Usually when you see those old, button-copy signs you wonder how long they'll stay up before the DOT replaces them. What are some of the oldest freeway signs you can find in your metropolitan area (I'm not really interested in rural areas but those work too). I'll start with a pair of old BGS over I-80 (c. 1970s).(https://www.aaroads.com/west/utah080/i-080_wb_exit_130_06.jpg)
There is not much around, but here is the oldest I know of.
Button copy mileage sign posted after Alabama 59 on I-10 east:
(https://www.aaroads.com/southeast/alabama010/i-010_eb_exit_053_03.jpg)
There is another button copy mileage sign westbound on I-10 west after the Wilcox Road exit (Exit 53). I have photos, they are just not posted online.
The only remaining button copy sign in northwest Florida that I know of is a bridge identification sign reading "9th Avenue" over the eastbound shoulder of Interstate 10 in Pensacola. I have a pic of this somewhere, but it is also not posted.
The closest conventional guide sign still kicking on U.S. 90/98 is along westbound at I-10 Exit 27:
(https://www.aaroads.com/southeast/alabama090/us-090_098_wb_at_i-010_wb_exit_027_01.jpg)
oh, you want freeway, great ... was gonna point to this 1950s auto club sign:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Flj%2Fx4929.jpg&hash=50597e78f8833f081a34f8408ab0283835e9ca9b)
on the freeway, the black ROADSIDE BUSINESS sign is covered up, so the oldest has to be the ones on I-5 that have US-101 patched over.
VA 195 westbound has a few old signs on it dating back to when it opened, but VDOT didn't install them. VA 195 is owned and maintained by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, but IIRC they order signs for VA 195 from VDOT.
All the eastbound signs, and some of the westbound ones (US 60, Meadow St, and VA 161) were replaced in early 2006. VA 146 (connection between VA 195 and Powhite Pkwy) also had its signs replaced in 2007.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.static.flickr.com%2F3057%2F2716981313_347667087d.jpg&hash=0ab252c19c0f5a03351c64005c81796ad910b340)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.static.flickr.com%2F3612%2F3294270798_17bb20e132.jpg&hash=bf82ba7b6d24d13e2093ca634eea0b785a443b3a)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm3.static.flickr.com%2F2173%2F2401952665_206a643349.jpg&hash=33a07a50f74b9c70780e2f952165dd3ad5087351)
There are two button copy signs on SB Cincinnati Street pointing to US 64 and OK 51. The 64 shields are button copy. One of the 51 shields is a meat cleaver, while the other is a circle. There are also some ancient signs pointing to I-244 from the SB Tisdale Parkway.
Don't have any pictures, but these signs are visible on Google Street View.
Closest to me is probably a button copy mileage sign near Pocola, OK
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.static.flickr.com%2F3424%2F3248125630_c6933ef38b.jpg&hash=f3fd7c63c703ac0b653d4becf331affe27978137)
About the same age, is a button copy BGS for I-540 near Van Buren.
Both date back no earlier than circa 1970
The aforementioned button copy guide sign along Interstate 10 east of Loxley, Alabama:
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/southeast/i-010_wb_exit_044_10.jpg) (//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/southeast/i-010_wb_exit_044_10.jpg)
In northern Delaware, the oldest guide sign, dating from the 1961 completion of Interstate 95 through Wilmington is this overhead above Delaware 48 (2nd Street) westbound:
(https://www.aaroads.com/delaware/delaware010/de-048_wb_at_i-095_sb_01.jpg)
All of the other 1961 guide signs were carbon copied within the last few years, but last I knew, this particular assembly (posted abnormally high on the I-95 viaduct) was still standing.
http://www.northeastroads.com/new_jersey050/pa_tpk_ext_eb_exit_002_04.jpg (http://www.northeastroads.com/new_jersey050/pa_tpk_ext_eb_exit_002_04.jpg)
http://www.northeastroads.com/new_jersey050/i-095_sb_exit_006_05.jpg (http://www.northeastroads.com/new_jersey050/i-095_sb_exit_006_05.jpg)
These signs and structures on the New Jersey Turnpike date back to original construction, which was in the early 1950's. Exit 6 is the closest exit to my home in Pennsylvania.
that guide sign is from 1961? Complete with retroreflective background and modern shield and all?
as for the NJ Turnpike original art deco gantries - I believe the green signs are replacements. There are two gantries with black guide signs that date back to 1956 on I-78, the Turnpike Extension going towards New York City.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Flj%2Fw53058.jpg&hash=bee9c6142a08131b718d1bb75734a012896c6894)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Flj%2Fw53061.jpg&hash=9b2619732d2bf660e9e0591757f05fb9637e389b)
Steve A. would be the one to know for sure, but as far as I know, the black signs came first and then were swapped out with green when routine maintenance occurred in the 1960s. (And yes, Steve will tell you that the signs in the photos above are "dark dark dark green" - I say they are black!)
