AARoads Forum

For quite some time, it seemed like SPUI's were the big fad in highway construction projects.

What now?

I'd say it's a tie between roundabouts and diverging diamond interchanges. Both seem to be quite popular at the moment.

What else could be described as faddish when it comes to highway projects, either at some point in the past, currently, or possibly in the future?

I am not sure fad is the right word since the implication is that there is a subsequent decline in popularity, whereas I suspect the reality is that a saturation point is reached after a while as the existing opportunities to deploy a design innovation are exhausted.  Old, unfashionable clothes get taken to the Goodwill, but highway infrastructure is more durable, so there are still lots of SPUIs hanging around even though relatively few are being built at present (I-40 Morgan Road in Oklahoma City vicinity being one example); I haven't heard of any SPUIs being demolished and replaced with something else.  I expect much the same to happen with roundabouts and DDIs.  (Eventually we may reach a point where it is considered advantageous to convert roundabouts to "hamburgers," as has been done with several major roundabouts in Britain, but I think we are still a long way off from that.)

The design change that has the largest potential to be a fad in the classic sense is Clearview, and that is largely because--unlike SPUIs, DDIs, and roundabouts--it is a fashion choice rather than a substantial design improvement.

Tennessee seems to have stopped constructing Jersey barriers, both as median dividers and bridge parapets, in favor of constant slope barriers.  So far, I think I've only additionally seen them used in Georgia, but I don't get out to other states as frequently as I used to.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PMconvert roundabouts to "hamburgers,"

what would be the advantage of this intersection design?  in order to make a left turn off the mainline, you would have to cross all the lanes, as opposed to just the opposing ones.  seems to me that a mutual left-turn lane would be a better design in this case.

as far as fads go, I cannot think of any.  there are certainly improvements in expertise which have deprecated certain construction types (cloverleafs, left exits/entrances, sharp RIROs onto freeways, etc) but none of those have been arbitrarily abandoned, like pet rocks and (hopefully) Clearview.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on April 24, 2014, 01:53:31 PM
as far as fads go, I cannot think of any.  there are certainly improvements in expertise which have deprecated certain construction types (cloverleafs, left exits/entrances, sharp RIROs onto freeways, etc) but none of those have been arbitrarily abandoned, like pet rocks and (hopefully) Clearview.

My vote for current improvements that history will (hopefully) view as fads one day goes to Arrow Per Lane signs.

The SPUI fad is just now hitting the Oklahoma City area–the I-40 Morgan Road SPUI has been followed up by I-35 Main Street in Norman (which just opened a week or so ago), and another is in the plans for the next interchange south of Main Street (Lindsey Street).

I think the "fad"  aspect comes in–not so much in the Pet Rock sense–but in the sense that a trendy option is considered first and in greater depth than (or to the exclusion of) other alternatives.

Because the fixtures of highway infrastructure are durable to the point that service lives are typically measured in decades, we're obviously not going to see design features appear and disappear within a few years time. Even Clearview (if it's finally condemned by the FHWA) likely won't disappear until all of the guides have reached the end of their serviceable lives 10 or 20 years from now.

But I think the relatively quick change in policy  is as fad-like as anything in highway construction can be.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on April 24, 2014, 01:51:51 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PMconvert roundabouts to "hamburgers,"

what would be the advantage of this intersection design?  in order to make a left turn off the mainline, you would have to cross all the lanes, as opposed to just the opposing ones.  seems to me that a mutual left-turn lane would be a better design in this case.

I'm going to use NJ 70 & 73 as an example.  73 was the 'burger' which went thru the circle, and 70 followed the circle loop.

In order to make a left from Rt. 73, traffic on 73 had to turn right then go thru the circle.  Of course, NJ didn't factor in things like merge lanes, so the traffic waiting within the circle mixed in all so carefully (ha) with traffic on Rt. 70. 

Now, traffic on Rt. 70 that wanted to turn left onto Rt. 73 simply did so at the burger...traffic didn't have to loop all the way around.

The net result...it can add capacity and helps for a little bit, but it's not the greatest of designs.  Another case in point: The circle near the Atlantic City Airport was converted from a normal Jersey Circle to a 'Hamburger'...and congestion severely increased due to traffic light timings.  I remember at the time the local politicians and project engineers insisted the design was better...although that didn't appease motorists that saw minor or no congestion suddenly become a several minute wait to get thru the area (I'm guessing the timings got better, people stopped complaining, or the local paper stopped reporting on it).

Quote from: briantroutman on April 24, 2014, 03:09:48 PM
Even Clearview (if it's finally condemned by the FHWA) likely won't disappear until all of the guides have reached the end of their serviceable lives 10 or 20 years from now.

As use of Clearview by individual states is still subject to interim approval, if (when?) FHWA condemms it, they could mandate that those states revise their signs back to Highway Gothic within a given time frame.  But you're right.  Chances are very high that FHWA would likely allow existing Clearview signs to remain in place until the end of their service life.

I'll say turbine interchanges are the current fad, as the only one I knew with that design was the Circle Interchange in my hometown, and more are being built now.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 24, 2014, 03:11:41 PM

Quote from: agentsteel53 on April 24, 2014, 01:51:51 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PMconvert roundabouts to "hamburgers,"

what would be the advantage of this intersection design?  in order to make a left turn off the mainline, you would have to cross all the lanes, as opposed to just the opposing ones.  seems to me that a mutual left-turn lane would be a better design in this case.

I'm going to use NJ 70 & 73 as an example.  73 was the 'burger' which went thru the circle, and 70 followed the circle loop.

In order to make a left from Rt. 73, traffic on 73 had to turn right then go thru the circle.  Of course, NJ didn't factor in things like merge lanes, so the traffic waiting within the circle mixed in all so carefully (ha) with traffic on Rt. 70. 

Now, traffic on Rt. 70 that wanted to turn left onto Rt. 73 simply did so at the burger...traffic didn't have to loop all the way around.

The net result...it can add capacity and helps for a little bit, but it's not the greatest of designs.  Another case in point: The circle near the Atlantic City Airport was converted from a normal Jersey Circle to a 'Hamburger'...and congestion severely increased due to traffic light timings.  I remember at the time the local politicians and project engineers insisted the design was better...although that didn't appease motorists that saw minor or no congestion suddenly become a several minute wait to get thru the area (I'm guessing the timings got better, people stopped complaining, or the local paper stopped reporting on it).

