AARoads Forum

National Boards => General Highway Talk => Topic started by: Alps on July 27, 2010, 11:18:51 PM

Title: Highway furniture
Post by: Alps on July 27, 2010, 11:18:51 PM
Anyone got one of these?  http://www.greenerhomedesigns.com/2008/10/green-design-in-fast-lane.html
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: US71 on July 27, 2010, 11:39:01 PM
When I saw the title "Highway Furniture", I thought you were referring to furniture along the side of the road ;)
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Scott5114 on July 27, 2010, 11:45:20 PM
What a waste of state-name shields...why ruin them? :(
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: shadyjay on July 28, 2010, 12:15:59 AM
Quote from: US71 on July 27, 2010, 11:39:01 PM
When I saw the title "Highway Furniture", I thought you were referring to furniture along the side of the road ;)

Speaking of which, how in fact does highway furniture end up there?  Driving south on I-91 in Longmeadow MA over the weekend, I saw a couch in the median.  Did it fall off and end in the median, or is someone sneaking onto the highway and dropping off old furniture in the middle of the night?  I mean, really! 
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: andytom on July 28, 2010, 12:31:40 PM
Quote from: US71 on July 27, 2010, 11:39:01 PM
When I saw the title "Highway Furniture", I thought you were referring to furniture along the side of the road ;)

In the Tour de France coverage, they use the term 'road furniture' for all the things that are part of the road that is not the road surface itself (signs, guardrails, raised islands, gantries, etc).

--Andy
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: bugo on July 28, 2010, 04:51:46 PM
Quote from: shadyjay on July 28, 2010, 12:15:59 AM
Speaking of which, how in fact does highway furniture end up there?  Driving south on I-91 in Longmeadow MA over the weekend, I saw a couch in the median.  Did it fall off and end in the median, or is someone sneaking onto the highway and dropping off old furniture in the middle of the night?  I mean, really! 

Once I was driving along I-44 in Tulsa and the truck in front of me had some mattresses in the bed.  One of the box springs fell out and I hit it and ran over it.  Scared the hell out of me.  Luckily it didn't damage my car.  I also saw a couch fly out of the back of a truck on I-540 near Rogers, AR.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Brandon on July 28, 2010, 04:54:35 PM
Quote from: bugo on July 28, 2010, 04:51:46 PM
Quote from: shadyjay on July 28, 2010, 12:15:59 AM
Speaking of which, how in fact does highway furniture end up there?  Driving south on I-91 in Longmeadow MA over the weekend, I saw a couch in the median.  Did it fall off and end in the median, or is someone sneaking onto the highway and dropping off old furniture in the middle of the night?  I mean, really! 

Once I was driving along I-44 in Tulsa and the truck in front of me had some mattresses in the bed.  One of the box springs fell out and I hit it and ran over it.  Scared the hell out of me.  Luckily it didn't damage my car.  I also saw a couch fly out of the back of a truck on I-540 near Rogers, AR.

There's something to be said for bungee cords, ratching tie downs, and rope.  Never understood why anyone would drive with a couch or a matress that wasn't tied down in the back of the truck.  Hell, I've seen people try to hold down matresses at highway speeds using their hands out of the windows.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: The Premier on July 28, 2010, 06:17:11 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 27, 2010, 11:45:20 PM
What a waste of state-name shields... :(
One DOT's junk is another person's chair. That's a good way to recycle all those signs and make them into a chair.  :thumbsup:

While their at it, maybe they should make a table out of those signs. :D
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Ian on July 28, 2010, 06:25:46 PM
Quote from: The Premier on July 28, 2010, 06:17:11 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 27, 2010, 11:45:20 PM
What a waste of state-name shields... :(
One DOT's junk is another person's chair.

One DOT's junk could also be another person's collection piece :nod:

And while we are talking about furniture along the highway, I happened to see 2 plastic patio chairs fly off a flatbed truck (obviously weren't tied down properly) last year while riding along I-95 in Philadelphia  :ded:
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: agentsteel53 on July 28, 2010, 06:48:22 PM
the one thing you do not want to hit is a roadfridge.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Scott5114 on July 28, 2010, 06:48:54 PM
Didn't you narrowly avoid a roadwasher?
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: agentsteel53 on July 28, 2010, 06:56:51 PM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 28, 2010, 06:48:54 PM
Didn't you narrowly avoid a roadwasher?

we had an okay view of it coming around the bend.  then we had the time to pull over, get out, and drag it to the side of the road, well before the next car came. 
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: bugo on July 28, 2010, 11:48:38 PM
It would be easy to make a chair or other furniture out of old shields without destroying them.  An interstate shield would make a dandy back for a chair, and there's no reason to ruin it by cutting it up.