(Edit: they're not actually on the freeway - they're at exits 14A and 14B, after the tollbooths but before the freeway itself... ask me about the time my friend Dan and I spent about $75 in tolls exploring every ramp of the turnpike! EZPass, thou art like vehicular crack cocaine.)
Its easy to spend that much money in the NYC area. EZPass makes it bearable!
DelDOT replaced all of the original Interstate 95 Delaware shields around 2000. They were all faded and badly cracked like the one here:
(https://www.aaroads.com/delaware/delaware050/de-052_nb_at_van_buren_st_03.jpg)
Those signs never reflected to my knowledge. Even better is a postcard that Jim K. Georges gave me a scan of (note the similar sign style):
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/us-013_nb_040_eb_at_i-295.jpg) (//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/us-013_nb_040_eb_at_i-295.jpg)
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 03, 2009, 03:32:57 PM
that guide sign is from 1961? Complete with retroreflective background and modern shield and all?
Yes. Not that modern up close. It's on my DE 48 page, too.
Quote
as for the NJ Turnpike original art deco gantries - I believe the green signs are replacements. There are two gantries with black guide signs that date back to 1956 on I-78, the Turnpike Extension going towards New York City.
I'm pretty sure all of the signs on the original gantries are also originals. I would have to do a lot of research at my company on my own time to verify - and I spend enough time there as it is!
As for other original signs, see the Parkway frontage road northbound from US 9 and NJ 184/CR 501.
okay yeah on closer inspection that Del sign does look a bit worse for the wear ... the shield is brand new for sure, though! Same style of flaking on the white legend as Virginia seems to have. I don't think either state ever used button copy (though I have seen a glass-cateye DELAWARE US 13 shield!)
green original signs on the NJTPK? Please do verify this - the majority of photos I've seen from the 1950s were b/w, making the color rather tough to tell. Please do check on this.
as for the ones on the GSP ... which ones do you refer to? I just took a glance at all your mainline GSP pages on alpsroads.net and this is what appears to be the oldest:
http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/gsp/n159r.jpg (http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/gsp/n159r.jpg) (please no hotlinking)
that or the square county-route shield green signs ...
Jake
what about that NJ Tpke Entrance sign with the green cateyes?
those are plastic, not glass ... I'm thinking that's a 60s or 70s sign.
The one I was referring to is on my US 9 page actually (north of I-195). Other original ones:
The speed limit signs on I-78 east of the Tpk. (on my I-78 page).
All the signs on I-280 east of Exit 8 date to 1970 (on my site - many have been replaced now).
Exit 58 on I-80 EB has original signs (early 1960's at best).
When all the signs on I-95 north of Exit 68 were replaced by the Turnpike Authority (when they took over from NJDOT), they missed one on the westbound Exit 70 C-D Road that dates to the 60's as well. I believe it's gone now.
the Parkway and Turnpike pair? I can't tell for sure but those look dark dark green (as opposed to dark dark dark green aka black). Here's a dark dark green sign pair from the Turnpike.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Flj%2Fw53089.jpg&hash=d7c7681907f481571297929b99e5c285f73b99d8)
and this is regular dark green
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.artistjake.com%2Flj%2Fw53096.jpg&hash=b1a3fd2c446e4b017ea78f2aabeeab2661ac1f8a)
the green that is neither dark, nor dark dark, is the retroreflective stuff, which I didn't take pictures of because they're not as interesting.
Do they even have any old flippables still in use:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastroads.com%2Fnew_jersey050%2Fi-095e_nj_tpk_nb_exit_017_05.jpg&hash=46b0d78d09906fea14af34a4276c8085418c611a)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.northeastroads.com%2Fnew_jersey050%2Fi-095_nj_tpk_nb_exit_018_03.jpg&hash=b02ffd39d1d2240ff73b94b5a74d8f554b1f31c9)
I know that those particular assemblies are gone, but when I first started riding and filming the Turnpike in 1993/94, they were all over.
Quote from: AARoads on June 04, 2009, 12:02:34 PM
Do they even have any old flippables still in use:
I know that those particular assemblies are gone, but when I first started riding and filming the Turnpike in 1993/94, they were all over.
They are still in use, and generally at the same locations. The assemblies you showed were modified to show static panels above the changeable panel. the static panels show route shields and cardinal directions. these are the only ones that were modified that way.
The widening project between interchanges 6 and 9 may change the look of these panels further.
There are a few old flippable signs still up around here...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&sll=37.234565,-76.642513&sspn=0.04722,0.077248&ie=UTF8&ll=37.240766,-76.652706&spn=0,359.990344&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.240806,-76.652803&panoid=hvG0MWAE1FALJkYDVeHjmw&cbp=12,119.48,,0,1.8 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&sll=37.234565,-76.642513&sspn=0.04722,0.077248&ie=UTF8&ll=37.240766,-76.652706&spn=0,359.990344&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.240806,-76.652803&panoid=hvG0MWAE1FALJkYDVeHjmw&cbp=12,119.48,,0,1.8)
On US-60 EB approaching Busch Gardens and the interchange with I-64. There are several of these assemblies still up. I'm going to try and snag some pics next time I'm over there.
