection) have the mast arms at Tropicana beat.

[andrepoiy]

Also, I think Ontario is the only place that puts pedestrian and bike signals on mast arms, so it probably has the longest *pedestrian* signal mast arm: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6562844,-79.3809426,3a,32.1y,88.72h,90.62t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soWYi5rrqYLQQcMb6v8RBMA!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu

That's a City of Toronto thing. I don't think I've seen pedestrian mast arms anywhere else.

This one is longer:


Link: https://goo.gl/maps/zw9JgEm6tYwiRyet8