When I get my signs out of storage, I might try something like that.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Alps on July 29, 2010, 12:00:04 AM
I used a wooden construction sign (after the rest of the work zone was picked up, it was left to rot in a ditch) as a table for a number of years in college.  Closest I ever came.  I have enough square shields now to do a pretty decent chair - just need hinges and a drill to put it together.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: golden eagle on July 29, 2010, 12:32:58 AM
Quote from: Scott5114 on July 28, 2010, 06:48:54 PM
Didn't you narrowly avoid a roadwasher?

There was a guy in Atlanta who was killed when he lost control of his car after swerving to avoid hitting a washing machine that fell out of a truck.

The worst I ever witness something falling out of a truck was a bamboo table from a pick-up on the U.S. 90 bridge between Biloxi and Ocean Springs.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: US71 on August 01, 2010, 11:23:41 AM
Quote from: bugo on July 28, 2010, 11:48:38 PM
It would be easy to make a chair or other furniture out of old shields without destroying them.  An interstate shield would make a dandy back for a chair, and there's no reason to ruin it by cutting it up.


How about cutting signs up to make armor? ;)
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: ctsignguy on August 01, 2010, 12:30:25 PM
Quote from: AlpsROADS on July 27, 2010, 11:18:51 PM
Anyone got one of these?  http://www.greenerhomedesigns.com/2008/10/green-design-in-fast-lane.html

A nice piece of furniture if you got an extra $1,100 lying around...(plus shipping)

Although, at one time, i considered taking the Legendary 4-Foot STOP sign and making an 8-sided table frame for it, (with legs and supports) and dropping a glass or plexiglass over top over it....woulda been a helluva interesting table!
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: njroadhorse on August 01, 2010, 01:27:45 PM
Quote from: US71 on August 01, 2010, 11:23:41 AM
Quote from: bugo on July 28, 2010, 11:48:38 PM
It would be easy to make a chair or other furniture out of old shields without destroying them.  An interstate shield would make a dandy back for a chair, and there's no reason to ruin it by cutting it up.


How about cutting signs up to make armor? ;)
I'll only use I-99 shields if I do so, because no one will care if we cut those up.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Michael on August 01, 2010, 04:01:29 PM
Quote from: US71 on July 27, 2010, 11:39:01 PM
When I saw the title "Highway Furniture", I thought you were referring to furniture along the side of the road ;)
I thought so too.

Just take a look on NY 34 between Weedsport and Auburn (http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.977565,-76.56128&spn=0,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=42.977321,-76.561254&panoid=4ZUP1H-hwHW-AFuFoGPlgw&cbp=12,81.84,,1,-0.48).  It's a giant chair, but Street View is too blurry to get a good look at it.

Quote from: njroadhorse on August 01, 2010, 01:27:45 PM
I'll only use I-99 shields if I do so, because no one will care if we cut those up.

Or I-238 shields. :)
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: mhallack on August 01, 2010, 08:06:13 PM
On the news a few years ago, a news crew went with Maine DOT for the clean up work they wind up doing (besides dead animals) I wished I remembered everything about it, but a lot of it was nice furniture that made it safe despite falling off vehicles, purses, wallets, and sometimes items that they can't really identify. They also make an extra $1500-2000 per year from empty cans and bottles they collect during cleanup.
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: Ian on August 01, 2010, 08:36:06 PM
Quote from: Michael on August 01, 2010, 04:01:29 PM
Quote from: njroadhorse on August 01, 2010, 01:27:45 PM
I'll only use I-99 shields if I do so, because no one will care if we cut those up.

Or I-238 shields. :)

Either are good for target practice!  :sombrero:
Title: Re: Highway furniture
Post by: hm insulators on August 03, 2010, 07:03:57 PM
Quote from: Brandon on July 28, 2010, 04:54:35 PM
Quote from: bugo on July 28, 2010, 04:51:46 PM
Quote from: shadyjay on July 28, 2010, 12:15:59 AM
Speaking of which, how in fact does highway furniture end up there?  Driving south on I-91 in Longmeadow MA over the weekend, I saw a couch in the median.  Did it fall off and end in the median, or is someone sneaking onto the highway and dropping off old furniture in the middle of the night?  I mean, really! 

Once I was driving along I-44 in Tulsa and the truck in front of me had some mattresses in the bed.  One of the box springs fell out and I hit it and ran over it.  Scared the hell out of me.  Luckily it didn't damage my car.  I also saw a couch fly out of the back of a truck on I-540 near Rogers, AR.

There's something to be said for bungee cords, ratching tie downs, and rope.  Never understood why anyone would drive with a couch or a matress that wasn't tied down in the back of the truck.  Hell, I've seen people try to hold down matresses at highway speeds using their hands out of the windows.


That is a constant problem in the Los Angeles area. For some reason, people over there just can't figure out the concept of bungee cords, ropes and so forth. Mattresses and ladders are the two most commonly found items along L.A. freeways, but every year, enough furniture of all kinds falls on the freeways to decorate an entire subdivision!