Here we go...
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%2F214%2F494316413_048df0a250_b.jpg&hash=2ce904e5c2d9398e278b0b916fe4e0d4903aa4c4)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm1.static.flickr.com%2F199%2F494316389_a104be244c_b.jpg&hash=e37c8e45b5f8ece6493c9991dcb8f001f0a97e97)
and finally...
http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.382862,-83.217852&spn=0,359.981976&z=17&layer=c&cbll=42.382777,-83.217852&panoid=Y3Jb1X1D-vsRt34Kq_cmqA&cbp=12,186.23,,0,-6.14 (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.382862,-83.217852&spn=0,359.981976&z=17&layer=c&cbll=42.382777,-83.217852&panoid=Y3Jb1X1D-vsRt34Kq_cmqA&cbp=12,186.23,,0,-6.14)
Probably not the oldest in NYC, but a great old sign.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Ffarm4.static.flickr.com%2F3129%2F2516311314_2c5d43bb7e_o.jpg&hash=f4209558101278669f779d6db261d8479f9805d9)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/55173627@N00/2516311314/ (http://www.flickr.com/photos/55173627@N00/2516311314/)
where in the Hell is that business spur 96 shield? I've scoured Detroit four times and have never been able to find it.
can you get us a really nice close-up shot? The shield gallery only has a tiny version available.
Quote from: agentsteel53 on June 05, 2009, 12:12:10 PM
where in the Hell is that business spur 96 shield? I've scoured Detroit four times and have never been able to find it.
can you get us a really nice close-up shot? The shield gallery only has a tiny version available.
It's Downtown, on Clifford between Washington and Bagley.
I might not be in Detroit for a while; can you get us close-ups of the three signs you listed?
I can't guarantee the first one, but I might be able to get the other two.
Two weeks ago, a 1970s sign gantry at the US 50/Route 16 junction near my residence in Sacramento was removed. :(
The oldest though date back to the 1960s in downtown, guide signs likely for US 40 that ultimately lead to either what was the West Sacramento Freeway (the Tower Bridge Gateway) or the current North Sacramento Freeway/Route 160:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net%2Fhphotos-ak-snc1%2Fhs023.snc1%2F4258_740670328593_3216777_42664501_4414102_n.jpg&hash=989405541e2500d8ac9f4570efdd7b56ee8bdaa3)
can you get me a good head-on shot of that US-40 Reno/Sacramento gantry? That gantry dates back to I think 1960 on the dot. The last time I was there was at night so my shot looks like crap.
Also on the New Jersey Turnpike are the all button copy signs at exit 7A:
http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5343891597076737106 (http://picasaweb.google.com/Iansignal/NewJerseyTrafficSignalsAndRoadSigns#5343891597076737106)
Ian
agentsteel53 - from Google Street View:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=16th+%26+Q,+95814&sll=38.549851,-121.393727&sspn=0.011025,0.018818&ie=UTF8&ll=38.570909,-121.488329&spn=0.002756,0.004705&z=18&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=38.570987,-121.4883&panoid=lE3-KRtEt0j3vOWKA--hvQ&cbp=12,17.63,,0,-2.9 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=16th+%26+Q,+95814&sll=38.549851,-121.393727&sspn=0.011025,0.018818&ie=UTF8&ll=38.570909,-121.488329&spn=0.002756,0.004705&z=18&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=38.570987,-121.4883&panoid=lE3-KRtEt0j3vOWKA--hvQ&cbp=12,17.63,,0,-2.9)
when Houston Harte Expressway was built it replaced all the old signs
Quote from: TheStranger on June 08, 2009, 02:26:58 PM
agentsteel53 - from Google Street View:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=16th+%26+Q,+95814&sll=38.549851,-121.393727&sspn=0.011025,0.018818&ie=UTF8&ll=38.570909,-121.488329&spn=0.002756,0.004705&z=18&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=38.570987,-121.4883&panoid=lE3-KRtEt0j3vOWKA--hvQ&cbp=12,17.63,,0,-2.9 (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=16th+%26+Q,+95814&sll=38.549851,-121.393727&sspn=0.011025,0.018818&ie=UTF8&ll=38.570909,-121.488329&spn=0.002756,0.004705&z=18&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=38.570987,-121.4883&panoid=lE3-KRtEt0j3vOWKA--hvQ&cbp=12,17.63,,0,-2.9)
nice! can you get us a good high-resolution photo?
Quote from: agentsteel53
nice! can you get us a good high-resolution photo?