What is a "hamburger"?

Quote from: vdeane on April 24, 2014, 04:17:38 PM
What is a "hamburger"?

A hamburger interchange is just like a roundabout, but with one road going through, instead of under/over, the roundabout.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fhwa.dot.gov%2Fpublications%2Fresearch%2Fsafety%2F09060%2Fimages%2F09060_img_161.jpg&hash=5c9cbadb60efc0c0f1e290d3422dc56c8cc6f4e9)

Quote from: sammi on April 24, 2014, 04:23:40 PM

Quote from: vdeane on April 24, 2014, 04:17:38 PM
What is a "hamburger"?

A hamburger interchange is just like a roundabout, but with one road going through, instead of under/over, the roundabout.

(image omitted)

I think that's Fairfax Circle, which is located near where I grew up. It's not really a true roundabout for a host of reasons, including the tangent lanes on two sides. It illustrates one of the quirks of the "hamburger" design: Traffic on the non-"hamburger" road (in this case, VA-237 and US-29, entering from the bottom and top of the image, respectively) can make left turns onto the "hamburger" portion because of the one-way circulation on the circle. There's no reason not to allow that maneuver. Traffic on US-50 (the "hamburger") has to go around the circle (and get stuck at another traffic light) in order to make the left-turn maneuver because allowing left turns from the "hamburger" would lock up the circle.

One of the things I hate at Fairfax Circle is that there is no turn on red if you want to make a right turn from US-50–for example, if the white truck at the left side of the image wants to make a right past the Shell station and head down VA-237, he has to sit there at the red light because there's no turn on red. That spot has been reconfigured from what's shown in the image above, incidentally, to provide more pedestrian protection, but the "No Turn on Japan" signs remain (see here: https://www.google.com/maps/@38.86446,-77.276052,3a,75y,99.89h,84.67t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1s3-fN7FGka6onWR4q5j_MsA!2e0 )

I've always thought this style of circle works better when the "hamburger" road uses an underpass, though obviously that in turn is more expensive to build and may require more space depending on the design.

The current configuration of Bell Circle in Revere (MA), where MA 60 and MA 1A split/join is a good example of a 'hamburger' design.  However, in that case, traffic on the outside perimeter is not allowed to make direct left turns onto the bisecting roadway.

Quote from: agentsteel53 on April 24, 2014, 01:51:51 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PMconvert roundabouts to "hamburgers"

what would be the advantage of this intersection design?  in order to make a left turn off the mainline, you would have to cross all the lanes, as opposed to just the opposing ones.  seems to me that a mutual left-turn lane would be a better design in this case.

The main rationale for roundabout-to-hamburger conversion is to secure an incremental improvement in traffic flow at a location where a more competent improvement (such as a grade separation) is not possible to build for planning reasons.  I used to live fairly near this example:

A40 Headington Roundabout, Oxford (https://maps.google.com/maps?vpsrc=6&ie=UTF8&ll=51.762961,-1.196866&spn=0.000905,0.002411&t=h&z=19)

In this case, the hamburger roadway serves a right turn (the A40 westbound turns here to bypass Oxford to the north).  Before it was built, the roundabout was already signalized, which roundabouts tend to need to prevent lockup when they handle traffic volumes in excess of 20,000 VPD.  The hamburger roadway gives westbound traffic coming off the A40 Wheatley bypass (some of which stays on the A40 and some of which continues straight ahead into Oxford proper) more lanes, which reduces queue depth and intersection delay.

You could argue that instead of resorting to a hamburger conversion, Oxfordshire County Council should have grade-separated Headington Roundabout.  But this is a large-scale improvement because of the demolition that would be required (essentially everything in the immediate vicinity of the roundabout, as opposed to nothing for the hamburger conversion), and the economic case cannot be considered in isolation from the costs and benefits of grade-separating other flat intersections on the Oxford ring road.  Since the Oxfordshire structure plan (somewhat similar to an American MPO's constrained long-range plan, except it includes housing as well) embodies a policy that car commuting will be discouraged in favor of other modes, a decision to grade-separate the entire Oxford ring road will be a long time in coming if it ever arrives.  This leaves  plenty of time to milk the benefits of smaller-scale improvements such as hamburger conversion; forgoing it on the basis that the roundabout should be grade-separated instead would amount to making the perfect the enemy of the good.

Quote from: Henry on April 24, 2014, 03:53:29 PMI'll say turbine interchanges are the current fad, as the only one I knew with that design was the Circle Interchange in my hometown, and more are being built now.

I don't think there is anything particularly faddish about turban interchanges--there are plenty of others from approximately the same time period as the Circle Interchange:  I-40/I-27 in Amarillo, I-135/US 54 in Wichita, etc.  What does seem to be fashionable at the moment is stack/turban hybrids, like the Big I (I-25/I-40 interchange) in Albuquerque, planned I-235/US 54 in Wichita (a cloverleaf upgrade), planned K-254/US 54 near Goddard, etc.  I don't understand why agencies prefer them to true stacks because the opposite-facing left-turning direct connectors that cross in plan (the "turban" element of the design) seem to entail more bridge deck square footage and lower design speeds, both of which are disadvantages compared to a true stack design.

Quote from: roadman on April 24, 2014, 02:58:40 PMMy vote for current improvements that history will (hopefully) view as fads one day goes to Arrow Per Lane signs.

Given the thin evidence base for them (tachistoscope studies only), their great cost in terms of sign panel area, and the problems they cause with ramp divergences and closely spaced exits, I'd say the odds for eventual discard are more favorable on this one than on many others.  GMITC has talked about getting FHWA to legitimize "sawn-off" OAPLs (OAPLs that omit the pull-through information), so this may signal the beginning of a retreat from the OAPL concept.

Fads that I've observed, though I realize that some of these are based on practicality rather than style:

• From the mid-'70s to most of the '80s, using a half-Jersey-wall, only, as a bridge parapet.  Formerly, most freeway bridges used tubular steel parapets, often but not always angled or curved inward somehow.  But eventually, tubular steel parapets made a return, though usually atop the safety taper of a Jersey wall. (In Ohio, if the bridge was only over water, a regular guardrail would often suffice.)


