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User Content => Photos, Videos, and More => Topic started by: DrivingFAZt on October 08, 2019, 02:01:49 PM

Title: A little redundant, don't ya think? - I495 Southbound in MA
Post by: DrivingFAZt on October 08, 2019, 02:01:49 PM
Saw this wonderful pairing on my morning commute

(https://i.ibb.co/VWsSZV8/Exit-51.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)
Title: Re: A little redundant, don't ya think? - I495 Southbound in MA
Post by: hbelkins on October 08, 2019, 08:13:52 PM
Quote from: DrivingFAZt on October 08, 2019, 02:01:49 PM
Saw this wonderful pairing on my morning commute

(https://i.ibb.co/VWsSZV8/Exit-51.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)

Are they installing new signs? A number of states are beginning to remove signs mounted on bridges and put them on separate structures.
Title: Re: A little redundant, don't ya think? - I495 Southbound in MA
Post by: vdeane on October 08, 2019, 08:34:35 PM
The sign on the bridge looks older, so I'd say it's a replacement sign.  Installing a new sign in front or behind the old sign is a common tactic, as that way there doesn't need to be a period where there's no sign.
Title: Re: A little redundant, don't ya think? - I495 Southbound in MA
Post by: jeffandnicole on October 10, 2019, 10:12:55 AM
Also common practice when replacing signs to remove them from bridge overpasses.

I pass by this one on a daily basis:  https://goo.gl/maps/w9S9RepCNEe72DCj7  You can see in the background the older sign for 168.  Because this is part of a construction project I gave it a pass when the older sign wasn't removed...at first.  However the new sign has existed for 3 years, so the old sign should've been removed long ago.  2 other similar sign replacements in this area were done at the same time, and interestingly enough those older signs were removed within a week.  Why this one remained is unknown.
Title: Re: A little redundant, don't ya think? - I495 Southbound in MA
Post by: roadman on October 10, 2019, 10:28:22 AM
Quote from: hbelkins on October 08, 2019, 08:13:52 PM
Quote from: DrivingFAZt on October 08, 2019, 02:01:49 PM
Saw this wonderful pairing on my morning commute

(https://i.ibb.co/VWsSZV8/Exit-51.jpg) (https://imgbb.com/)

Are they installing new signs? A number of states are beginning to remove signs mounted on bridges and put them on separate structures.

Yes.  MassDOT practice when updating signs is to replace bridge-mounted signs with signs on independent supports.  This sign was installed as part of the I-495 Methuen to Amesbury sign replacement project currently under construction.  As I've noted in other posts, most states are getting away from bridge-mounted signs because of eventual damage to the bridge parapet and girder caused by wind acting on the sign panel, resulting in a torsional effect on the attachments to the parapet wall and the outside bridge girder.