I'll see if I can get one after work today...it's not too far from the office.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.interstate-guide.com%2Fbusiness-routes%2Fimages%2Fspur-096_us-010_us-012_shields_detroit.jpg&hash=04d16f1b569622df4ba05266efb06d3903332b1e)
A photo of the aforementioned 9th Avenue button copy bridge identification sign on Interstate 10 in northwest Florida:
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/southeast/i-010_eb_at_9th_av.jpg) (//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/southeast/i-010_eb_at_9th_av.jpg)
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/southeast/i-010_eb_at_9th_av_cu.jpg)
I'd like to offer what's probably the contender for oldest sign in D.C. Although I haven't confirmed this yet, the far left sign panel likely dates back to the original construction of the Southeast Freeway in the late 1960s:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.vahighways.com%2Fold295dc.jpg&hash=25eba11f1182b995d01dda0c776bdfe0114a36b0)
Quote from: froggie on June 17, 2009, 07:37:33 PM
I'd like to offer what's probably the contender for oldest sign in D.C. Although I haven't confirmed this yet, the far left sign panel likely dates back to the original construction of the Southeast Freeway in the late 1960s:
I would have thought the one on I-66. http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/dc/i-66/we.jpg (http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/dc/i-66/we.jpg)
Here's another old I-66 one. What I'm really focused on is the old electronic sign and the gantry.
They may be very very old or am I just exaggerating?
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1168.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr492%2FVCB02Roblox%2Fi-066_wb_exit_073_02_zpse441d885.jpg&hash=2228c76feb6ea730a01a2d3100698f04b84c2072)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi837.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz298%2Fmidamcrossrds%2F100_1779.jpg&hash=95dae1fab952e525fee8a7ec94cb685f41f921b9) (http://[url=http://s837.photobucket.com/user/midamcrossrds/media/100_1779.jpg.html)
Exit tab aside, the main BGS survived the mid-1980s overhaul of the I-76/Schuylkill Expressway. BGS is still there today. (http://goo.gl/maps/llYjb)
One of the old (original?) I-95 ramp BGS' in Northeast Philly. (http://goo.gl/maps/1kLpH)
My bet that the oldest freeway signs in Baltimore are on MD 295:
SB approaching MD 648 - http://goo.gl/maps/c57uN
Here it is SB at MD 648 - http://goo.gl/maps/pAfbY
Mapmikey
Quote from: Mapmikey on May 06, 2014, 01:29:46 PM
My bet that the oldest freeway signs in Baltimore are on MD 295:
SB approaching MD 648 - http://goo.gl/maps/c57uN
Here it is SB at MD 648 - http://goo.gl/maps/pAfbY
Mapmikey
I heard those route shields were hand-painted!
Quote from: ET21 on May 06, 2014, 12:14:02 PM
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi837.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz298%2Fmidamcrossrds%2F100_1779.jpg&hash=95dae1fab952e525fee8a7ec94cb685f41f921b9) (http://[url=http://s837.photobucket.com/user/midamcrossrds/media/100_1779.jpg.html)
The other direction is Clearview now, and I think this side might be very short for this world.
There's virtually nothing left in Atlanta from the 20th century, but even here you can occasionally find something, like this sign (https://www.google.com/maps/@33.744512,-84.333718,3a,75y,299.42h,84.8t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sT1h52ZGbdMaQnjG35-du8g!2e0) on westbound I-20. Originally brown, when you pass by it you can still make out that it originally read "EXIT 25" before being updated to 60 during the 1999-2000 exit renumbering. Being in Series E(M) rather than D, it's likely that this sign dates back at least to the 1980s.
OH 315 has a few surviving signs near OH 161 that might date to original construction (early 80s I think).
On EB I-70 just after the eastern I-71 interchange, there's a post-interchange distance sign (to Zanesville and Wheeling) that appears to date from the early 80s at the latest (background is not reflective) and I think ODOT forgot it's there because there are no similar post-interchange distance signs to my knowlege anywhere else inside of I-270.
Quote from: bugo on June 02, 2009, 01:23:43 AM
There are two button copy signs on SB Cincinnati Street pointing to US 64 and OK 51. The 64 shields are button copy. One of the 51 shields is a meat cleaver, while the other is a circle. There are also some ancient signs pointing to I-244 from the SB Tisdale Parkway.
Don't have any pictures, but these signs are visible on Google Street View.
5 years later, I have pics:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4043/4185246117_13e85c7ca8_z.jpg)
I don't have pictures, but there are still button copy signs on both I-65 and I-20/59 in Birmingham that date back to around 1973 or '74.
The oldest sign I am aware of in Los Angeles, on a freeway, is from 1959. It faces southbound 5 just north of I-10 near Main Street.
(https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Upper_Post_Road_MP_8.jpg)
Quote from: VCB02FromRoblox on May 06, 2014, 10:30:43 AM
Here's another old I-66 one. What I'm really focused on is the old electronic sign and the gantry.
They may be very very old or am I just exaggerating?
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1168.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr492%2FVCB02Roblox%2Fi-066_wb_exit_073_02_zpse441d885.jpg&hash=2228c76feb6ea730a01a2d3100698f04b84c2072)
I believe that has been replaced with a new one that lights up. Much easier to read.
I-66 between that exit and I-495 opened just before Christmas in 1982, so the sign in your picture likely dated to then.