• Two other parapet-related fads:  I think this was mostly in Michigan, a blocky concrete "railing" with openings, sometimes with a tubular metal railing on top.  IIRC, some of these were retrofitted with a Jersey wall blocking the openings, when that fad started.
  Another, much older fad, if we can call it that, was a flat concrete parapet with "corrugated" openings.


• Fluorescent street lighting.  This was popular in the late-60s/early-70s.  The fixtures had a long, angled head.  I suspect that these were popular because they were "cool" looking, at least at the time.


• Another street light style where both the pole and the head were colored brown, the pole usually had a square cross section, the head was square shaped, and there was little or no space between the head and the pole.  I saw some of these at a rest area under construction in the mid-80s on I-95 in Florida.


• Trapezoidal box girders, either steel or concrete, seemed to be popular in stack-like interchange projects of the '80s.  Now I only seem to see them used in water crossings or in rapid-transit systems.


• Bridge beams made from weathering steel, better known by the brand name COR-TEN.  I thought I heard that the problem was when salt was applied to the overhead road and leaked down on the structural steel.


• Bicycle lanes in a city separated by a flat concrete divider.  Granted, I only know of two of these locations.  One reason for eliminating them I heard was there was no simple way to remove trash that accumulated in the lanes.  Today, of course, bike lanes, if not a separate paved "trail", are demarcated with paintbrush stripes, maybe with a few diamonds.


• Painting Interstate shields on the pavement, in color, prior to ambiguous interchanges.  Did this ever catch on?


• How about arrows pointing upward, diagonally toward the right, rather than at a downward angle?


• Metric signs in the US, except in certain states.  Though except for the metric speed limits in Florida in the '80s, I can only think of a handful of locations where I ever saw them.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PM
I haven't heard of any SPUIs being demolished and replaced with something else.

The SPUI at I-74 and 7th Avenue in Moline, IL, will be removed as part of the Mississippi River bridge replacement project.

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 07:54:45 PM
Fads that I've observed, though I realize that some of these are based on practicality rather than style:

• Bicycle lanes in a city separated by a flat concrete divider.  Granted, I only know of two of these locations.  One reason for eliminating them I heard was there was no simple way to remove trash that accumulated in the lanes.  Today, of course, bike lanes, if not a separate paved "trail", are demarcated with paintbrush stripes, maybe with a few diamonds.

The separate bike lanes are making a comeback, although in this iteration there are flexible posts instead of a concrete divider -Dearborn Street in Chicago (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=41.878624,-87.629323&spn=0.007134,0.016512&t=m&z=17&layer=c&cbll=41.878624,-87.629323&panoid=XYb6QcO7ZKh8riaV2JYiTw&cbp=12,315.04,,0,13.51) is an example of this new form.

QuoteThe separate bike lanes are making a comeback, although in this iteration there are flexible posts instead of a concrete divider -Dearborn Street in Chicago is an example of this new form.

Not always.  I believe some of the newer Manhattan bike lanes are curb-separated, as are two brand new cycletracks currently under construction in DC.

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 07:54:45 PMFads that I've observed, though I realize that some of these are based on practicality rather than style:

(snip)

Trapezoidal box girders, either steel or concrete, seemed to be popular in stack-like interchange projects of the '80s.  Now I only seem to see them used in water crossings or in rapid-transit systems.

These are still being built--from memory, this type of box girder was used for both stacks on the Katy Freeway expansion (I-10 west of Houston).

QuoteBridge beams made from weathering steel, better known by the brand name COR-TEN.  I thought I heard that the problem was when salt was applied to the overhead road and leaked down on the structural steel.

Weathering steel is still being used--in fact, since 2012 Florida DOT has had a policy that all new steel I-beam and box girder bridges will use weathering steel whenever feasible.  Weathering steel does have its problems.  In order to work properly, it needs time in moist air to develop the patina that stops further corrosion.  Deicing chemicals can cause it to corrode too rapidly for this to happen before significant section loss sets in, while in desert air the patina hardly ever develops (this is a problem in Arizona, for example).  In addition, the piers have to be detailed carefully so that rusty water draining off the girders does not stain bare concrete.  However, weathering steel has compelling advantages both for the environment and for the state DOT's bottom line.  Since it does not have to be painted, it saves 10% at construction and 30% over the bridge life cycle compared to painted girders while also eliminating VOCs from new paint and toxic chips from old paint.

There are a couple of flyover bridges being built near me as part of the I-235/13th Street project in Wichita--I haven't checked against the plans yet, but I suspect the girders are weathering steel.

QuotePainting Interstate shields on the pavement, in color, prior to ambiguous interchanges.  Did this ever catch on?

Yup!  In the MUTCD (since 2003, I think--definitely since 2009 at least), and I see them every so often in construction plans.

QuoteHow about arrows pointing upward, diagonally toward the right, rather than at a downward angle?

I'm not sure what you mean by this--most exit direction signs do still have arrows pointing upward and diagonally to the right.

QuoteMetric signs in the US, except in certain states.  Though except for the metric speed limits in Florida in the '80s, I can only think of a handful of locations where I ever saw them.

California's dual-unit signs (introduced in the 1970's) are deprecated now and have been removed from the sign specs collection.  However, Arizona is still keeping metric signs on I-19.  South Dakota has dual-unit signs which are still being replaced in kind.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 09:29:04 PM

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 07:54:45 PMFads that I've observed, though I realize that some of these are based on practicality rather than style:

QuoteHow about arrows pointing upward, diagonally toward the right, rather than at a downward angle?

I'm not sure what you mean by this--most exit direction signs do still have arrows pointing upward and diagonally to the right.

Oh, I should have been clearer here.  I meant overhead BGS's that tell multiple lanes where to exit, especially for "high-speed" splits.  Pretty sure the standard method is to point the arrows downward at an angle to the right, with arrows on the sign over the through lanes pointing straight down, one arrow per lane.  But I used to occasionally see them with the arrows pointed upward to the right.  I thought this was a fad, unless there's a difference in meaning that I'm not aware of (about to ascend an obvious hill, perhaps?)

Quote from: Revive 755 on April 24, 2014, 08:40:01 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PMI haven't heard of any SPUIs being demolished and replaced with something else.

The SPUI at I-74 and 7th Avenue in Moline, IL, will be removed as part of the Mississippi River bridge replacement project.

