On US and PA traffic routes, PennDOT has a tendency to only sign turns in the route at the intersection itself. They rarely use advance route turn assemblies that give warning the route is going to turn.
Every other state that I'm familiar with uses a two assembly sequence for turns, with the advance assembly warning of an upcoming turn followed by signage at or immediately before the intersection itself. Are there any other states that omit the advance signs like Pennsylvania?
Also, my read of Section 2D.31 is that the advance turn assemblies are required. Am I missing something here? How/why is PennDOT getting away with not using the advance assemblies?
MUTCD 11th Edition, Section 2D.31
QuoteStandard:
01 An Advance Route Turn assembly shall consist of a route sign, an Advance Turn Arrow or word message auxiliary plaque, and a Cardinal Direction auxiliary plaque, if needed. It shall be installed in advance of an intersection where a turn must be made to remain on the indicated route.
Option:
02 The Advance Route Turn assembly may be used to supplement the required Junction assembly in advance of intersecting routes.
Per this standard, an advanced route turn assembly is required if the route you're on is turning at an upcoming intersection. It's optional for any other junctions.
You don't see too much in the way of routes turning at intersections in Nevada. But for those situations where it does come up, I can't think of too many advance route turn assemblies being installed. In a lot of our cases, the route turn might not be at an intersection with another numbered route, and the road design/quality is pretty obvious that the route is turning so that signing isn't really needed (but technically that doesn't meet the standard quoted here).
Maine seems to be like that; often there's only one sign at the intersection. It makes me nervous, because if a sign gets knocked down, there's nothing there to say that the route turns.
Quote from: vdeane on July 14, 2025, 08:35:02 PMMaine seems to be like that; often there's only one sign at the intersection. It makes me nervous, because if a sign gets knocked down, there's nothing there to say that the route turns.
Just came across this exact situation at Routes A and V, southeast of Jefferson City, MO. Only had a JCT V sign up and the advanced turn sign had been knocked down. Actually was shocked by how much of a negative difference it made.
The worst one in my area is the interchange of the two most important routes in Wichita. On westbound Kellogg (US-54/400), there is zero advance signage for the interchange with the canal route (I-135/US-81/K-15)—unless you count this (https://maps.app.goo.gl/R95T5XKfW1rx6bCU7) as advance signage, which is the very first mention of the interchange to be encountered.
The advance turn assemblies, so common in West Virginia, are a rarity in Kentucky unless a route turns off the mainline or a departure from a concurrency. Kentucky typically uses a "JCT" sign and then arrows at the intersection itself, without an advance warning, and those assemblies at the junction rarely use directional banners as shown in the MUTCD.