In Akron, this beauty was finally replaced with Clearview (yuck) last year after somehow it escaped the 2003 mass replacement of old button copy on I-76 from the Central Interchange westward to Barberton.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alpsroads.net%2Froads%2Foh%2Fi-76%2Fw22a.jpg&hash=3cf0289f9e5cd4c3c644100ad4c4acc27a640d7e)
There are still a few lingering signs on the Innerbelt (OH 59) that haven't been replaced, as the replacement seems to have sputtered out a few signs short...everything from the Bartges St. sign through the Cascade Parking signs on Steve's OH 59 page (http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/oh/oh_59/) is still there; you can see there some Clearview which had started to appear on the road and then suddenly stopped. The button copy above and below that on the page is sadly now gone. Some of those, especially the Cedar/Exchange signs, are really starting to show their age but are still most welcome to stay.
Rochester: the oldest signs are generally on the Inner Loop or NY 104 east approaching Webster. I'm amazed the NY 104 signs have been around this long through Region 4's recent sign replacement projects. The Inner Loop signs... let's not talk about that.
Rome: the signs on NY 365 at the interchange with NY 49 for downtown Rome are REALLY showing their age. Their days are probably numbered. Region 2 has been replacing a lot of signs lately. Even the boxed street names are becoming endangered.
Albany: let's say that Region 1 is NOT a friend of old signs and leave it at that.
Quote from: PurdueBill on May 06, 2014, 09:33:11 PM
In Akron, this beauty was finally replaced with Clearview (yuck) last year after somehow it escaped the 2003 mass replacement of old button copy on I-76 from the Central Interchange westward to Barberton.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.alpsroads.net%2Froads%2Foh%2Fi-76%2Fw22a.jpg&hash=3cf0289f9e5cd4c3c644100ad4c4acc27a640d7e)
Judging from some of the more recent GSV photos I have seen, there looks to be some stray 1970's first generation BGSs on SR-8 through the (Cuyahoga) Falls area, albeit a few with only the shields replaced that are older than the I-76 signs.
Meanwhile, back to my current hometown:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/virtual_freeway_tours/4450867843/in/set-72157607060860706/
This sign is on the Endangered Species list not because of it's age per se, but because there is legislation in high gear that is trying to rename the Colorado National Monument as a full-blown National Park (Could be renamed Colorado Canyons NP or Rim Rock Canyons NP). Not only will this sign be replaced, but pretty much all BGSs announcing Colorado National Monument will either be replaced or patched with the new name within a year or two.
Honorable Mention is this sign, which remained after the DDI construction at BL-70 and I-70 west of town:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/virtual_freeway_tours/4451012863/in/set-72157618286679418/
Because it stayed, it will probably be around for quite some time. The sign is now about 30-some feet further on the left of the bridge to coincide with the new "reverse" traffic movements under the bridge.
Sign replacement on Route 8 had stalled out but was completed last year. All the old ones are gone now, but fortunately not in Clearview. Somehow Route 8 and I-277 got FHWA font signs--maybe they were designed years ago. Driving up Route 8 semi-frequently I got used to seeing the mixture of old and new and then poof--old ones finally gone by last fall.
For example, the two right-hand signs (http://goo.gl/maps/TWI3b) were removed from the old gantry and placed on the new one without their lighting about 3 years ago; the pull-through was changed from an old one with "8 NORTH / Cleveland" to the one seen there acknowledging route 59. It took over two years for the replacement signs for the exits to appear.
I have wondered if confusion over exit numbering was the delay; the new northbound signs for Tallmadge Ave initially said (http://goo.gl/maps/Gms4w) Exit 3B, implying Glenwood Ave would be 3A and Cuy. Falls Ave would be 3C, since Howe Ave was already Exit 4 southbound (unless they did 4A-4B northbound, which is silly because Howe Ave is a much more major exit and should have the same number both ways). The pic below shows the interim confusion--it took another year after that before all signs were finally replaced, with Glenwood as Exit 2 (NB only), Tallmadge Ave as 3A (NB) and 3 (SB) and Cuy. Falls Ave as 3B (NB only). Only the Innerbelt sign replacement, stalled out for years now, has lasted longer (and still isn't done).
(https://scontent-b-ord.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/t1.0-9/s720x720/556555_10101745161988318_73830287_n.jpg)
The oldest signs in the Pittsburgh area would have to be on PA-28 around Exit #9.
On NB PA-28, they still have an overhead with the route name in text instead of a shield (PA 28). http://goo.gl/maps/Gzlb6
Meanwhile, on SB PA-28, this sign for Exit #8 (SB doesn't have an Exit #9 as it's a partial interchange) for Fox Chapel Road still lives on. http://goo.gl/maps/IhKtB
====
As for Jacksonville, FL, I know of only 3 (for sure) Button Copy signs left. All 3 are around the Clark Road interchange (SB on-ramp only) to I-95. Two of them are the "Clark Rd" signs on the overpass (NB: http://goo.gl/maps/P5tfG - SB: http://goo.gl/maps/l3tsl), and the sign on WB Clark Road for the ramp to I-95, which, somehow survived after a roundabout was built (found this out just looking @ Google Imagery since I haven't been in that area since '09) just beyond the ramps to I-95. http://goo.gl/maps/nLym5 You would have thought that when they added the new roundabout, they would have replaced the I-95 ramp signage as well. Amazingly, one of the new ground mounted I-95 signs was a State Named shield!! http://goo.gl/maps/ZTQ2W
Quote from: 1995hoo on May 06, 2014, 09:11:57 PM
Quote from: VCB02FromRoblox on May 06, 2014, 10:30:43 AM
Here's another old I-66 one. What I'm really focused on is the old electronic sign and the gantry.