This is true.  However, detailed study of the FEIS shows that the new crossing is being built substantially to the east of existing I-74, presumably to allow I-74 to remain open to traffic during construction.  The 7th Avenue SPUI is right at the point where the new alignment joins the new one, so it is not so surprising that the new configuration will not only not be a SPUI, but will also entail fairly indirect connections between I-74 and 7th Avenue for some movements, notably westbound 7th to southbound (book eastbound) I-74 and southbound I-74 to both directions of 7th.

Here in Wichita, the I-235/US 54 upgrade will affect the West Street SPUI immediately to the east since the overpass will have to be widened to accommodate ramp braiding, but US 54 is remaining substantially on its existing line, so as far as I know West Street will still retain the SPUI configuration.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 09:29:04 PM
I'm not sure what you mean by this--most exit direction signs do still have arrows pointing upward and diagonally to the right.

I think he means signs like this:

(https://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_jersey095/i-095_sb_exit_008_14.jpg)

Rather than:

(https://www.aaroads.com/northeast/new_jersey295/i-295_nb_exit_029_04.jpg)

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 09:40:14 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 09:29:04 PM

QuoteHow about arrows pointing upward, diagonally toward the right, rather than at a downward angle?

I'm not sure what you mean by this--most exit direction signs do still have arrows pointing upward and diagonally to the right.

Oh, I should have been clearer here.  I meant overhead BGS's that tell multiple lanes where to exit, especially for "high-speed" splits.  Pretty sure the standard method is to point the arrows downward at an angle to the right, with arrows on the sign over the through lanes pointing straight down, one arrow per lane.  But I used to occasionally see them with the arrows pointed upward to the right.  I thought this was a fad, unless there's a difference in meaning that I'm not aware of (about to ascend an obvious hill, perhaps?)

Thanks for the clarification.  Actually, the method with the lane assignment arrows pointing diagonally upward is now the standard one.  What you describe (arrows pointing diagonally downward) is called "dancing arrows" and is officially not allowed as of MUTCD 2009.  Previously (up to and through the validity period of MUTCD 2003), the standard solution was to use arrows that pointed straight down--no "dancing"--for both the through and exiting movements.

This is actually an interesting question.  An argument can be made for both approaches--"dancing arrows" and lane assignment arrows pointing diagonally upward--being fads.  Both have been around for a long time without any mention in the MUTCD.  However, I think I'd put my money on the diagonally upward lane assignment arrows staying the course, because (1) they look neater, (2) they now have official recognition in the MUTCD while the other approach is now forbidden, and (3) they improve positive guidance since they are now also required to be centered over the lanes to which they apply.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 09:57:27 PM

Quote from: Revive 755 on April 24, 2014, 08:40:01 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 01:15:26 PMI haven't heard of any SPUIs being demolished and replaced with something else.

The SPUI at I-74 and 7th Avenue in Moline, IL, will be removed as part of the Mississippi River bridge replacement project.

This is true.  However, detailed study of the FEIS shows that the new crossing is being built substantially to the east of existing I-74, presumably to allow I-74 to remain open to traffic during construction.  The 7th Avenue SPUI is right at the point where the new alignment joins the new one, so it is not so surprising that the new configuration will not only not be a SPUI, but will also entail fairly indirect connections between I-74 and 7th Avenue for some movements, notably westbound 7th to southbound (book eastbound) I-74 and southbound I-74 to both directions of 7th.

Unfortunately, the SPUI is getting taken down, but at least the interchange will actually be for the through route (IL-92/4th and 6th Avenue) when all is said and done.

Back on-topic, I feel like the cloverleaf was one of the biggest fads in construction. Obviously, they're the best fit for a freeway-to-freeway junction in a rural area, but there used to be a lot of freeway-to-surface-street cloverleaves in urban and suburban areas (I-55 in Chicagoland, I-80 in Chicagoland before upgrades, I-74 in Peoria before 2006ish)-- Okay, this may have just been an Illinois thing, but it sure was popular.

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 07:54:45 PM

• Bridge beams made from weathering steel, better known by the brand name COR-TEN.  I thought I heard that the problem was when salt was applied to the overhead road and leaked down on the structural steel.

These type beams are currently included in the new Manor Expressway (Toll 290) in Austin, TX as well as on other toll projects around this area. Salt is not really a great concern down here.  ;-)

QuoteBack on-topic, I feel like the cloverleaf was one of the biggest fads in construction. Obviously, they're the best fit for a freeway-to-freeway junction in a rural area, but there used to be a lot of freeway-to-surface-street cloverleaves in urban and suburban areas (I-55 in Chicagoland, I-80 in Chicagoland before upgrades, I-74 in Peoria before 2006ish)-- Okay, this may have just been an Illinois thing, but it sure was popular.

Not just an Illinois thing...several other areas embraced the cloverleaf back in the early Interstate days.  The Twin Cities (MN) still have several (though oddly absent from both I-494/MN 55 and I-694/MN 5), including a new one at US 169/MN 610, another new one further south at I-35/US 14, and two more proposed at I-90/US 52 and at US 52/Dakota CSAH 42.  Virginia also has several, as does the DC-Baltimore corridor of Maryland.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 24, 2014, 09:29:04 PM
I'm not sure what you mean by this--most exit direction signs do still have arrows pointing upward and diagonally to the right.

It's something more like this:  http://goo.gl/maps/PmZjR

He's really referring to overhead signs on the highway approaching an exit, but this GSV what I could quickly find...and fortunate enough to have both examples in one shot.

The left sign has the arrow facing up and to the right.  The one on the right has the arrow facing down and to the right.

Personally, I always though this was more of a regional/state DOT preference.  Usually the up arrow is what we've used here on the east coast, although occasionally you'll find the down arrow here and there (when the SPUI at 33/133/NJ Turnpike was getting built, they used a down facing arrow for one of the ramps, which is extremely rare in NJ: http://goo.gl/maps/TydlE.  Not sure if it still exists there).

Trapezoidal box-beams are very much alive and well - WisDOT is actively using them in several current projects (ie, US(I)-41 upgrades in the Green Bay area, the rebuilt Marquette interchange, etc).