They may be very very old or am I just exaggerating?
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1168.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fr492%2FVCB02Roblox%2Fi-066_wb_exit_073_02_zpse441d885.jpg&hash=2228c76feb6ea730a01a2d3100698f04b84c2072)
I believe that has been replaced with a new one that lights up. Much easier to read.
I-66 between that exit and I-495 opened just before Christmas in 1982, so the sign in your picture likely dated to then.
Following up from the previous page, I found a dashcam video that shows the new assembly and here's a screen capture. Looks like they simply replaced the VMS panels (a sorely-needed upgrade) because if they'd replaced everything, the sign for Lee Highway would be in Clearview and the word "WEST" would have a larger initial capital letter.
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi31.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc378%2F1995hoo%2FRoad%2520sign%2520pictures%2FNewI-66VMSRosslyn_zpsf03cfb02.png&hash=5a59b7d8d4353e13b722c77b2403518b71f72705)
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3726/9188526026_f78473a80b_z_d.jpg)
This was the oldest in my area. It was one of the last signs to be replaced on the I-540 reconstruction.
It was replaced about 2 weeks ago
(https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5568/14115542804_75d20994d0_d.jpg)
A lot of freeway signs in Reno have been replaced in the last few years, so finding older signs is a bit difficult.
Here's a pic from AARoads taken in 2005, of US 395 south entering Reno from the north. It's the last of the dark green porcelain signs in the area (and probably the state). I haven't been out that way for a while, but was still standing a couple years ago and there hasn't been any recent construction out there that would suggest it's been removed.
(https://www.aaroads.com/west/nevada395/us-395_sb_exit_072_04.jpg)
Quote from: roadfro on May 10, 2014, 02:46:21 PM
A lot of freeway signs in Reno have been replaced in the last few years, so finding older signs is a bit difficult.
Here's a pic from AARoads taken in 2005, of US 395 south entering Reno from the north. It's the last of the dark green porcelain signs in the area (and probably the state). I haven't been out that way for a while, but was still standing a couple years ago and there hasn't been any recent construction out there that would suggest it's been removed.
(https://www.aaroads.com/west/nevada395/us-395_sb_exit_072_04.jpg)
Was the destination legend on that pullthrough still Sparks-Reno? It looks like the greenout version is in Series E and not E-modified.
I'm not sure what the destination legend was. The sign was like that when I came to Reno for college in 2001, and this pic on AARoads is the oldest one I've found.
I don't know of any overheads that still are up. They're disappearing faster than cake in front of a hungry child.
That said, there are ground mounts still in existence, including this one at Shepherd Lane and Lockland Road, Lockland, Ohio (photographed by me in October 2013 and, far as I am aware, still there).
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi.imgur.com%2F4vTl7gD.jpg&hash=e15d838108f356dfeda85fbc2155516e384d9b94)
(https://www.aaroads.com/southeast/florida075/i-075_nb_exit_220_06.jpg)
The way FDOT replaces signs so often, this one is probably the oldest in Manatee County. This likely is also the last cutout-style state road marker posted on the I-75 mainline.
The oldest freeway signs in the Petersburg/Colonial Heights area date back to the late 1980s. The older state-name I-85 and I-95 trailblazer unisign is still there too.
These are neither in my city nor on a freeway, but they are some very old (and very nice) BGSs that are about the oldest ones I see on a regular basis other than the I-66 sign bridge in DC mentioned earlier in this thread (and actually I usually see the back side of that one because I usually pass it going the other way).
Southbound US-1 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. The thru route ahead of the camera point hasn't been US-1 ALT since 1971.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.318598,-77.472002,3a,75y,214.39h,89.62t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1skutTr_7EqO9PTmf9OjvXWw!2e0
Quote from: Alex on May 11, 2014, 10:44:43 AM
The way FDOT replaces signs so often, this one is probably the oldest in Manatee County. This likely is also the last cutout-style state road marker posted on the I-75 mainline.
You know Alex, you would have thought that FDOT would have replaced all the signs on I-295 @ I-95 (JAX Airport), but they didn't. They only replaced the signs that had 9A on them and left the I-95 exit ramp signs as is (per StreetView). http://goo.gl/maps/piDxf
Quote from: rickmastfan67 on May 12, 2014, 09:20:03 PM
Quote from: Alex on May 11, 2014, 10:44:43 AM
The way FDOT replaces signs so often, this one is probably the oldest in Manatee County. This likely is also the last cutout-style state road marker posted on the I-75 mainline.
You know Alex, you would have thought that FDOT would have replaced all the signs on I-295 @ I-95 (JAX Airport), but they didn't. They only replaced the signs that had 9A on them and left the I-95 exit ramp signs as is (per StreetView). http://goo.gl/maps/piDxf
Saw that those were still in place back in January. That interchange is slated for more upgrades though, so they are on borrowed time:
http://northfloridaroads.com/projects/details.asp?ProjectID=575
QuoteI-95 North at I-295 interchange is now in fiscal year 2016 at an estimated $145 million. The improvements will replace the left hand exits with flyover ramps increasing capacity. The improvement also allows both I-95 and I-295 at this interchange to be expanded in the future by providing a horizontal window for future widening. The project is anticipated to be bid in summer 2016.
https://www.google.com/maps/@28.425873,-81.42299,3a,75y,150.03h,90t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1suT76GiMEnJyRTUBk2nSSjA!2e0
The oldest one that is in the Orlando area as its been there even longer than I have lived there. Most of the signs, if not all, on all the freeways around Orlando were replaced over the 24 years I have been here. In fact FL 429 and FL 417 were even constructed since then along with many road widenings since then.
Quote from: Takumi on May 11, 2014, 12:20:26 PM
The oldest freeway signs in the Petersburg/Colonial Heights area date back to the late 1980s. The older state-name I-85 and I-95 trailblazer unisign is still there too.
Driving home from work tonight I saw the replacement signage for these overheads on a truck. As I passed them I saw the lights for them were out.
These are original to the Willys Parkway interchange (late 1960's):
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.68353,-83.570504,3a,49.3y,126.83h,91.02t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sZfhw2qrWDrLjc6TOdr812A!2e0
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.681326,-83.571566,3a,75y,270.9h,81.2t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seb8E7mN6CG-_Fq8m9y1Ovg!2e0
The CLOSED sign has been removed from the last one, but the BGS remains.
UPDATE: The second sign is now off the bridge and on the ground next to North Cove Boulevard, probably being readied for replacement.
Some of the oldest in the Toronto area:
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asphaltplanet.ca%2FON%2Fhwy_401_images%2F401_dv_360_east_C_May14.jpg&hash=d2d982970dba93aa8da2e91e2a7a37f66597db9a)
(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asphaltplanet.ca%2FON%2Fhwy_401_images%2F401_dv_376_west_C_Sep13.jpg&hash=dd8593ea546f5098ba5b1e3121251bd0e23d6209)
I know I'm five years late on this but...
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/us-013_nb_040_eb_at_i-295.jpg)
...this picture that was posted on the first page of this thread, where was this sign?
Quote from: Alex4897 on June 22, 2014, 09:37:38 PM
I know I'm five years late on this but...
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/us-013_nb_040_eb_at_i-295.jpg)
...this picture that was posted on the first page of this thread, where was this sign?
The file name reveals the location.
U.S. 13 north & 40 east at I-295.
Quote from: Alex on June 22, 2014, 11:19:06 PM
Quote from: Alex4897 on June 22, 2014, 09:37:38 PM
I know I'm five years late on this but...
(//www.aaroads.com/forum_images/northeast/us-013_nb_040_eb_at_i-295.jpg)
...this picture that was posted on the first page of this thread, where was this sign?
The file name reveals the location.
U.S. 13 north & 40 east at I-295.
Oh, whoops.
I clearly wasn't paying attention.
Quote from: vdeane on May 06, 2014, 09:36:56 PM
Rome: the signs on NY 365 at the interchange with NY 49 for downtown Rome are REALLY showing their age. Their days are probably numbered. Region 2 has been replacing a lot of signs lately. Even the boxed street names are becoming endangered.
The overhead signs in Rome on NY Routes 49/365 will be replaced this autumn. They are part of the same contract as the new overhead signs that will be installed on NY Route 49 EB at the Marcy-SUNYIT Parkway interchange. Those button copy signs are original to the construction of the freeway there; I remember them being installed in spring '79.
There's a bunch of button copy overhead signs on Interstate 790 dating back to 1988 or 1989. There's a few really old overhead signs from the early 1970s in downtown Utica on NY Route 5S. They have the all-text legend (i.e. N Y 5s EAST) that I miss.
Turns out there is some button copy left in Albany, now that I've been here long enough to see more signs. US 9 near Latham Circle has some, and the gore sign on I-87 south at I-90 is button copy as well. There signs just past the exit 24 toll barrier entering the Thruway are also button copy.
There's also button copy Thruway signage at the overhead signs for I-790.
Buffalo:
After the recent NYSDOT/NYSTA mass replacement of signs, taking out just about all of the button copy anywhere near Buffalo, there isn't much left. Of them, this is probably the oldest. Located on I-90 W within exit 50, it may be the oldest sign remaining on the Thruway. I was pretty shocked to see this, as the entire area is Clearview. It is non-reflective button copy. Don't expect it to last long, as the interchange will likely be reconstructed in the coming years.