I agree, interstate and compatible highway cloverleaf interchanges, especially those involving surface crossroads, were too much of a 'fad' thing in the early interstate days and WisDOT has been actively removing them over the past few decades.  There are only a few that are being and will likely continue to be maintained/continued, including I-43/WI 23 (Sheboygan), US 53/WI 29 in the Eau Claire area and I-43/US 12 at Elkhorn.  I-39/90//43 at Beloit is currently in the planning process for replacement with a free-flow interchange and I am expecting the cloverleaf at I-94/US 53 in Eau Claire to be dumped within my lifetime.

A recent fad here in Wisconsin was setting lane-line reflectors into the surfaces of major highways (1990s, mainly).  They did not live long in real world Wisconsin conditions.

Another fairly recent and, as it turned out, highly misguided fad here in Wisconsin, and one that WisDOT and other more local agencies are STILL paying dearly for, was to not use reinforcing steel at saw-line joints in concrete paving (1970s and 1980s, mainly), this on the theory that there would be an 'aggregate lock' between the squares.  Ever since, there have been ongoing projects statewide to retrofit dowel bars into those joints.

Mike

Painting the highway symbol on the pavement has definitely caught on in Louisiana and Texas.

Urban cloverleafs: There are some on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

I certainly hope that Clearview is not a fad, as I prefer the look of Clearview signs over traditional Gothic. I'd actually prefer to see the FHWA issue guidelines rather than mandates on typefaces for signage.

Quote from: jbnv on April 25, 2014, 12:05:01 PM
Painting the highway symbol on the pavement has definitely caught on in Louisiana and Texas.

Urban cloverleafs: There are some on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

I certainly hope that Clearview is not a fad, as I prefer the look of Clearview signs over traditional Gothic. I'd actually prefer to see the FHWA issue guidelines rather than mandates on typefaces for signage.

The only place I've seen the symbol on the pavement is on 87/287 South/East where they split in Elmsford, NY (symbols painted in color, no less). 

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 25, 2014, 12:29:02 PM
The only place I've seen the symbol on the pavement is on 87/287 South/East where they split in Elmsford, NY (symbols painted in color, no less).

I doubt you'll see them much in places that get a lot of snow. 

Even place that get a lot of snow have clear roads 360 days out of the year.  It's the rare snowstorm that leaves roads snowcovered more than a day.

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 25, 2014, 12:29:02 PM

Quote from: jbnv on April 25, 2014, 12:05:01 PM
Painting the highway symbol on the pavement has definitely caught on in Louisiana and Texas.

Urban cloverleafs: There are some on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

I certainly hope that Clearview is not a fad, as I prefer the look of Clearview signs over traditional Gothic. I'd actually prefer to see the FHWA issue guidelines rather than mandates on typefaces for signage.

The only place I've seen the symbol on the pavement is on 87/287 South/East where they split in Elmsford, NY (symbols painted in color, no less). 

Not the only place: http://goo.gl/maps/QHnS7

Quote from: vdeane on April 25, 2014, 05:07:25 PM
Not the only place: http://goo.gl/maps/QHnS7

I don't blame them - look at how small the shields are on the BGSes further ahead! Those look like 24" shields, which are wayyyy to small for those roads.

Quote from: vdeane on April 25, 2014, 05:07:25 PM

Quote from: Pete from Boston on April 25, 2014, 12:29:02 PM

Quote from: jbnv on April 25, 2014, 12:05:01 PM
Painting the highway symbol on the pavement has definitely caught on in Louisiana and Texas.

Urban cloverleafs: There are some on Airline Highway in Baton Rouge.

I certainly hope that Clearview is not a fad, as I prefer the look of Clearview signs over traditional Gothic. I'd actually prefer to see the FHWA issue guidelines rather than mandates on typefaces for signage.

The only place I've seen the symbol on the pavement is on 87/287 South/East where they split in Elmsford, NY (symbols painted in color, no less). 

Not the only place: http://goo.gl/maps/QHnS7

Here are some on an arterial street not far from where I live (satellite view easier to see than Street View due to a truck obstructing the latter):
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7902445,-77.1367528,107m/data=!3m1!1e3

The District of Columbia DOT recently installed some on the inbound 14th Street Bridge (I-395/US-1 concurrency). They're not on Google or Bing Maps yet, so here's a capture from one of my dashcam videos. I find the use of "SPLIT" for the option lane to be interesting (completely accurate, of course, just interesting).

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi31.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fc378%2F1995hoo%2FRoad%2520sign%2520pictures%2Fpavementmarkings14thStreetBridge_zps4eb919e6.png&hash=23211738138f4c549018fe0e7ed74aabb224033e)

One fad in highway signage that appears to be dying out is the diagrammatic BGS.  Most new installations of such presently are replacements/updates to existing diagrammatic BGS'.

Quote from: PHLBOS on April 25, 2014, 05:54:43 PM
One fad in highway signage that appears to be dying out is the diagramatic BGS.  Most new installations of such presently are replacements/updates to existing diagramatic BGS'.

I thought OAPL signs effectively replaced diagrammatic signs?

Quote from: Zeffy on April 25, 2014, 06:13:33 PMI thought OAPL signs effectively replaced diagrammatic signs?

Diagrammatric BGS' are still listed & detailed in the latest MUTCD; plus, not all diagrammatic applications can be directly replaced w/OAPLs.

As mentioned earlier, and shown on other threads, the only diagrammatic BGS' being erected today (MA being one state I know that does such) are direct replacements for older diagrammatic BGS'.

^ There was a new one added in on NB I-55/EBI-70 for IL 203 in East St. Louis (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=38.634942,-90.138896&spn=0.014901,0.033023&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.635364,-90.138321&panoid=LhZTcp0qjbagTfnHNErWpQ&cbp=12,67.66,,0,-8.77) not that long ago.

Quote from: Revive 755 on April 25, 2014, 06:41:50 PM
^ There was a new one added in on NB I-55/EBI-70 for IL 203 in East St. Louis (https://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ll=38.634942,-90.138896&spn=0.014901,0.033023&t=m&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.635364,-90.138321&panoid=LhZTcp0qjbagTfnHNErWpQ&cbp=12,67.66,,0,-8.77) not that long ago.

And that is a sign that gets no quarrel from me for using Clearview, since it was used properly.

Quote from: PHLBOS on April 25, 2014, 06:36:33 PM
As mentioned earlier, and shown on other threads, the only diagrammatic BGS' being erected today (MA being one state I know that does such) are direct replacements for older diagrammatic BGS'.

True, but the MUTCD sort of hints that OAPLs are better in this paragraph:

QuoteSupport:
01 Diagrammatic guide signs (see Figure 2E-7) are guide signs that show a simplified graphic view of the exit
arrangement in relationship to the main highway. While the use of such guide signs might be helpful for the
purpose of conveying relative direction of each movement, Diagrammatic guide signs have been shown to be less
effective than conventional or Overhead Arrow-per-Lane guide signs at conveying the destination or direction(s)
that each approach lane serves, regardless of whether dedicated or option lanes are present.

Not saying you are wrong, but it seems like diagrammatics aren't as useful as conventional methods (or OAPL signs).

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 25, 2014, 02:06:48 PM
Even place that get a lot of snow have clear roads 360 days out of the year.  It's the rare snowstorm that leaves roads snowcovered more than a day.

True, but snow plows tend to tear up pavement markings, especially large ones like route shields.

Quote from: Zeffy on April 25, 2014, 06:13:33 PM

Quote from: PHLBOS on April 25, 2014, 05:54:43 PM
One fad in highway signage that appears to be dying out is the diagramatic BGS.  Most new installations of such presently are replacements/updates to existing diagramatic BGS'.

I thought OAPL signs effectively replaced diagrammatic signs?

Diagrammatic signs are one of the few ones that I actually hate. Having to count little black lane dashes at speed is stupid. OPAL sings are much clearer.

Quote from: froggie on April 25, 2014, 07:55:36 AM

QuoteBack on-topic, I feel like the cloverleaf was one of the biggest fads in construction. Obviously, they're the best fit for a freeway-to-freeway junction in a rural area, but there used to be a lot of freeway-to-surface-street cloverleaves in urban and suburban areas (I-55 in Chicagoland, I-80 in Chicagoland before upgrades, I-74 in Peoria before 2006ish)-- Okay, this may have just been an Illinois thing, but it sure was popular.

Not just an Illinois thing...several other areas embraced the cloverleaf back in the early Interstate days.  The Twin Cities (MN) still have several (though oddly absent from both I-494/MN 55 and I-694/MN 5), including a new one at US 169/MN 610, another new one further south at I-35/US 14, and two more proposed at I-90/US 52 and at US 52/Dakota CSAH 42.  Virginia also has several, as does the DC-Baltimore corridor of Maryland.

Yep. They were also frequent on I-695 around Baltimore. They are slowly being converted from full cloverleafs to partial cloverleafs (removing the leafs from the street to freeway connections).


iPhone

QuoteTrue, but snow plows tend to tear up pavement markings, especially large ones like route shields.

Thermoplast markings (which most southern states tend to use), yes.  Paint, no.

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 07:54:45 PM

• Fluorescent street lighting.  This was popular in the late-60s/early-70s.  The fixtures had a long, angled head.  I suspect that these were popular because they were "cool" looking, at least at the time.

At one point, the entire illuminated parts of Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895 today) had fluorescent lighting, and I believe that the fluorescent tubes dated back to when the crossing and its approach roads were opened in 1957. 

IMO, these rated extremely high in terms of "cool" factor, and they were certainly distinctive (I do not recall ever seeing any other public road in the state with such lighting).  Someone who knows better than I suggested the luminaries were Westinghouse Whiteways.

Sadly, MdTA replaced them with much more conventional-looking lighting in the late 1970's.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdta.maryland.gov%2Fsebin%2Ft%2Fg%2Fbhtold.jpeg&hash=2f8c08116f072b7ffb6a9ae679a3fa9852fb89c4)

Quote from: cpzilliacus on April 27, 2014, 01:12:30 AM

Quote from: lepidopteran on April 24, 2014, 07:54:45 PM

• Fluorescent street lighting.  This was popular in the late-60s/early-70s.  The fixtures had a long, angled head.  I suspect that these were popular because they were "cool" looking, at least at the time.

At one point, the entire illuminated parts of Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway (I-895 today) had fluorescent lighting, and I believe that the fluorescent tubes dated back to when the crossing and its approach roads were opened in 1957. 

IMO, these rated extremely high in terms of "cool" factor, and they were certainly distinctive (I do not recall ever seeing any other public road in the state with such lighting).  Someone who knows better than I suggested the luminaries were Westinghouse Whiteways.

Sadly, MdTA replaced them with much more conventional-looking lighting in the late 1970's.

(https://www.aaroads.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.mdta.maryland.gov%2Fsebin%2Ft%2Fg%2Fbhtold.jpeg&hash=2f8c08116f072b7ffb6a9ae679a3fa9852fb89c4)

New York (the city) had fluorescent bulbs under yellow lenses on the TBTA bridges at least into the 80s.  They were stark and very era-specific.  I recall the same on the Mass Pike Extension in the early 90s, though I can't remember if it lasted until the c.2000 light replacement there.

Button copy was undeniably a fad.

There are shields on pavement on the IDL in downtown Tulsa.  Here is a US 75 shield on northbound 75/eastbound I-244 approaching the IDL:

(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2204/4207854172_f48f4ba0fe_o.jpg)

That hamburger design is the worst design since the Death Diamond or Cherokee Curve.

Oklahoma is still building cloverleafs, such as at the Creek Turnpike/Muskogee Turnpike.  They're obsolete but they have been built in the last 15 years.

Cloverleafs aren't really obsolete if there aren't major traffic volumes and/or weaving problems. The cloverleaf at intersection of the Western Kentucky and Natcher parkways works just fine. The one at I-64 and I-265 in Louisville, however...

(I think that's on schedule to be rebuilt.)

Quote from: bugo on April 27, 2014, 02:57:51 AM
Oklahoma is still building cloverleafs, such as at the Creek Turnpike/Muskogee Turnpike.  They're obsolete but they have been built in the last 15 years.

Quote from: hbelkins on April 27, 2014, 02:40:00 PM
Cloverleafs aren't really obsolete if there aren't major traffic volumes and/or weaving problems. The cloverleaf at intersection of the Western Kentucky and Natcher parkways works just fine. The one at I-64 and I-265 in Louisville, however...

(I think that's on schedule to be rebuilt.)