Google Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.950089,-78.76259,3a,53.2y,250.78h,81.11t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sxroVYmlD33o3rX-TCzHjpg!2e0
NY 198 and NY 33 had everything replaced last year, unfortunately. One remains on the ramp from I-990 S to I-290 W, there's one on Audobon Parkway on the University at Buffalo north campus, a couple more on the northbound North Grand Island Bridge, and one on Walden Avenue EB at I-90.
Albany (my hometown): Very little, mostly within the I-87/I-90 interchange, as Region 1 hates old signs. There used to be button copy on the NB thruway at the interchange, likely gone with the recent reconstruction. As mentioned, there are signs just north of the toll booth and a couple hanging out on NYSDOT-maintained sections just east of there. There's a state name I-87 shield on a side road a short distance SE of Exit 8. There was (and may still be) a state name I-787 shield on NY 7 W/I-787 S at the eastern end of the Collar City Bridge and there's a ton of goodies near 787 in downtown Albany.
The only one I can think of is the US-99 Sign in Downtown Seattle on the ramp to the Alaskan Way Viaduct/SR 99.
Quote from: TEG24601 on July 10, 2014, 05:22:45 PM
The only one I can think of is the US-99 Sign in Downtown Seattle on the ramp to the Alaskan Way Viaduct/SR 99.
Agreed. Still not sure if SDOT left that up for fun or just never found the money to remove it?
Quote from: cl94 on July 10, 2014, 04:02:10 PM
Buffalo:
After the recent NYSDOT/NYSTA mass replacement of signs, taking out just about all of the button copy anywhere near Buffalo, there isn't much left. Of them, this is probably the oldest. Located on I-90 W within exit 50, it may be the oldest sign remaining on the Thruway. I was pretty shocked to see this, as the entire area is Clearview. It is non-reflective button copy. Don't expect it to last long, as the interchange will likely be reconstructed in the coming years.
Google Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.950089,-78.76259,3a,53.2y,250.78h,81.11t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sxroVYmlD33o3rX-TCzHjpg!2e0
NY 198 and NY 33 had everything replaced last year, unfortunately. One remains on the ramp from I-990 S to I-290 W, there's one on Audobon Parkway on the University at Buffalo north campus, a couple more on the northbound North Grand Island Bridge, and one on Walden Avenue EB at I-90.
Albany (my hometown): Very little, mostly within the I-87/I-90 interchange, as Region 1 hates old signs. There used to be button copy on the NB thruway at the interchange, likely gone with the recent reconstruction. As mentioned, there are signs just north of the toll booth and a couple hanging out on NYSDOT-maintained sections just east of there. There's a state name I-87 shield on a side road a short distance SE of Exit 8. There was (and may still be) a state name I-787 shield on NY 7 W/I-787 S at the eastern end of the Collar City Bridge and there's a ton of goodies near 787 in downtown Albany.
There's also the gantry on I-87 south approaching I-90 that still has the fixtures necessary for sign lighting.
I know of at least one old sign in downtown that's been replaced.
Quote from: vdeane on July 10, 2014, 10:17:52 PM
Quote from: cl94 on July 10, 2014, 04:02:10 PM
Buffalo:
After the recent NYSDOT/NYSTA mass replacement of signs, taking out just about all of the button copy anywhere near Buffalo, there isn't much left. Of them, this is probably the oldest. Located on I-90 W within exit 50, it may be the oldest sign remaining on the Thruway. I was pretty shocked to see this, as the entire area is Clearview. It is non-reflective button copy. Don't expect it to last long, as the interchange will likely be reconstructed in the coming years.
Google Street View: https://www.google.com/maps/@42.950089,-78.76259,3a,53.2y,250.78h,81.11t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sxroVYmlD33o3rX-TCzHjpg!2e0
NY 198 and NY 33 had everything replaced last year, unfortunately. One remains on the ramp from I-990 S to I-290 W, there's one on Audobon Parkway on the University at Buffalo north campus, a couple more on the northbound North Grand Island Bridge, and one on Walden Avenue EB at I-90.
Albany (my hometown): Very little, mostly within the I-87/I-90 interchange, as Region 1 hates old signs. There used to be button copy on the NB thruway at the interchange, likely gone with the recent reconstruction. As mentioned, there are signs just north of the toll booth and a couple hanging out on NYSDOT-maintained sections just east of there. There's a state name I-87 shield on a side road a short distance SE of Exit 8. There was (and may still be) a state name I-787 shield on NY 7 W/I-787 S at the eastern end of the Collar City Bridge and there's a ton of goodies near 787 in downtown Albany.
There's also the gantry on I-87 south approaching I-90 that still has the fixtures necessary for sign lighting.
I know of at least one old sign in downtown that's been replaced.
Not all that long ago, they still did light up, along with most of the warning signs in the area.
One buttoncopy BGS panel in each direction on Md. 193 (University Boulevard East) at I-495 dates back to 1964, when the entire Capital Beltway was completed. I suspect their days are numbered.
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10203354853424196.1073741843.1596953667&type=1&l=fbc3fcfc56