I don't see a problem with new cloverleafs as long as they meet the following two criteria:

(1) If either road is a freeway, C/D lanes are used to separate weaving movements from the freeway mainline.
(2) None of the left-turn movements have high enough traffic volumes to warrant flyover ramps.

The Creek Turnpike and Muskogee Turnpike cloverleaf meets #1, and, without looking up the data, it doesn't look like a place where #2 would be an issue.

The US 169/BA cloverleaf is terrible.  No C/D lanes and way too much traffic at peak hours.  I dread driving through it.

Quote from: stridentweasel on April 27, 2014, 03:31:09 PMI don't see a problem with new cloverleafs as long as they meet the following two criteria:

(1) If either road is a freeway, C/D lanes are used to separate weaving movements from the freeway mainline.
(2) None of the left-turn movements have high enough traffic volumes to warrant flyover ramps.

The Creek Turnpike and Muskogee Turnpike cloverleaf meets #1, and, without looking up the data, it doesn't look like a place where #2 would be an issue.

Actually, I think Jeremy has a point on this one.  While it is true that cloverleafs have continued to be built in states other than Oklahoma (the I-95/I-74 interchange in North Carolina comes to mind), these have tended to be at rural locations and to be equipped with either true collector-distributor roadways or what I call "poor man's C/D," which is a lane added before the interchange that is dropped after the interchange and is designed to facilitate weaving.

I can't really think of any other state (with the possible exception of Minnesota) where cloverleafs are as prevalent for freeway-to-freeway interchanges and are as likely to be used in densely built-up urban areas.

A quick comparison:  the Tulsa area has 18 freeway-to-freeway interchanges, of which four are cloverleafs (five if you count US 169/I-44 with the missing link ramp), while Wichita--a much smaller metropolitan area--has 8 freeway-to-freeway interchanges, of which only one is a cloverleaf and is scheduled for upgrade to a stack/turban hybrid.

44/412/Creek Turnpike is a 3/4 cloverleaf if you want to count it.

Cable stay bridges have become a huge fad. Seems like almost every "distinctive span" built these days is cable stay. A lot of them built in the past 20 years or so. Before then, not so much.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 27, 2014, 05:09:02 PM

I can't really think of any other state (with the possible exception of Minnesota) where cloverleafs are as prevalent for freeway-to-freeway interchanges and are as likely to be used in densely built-up urban areas.

Massachusetts seems to have a lot of them, especially on the I-495 corridor.

Quote from: froggie on April 26, 2014, 08:52:27 PM

QuoteTrue, but snow plows tend to tear up pavement markings, especially large ones like route shields.

Thermoplast markings (which most southern states tend to use), yes.  Paint, no.

Maybe not "tear up" but certainly "wear out" is applicable. Running winter maintenance equipment and dropping material on pavement markings tends to leave them pretty illegible come spring.

Another consideration for symbol marking is that painting within a lane, especially a freeway lane, is a very expensive operation. It's one thing to have a mobile operation where the machine constantly is moving to stripes the road. But to stop and put down a stencil - especially multiple stencils for several different colours - will require a lot more intensive/expensive traffic protection plan. Again, the advantage for jurisdictions with longer life expectancy for their paint where they need not do that as often.

Quote from: Bitmapped on April 25, 2014, 09:40:33 PM

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 25, 2014, 02:06:48 PM
Even place that get a lot of snow have clear roads 360 days out of the year.  It's the rare snowstorm that leaves roads snowcovered more than a day.

True, but snow plows tend to tear up pavement markings, especially large ones like route shields.

Nah.  If that was the case, solid and passing lines would be scraped up every winter, would barely be visible come spring, and would need to be repainted quickly every year.

It doesn't happen. 

I've often wondered why stop bars and crosswalks seem to be done most often via thermoplastic pavement markings instead of painting. Are there reflectivity issues?

Quote from: hbelkins on April 27, 2014, 10:24:06 PM

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 27, 2014, 05:09:02 PMI can't really think of any other state (with the possible exception of Minnesota) where cloverleafs are as prevalent for freeway-to-freeway interchanges and are as likely to be used in densely built-up urban areas.

Massachusetts seems to have a lot of them, especially on the I-495 corridor.

This is a good point--I count nine "pure" cloverleafs on Massachusetts I-495, not including a couple of "impacted" cloverleafs (link ramps missing, at least one loop unrolled) at the closely spaced US 3 and Lowell Connector interchanges.  But most of the locations in which they are used appear to be pretty rural.

I also seem to remember a MTR thread some years ago in which it was argued that stacks were rare in northern states because of the greater prevalence of bridge icing in the winter.  This proposition is not actually true since the northern states do have a considerable number of stacks; it is Texas (with more than 25--about half the US total and far more than any other country in the world) that is the true outlier on a global basis.  The states that have land or water borders with Canada actually have more stacks than California (by my count, 10 in California versus a total of 11, consisting of 3 in NY, 3 in OH, 4 in MI, and 1 in WA).

However, a more refined version of the bridge icing argument would lead us to expect interchange forms with lesser structural content to be more prevalent, given similar traffic levels and location, in the northern states than elsewhere, and cloverleafs as well as some forms of directional interchange would therefore be favored.

Quote from: hbelkins on April 28, 2014, 10:56:29 AM
I've often wondered why stop bars and crosswalks seem to be done most often via thermoplastic pavement markings instead of painting. Are there reflectivity issues?

Thermoplatic has greater durability, but more expensive to install. So cases like those where it's a more difficult location or complicated design there's advantages to using the more expensive material but doing so less often.

In terms of durability of paint lane markings in an area with extensive winter maintenance, the target service life per the Ontario Traffic Manual is 6-12 months for a typical roadway, a very high volume road it can be as low as 3 months.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 25, 2014, 02:06:48 PM
Even place that get a lot of snow have clear roads 360 days out of the year.  It's the rare snowstorm that leaves roads snowcovered more than a day.

Bahahaha, you haven't spent much time in the west in the winter have you? We don't use salt out here and leave even major roads snowpacked with sand on them as a matter of course. The town I live in in Montana doesn't even own a plow. That's why there is still a healthy market for studded tires, and those do damage paint.

Quote from: J N Winkler on April 28, 2014, 11:00:06 AM

Quote from: hbelkins on April 27, 2014, 10:24:06 PMMassachusetts seems to have a lot of them, especially on the I-495 corridor.

This is a good point--I count nine "pure" cloverleafs on Massachusetts I-495, not including a couple of "impacted" cloverleafs (link ramps missing, at least one loop unrolled) at the closely spaced US 3 and Lowell Connector interchanges.  But most of the locations in which they are used appear to be pretty rural.

I-95 in MA has a total of 13 "pure" full cloverleafs; three of them south of Canton (I-93) and the other 10 are along the 128 corridor (Peabody to Canton).

Two of the older, tighter cloverleafs along MA 128 in Danvers (MA 35 & MA 62) were just recently converted into diamond interchanges.

MA 24 has a total of 8 full cloverleafs.

Quote from: corco on April 28, 2014, 02:36:37 PM

Quote from: jeffandnicole on April 25, 2014, 02:06:48 PM
Even place that get a lot of snow have clear roads 360 days out of the year.  It's the rare snowstorm that leaves roads snowcovered more than a day.

Bahahaha, you haven't spent much time in the west in the winter have you? We don't use salt out here and leave even major roads snowpacked with sand on them as a matter of course. The town I live in in Montana doesn't even own a plow. That's why there is still a healthy market for studded tires, and those do damage paint.

Perhaps "states without bare pavement policies" would be a better way to phrase that.  NY is the snow capital of the northeast and still has the paint visible most days in winter.

Quote from: bugo on April 27, 2014, 02:57:51 AM
Button copy was undeniably a fad.

nope.  discrete reflector elements can be traced back to ~1929 in the US, and they lasted until 2002.  for many iterations of technological improvement, discrete circular elements won out.  reflective glass panes (1920s) gave way to circular cateye reflectors by the early 30s.  then, technological improvement resulted in the more cost-effective Stimsonite (Lucite plastic) to replace glass by the 1940s.

Stimsonite buttons lasted so long (well into the 80s in the majority of states, so that's ~50 years of design use) because they were brighter than all contemporary retroreflective sheeting options.  the vast areas of background black (and later, green) were deemed not necessary to illuminate, so having buttons on the foreground was sufficient. 

it really wasn't until a few refinements of honeycomb sheeting (late 80s, really) that button copy was functionally obsolete.  in certain applications (white text on dark background), it was clearly better than the older engineer grade (or, heaven forbid, silver Scotchlite or even beaded glass paint) sheeting.  then 1970s honeycomb was notoriously fragile, falling apart within 5-6 years.  only in the late 80s, early 90s (about the same time that diamond grade was developed) did honeycomb reach a level of functionality that allowed it to universally replace button copy. 

a lot of places had gone away from button copy years before for short-term cost reasons, but some places invariably went back because the buttons worked.  Washington, for example, had retroreflective sheeting overhead signs in the late 50s and mid-60s, then went to button copy for several decades before returning to retroreflective sheeting.

even the holdouts (California, Ohio, Arizona) insisted on button copy because the stuff worked; it was just no longer feasible to manufacture letter forms for only three states, so AGA pulled the product.

So Arizona switched to Clearview and California doesn't replace signs ;)

LED Lamp posts are slowly working their way in.  When I left WI in May 2013 for the 6-month ride, nowhere in WI did LED posts exist.  When I returned, I saw them in at least 3 locations - including the Madison area.

Don't forget that the new interchange on I-95 at the ICC (MD-200) is a full cloverleaf.  It does, however, have a flyover duplicating the EB->NB movement.  The loop it duplicates is used to access C/D-lanes (when they open) and the next two exits downstream (one of which is still under construction).  The flyover just "braids" right over them.  There is also a C/D road on the SB side of I-95, yet that's undercut by a direct exit ramp from I-95.  Someone was trying to make darn sure there'd be no weaving!

(The "flyover" is more of a mixing-bowl-type ramp due to the interchange's sprawl -- what's the official name for that?)

Quote from: SSOWorld on April 28, 2014, 09:06:13 PM
So Arizona switched to Clearview and California doesn't replace signs ;)

LED Lamp posts are slowly working their way in.  When I left WI in May 2013 for the 6-month ride, nowhere in WI did LED posts exist.  When I returned, I saw them in at least 3 locations - including the Madison area.

They've been in the Madison-area before 2013. The last phase of the E Washington Ave (US 151) reconstruction put them in along Wis 30 at the interchange with US 151. That was around 2009/2010. I believe that was the/one of the first test sites for WisDOT.

Quote from: SSOWorld on April 28, 2014, 09:06:13 PMSo Arizona switched to Clearview and California doesn't replace signs ;)

In Arizona it was not a smooth transition from button copy to Clearview.  The last major Arizona DOT signing contract with button copy (per Richard Moeur's "Farewell to button copy" post in MTR on December 17, 2000) was the I-17 Maricopa TI to Thomas Road sign update then in progress (TRACS H480501C).  ADOT then used demountable Series E Modified prior to the transition to Clearview, which started with the I-10 Poston Road to Hovatter sign rehabilitation contract (TRACS H646001C) in 2006.  There was actually a fair amount of urban sign replacement work that was done with reflective-sheeting Series E Modified instead of Clearview, as well as new lengths of the Loops, the I-10/I-19 Crossroads upgrade, etc.

Quote from: SSOWorld on April 28, 2014, 09:06:13 PM
So Arizona switched to Clearview and California doesn't replace signs ;)

LED Lamp posts are slowly working their way in.  When I left WI in May 2013 for the 6-month ride, nowhere in WI did LED posts exist.  When I returned, I saw them in at least 3 locations - including the Madison area.

The City of Columbus, WI changed all of their streetlights to LEDs at least two years ago - the whole city was using those fixtures when I visited a friend there in March of 2012.

Appleton installed several hundred LED streetlights, mainly at major intersections and on a couple of bridges, as well as on sections of several downtown side streets, later on in 2012.

Mike

Forgive my ignorance, what is SPUI?

And I don't know if I would call roundabouts/traffic circles a "fad," but a street near my house just had every single intersection redone as a traffic circle. And given that we're talking about a small neighborhood street, it seemed a bit unnecessary.

Quote from: Quillz on April 29, 2014, 02:30:59 PM
Forgive my ignorance, what is SPUI?

It stands for Single Point Urban Interchange.