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[KillerTux]

http://scottwykoff.wbal.com/2010/07/down-but-not-out.html

Really cool sign. Hope they fix it up.

[bugo]

I guess we're not the only ones who hate clearview.

[agentsteel53]

did someone actually smash it, with hammers or whatnot, or did a truck happen to drive in the #6 lane when only four lanes were available?

[Scott5114]

Lane numbering starts with #1 closest to the median, so the truck would have had to be driving in the #0 lane

[agentsteel53]

really, the sign was in the left median?  I distinctly remember it being on the right shoulder.  I believe it was Clearview by 2006, but definitely on the right side.

(work firewall blocks the picture, so I can't tell what it looks like.)

[Alex]

really, the sign was in the left median?  I distinctly remember it being on the right shoulder.  I believe it was Clearview by 2006, but definitely on the right side.

(work firewall blocks the picture, so I can't tell what it looks like.)

It was installed by 2004, and was the first time I saw a Clearview sign posted in Maryland.

[agentsteel53]

that's the one... I remember the mileages coming out to convenient-looking multiples of 100.  Is that even accurate, or did MD DOT just get lazy and refuse to call up all the other DOTs between them and Utah to get the exact total?

[Alps]

How could that possibly be accurate?  And why is St. Louis 845 but Denver and Cove Fort are unreasonable?

[hbelkins]

This sign was definitely not up when I drove I-70 west from the Park and Ride to Breezewood back in June.

And to answer the question the original link posed, apparently Clearview went over pretty well because it's all over Maryland now.

[MDRoads]

As long as I remember the sign being up, it's been in the center median.

And to answer the question the original link posed, apparently Clearview went over pretty well because it's all over Maryland now.

It's gone over well, but maybe less so with the folks fabricating the signs.  Recently I had a chance to visit the MD SHA sign shop, and they mentioned the extra step with Clearview's variable spacing guidelines, while FHWA fonts have a standard grid.

[MDRoads]

Figure I'd check Google Maps on the mileage, and it's showing exactly 400 to Columbus from that spot, but using I-470 past Wheeling.  It won't route me through the Wheeling Tunnel (forcing me onto US 40 north around it-is there a closure there?)  Even with that detour added in, it's 401 miles. Subtracting 0.8 to remove the endgame in Columbus (from I-70 to the center of town), roughly evens out at 400.

St. Louis comes in at 816 miles, Denver 1662, Cove Fort 2169.

[agentsteel53]

those are very much off the mark!  they must have been estimates.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Just for fun:

I was able to get 838 mi in Google Maps by (for some reason) using I-270 and I-170 to bypass St. Louis to the north, then backtrack on I-70 toward downtown. I have no idea why anyone would do this, though.

I managed to get to 1,697 miles to Denver (to be precise, the Colorado State Capitol), but only by "bypassing" nearly every city between Baltimore and Denver using 3dis and using I-68 to I-79 rather than the PA Tpk, then using I-25.

Same approach gets me to 2,200 mi to Cove Fort (specifically, the end of the ramp to I-15 SB), but the route goes through Kansas City rather than using a 3di to bypass it.

These aren't great, but hey, I was bored (waiting for a computer process to finish running and I have nothing else to do! ). But it does show that while the estimates are close (they're just the real distances rounded up to the next 100, except for Denver), it would take some routing weirdness to get to those locations in exactly those distances.

[Laura]

I remember that sign being up when I was younger...in the median...with highway gothic font. I have a very clear memory of driving past there not long after getting my license (2003.) No idea when they replaced it with Clearview.

[thenetwork]

"....And we'll continue to 'dismantle' all long-distance mileage signs until the mileage is accurate (BWAAHAHAHHAHAHAAA!)"

-- Anonymous

[Scott5114]

Oh god, if Anonymous really gave a shit about accuracy of mileage signs, the DOTs would be screwed...

[Ian]

Oh god, if Anonymous really gave a shit about accuracy of mileage signs, the DOTs would be screwed...

I don't really care too much for the accuracy of the mileage. I just thought the sign was cool nonetheless.

[kj3400]

Oh god, if Anonymous really gave a shit about accuracy of mileage signs, the DOTs would be screwed...

I don't really care too much for the accuracy of the mileage. I just thought the sign was cool nonetheless.

It was very impressive, but I think they should've put Frederick on there for comparison.

[MDRoads]

I noticed this past weekend, the mileage sign (or a new one) is going up on an overhead assembly along with some other signs; it'll be hoisted into place soon.

[Michael in Philly]

I noticed this past weekend, the mileage sign (or a new one) is going up on an overhead assembly along with some other signs; it'll be hoisted into place soon.

I was about to post that I was on I-70 from Frederick to the Beltway late this afternoon.  I was going eastbound but I was on the lookout for the sign, and I believe I saw it on an overhead.  I would take our two posts put together as reasonable evidence that it's in fact up.  Woohoo!

[agentsteel53]

a distance sign like that in an overhead context?  Is that unique in the country?

the east end of US-50 has a single mileage (Sacramento 3073) on an overhead gantry, but to have multiple distances like that on an overhead is a California thing, and no overhead sign in California has distances greater than what is "reasonable".  Offhand, the largest distance I can think of is Lake Tahoe City on US-50 in Sacramento at something like 98 miles.  There may be one in the Bay Area for Los Angeles on 101, maybe.

So to have 2600 miles on an overhead sign must certainly be unique.

[MDRoads]

I was about to post that I was on I-70 from Frederick to the Beltway late this afternoon.  I was going eastbound but I was on the lookout for the sign, and I believe I saw it on an overhead.  I would take our two posts put together as reasonable evidence that it's in fact up.  Woohoo!

I got it westbound this afternoon today... we might have crossed.

[Alex]

a distance sign like that in an overhead context?  Is that unique in the country?

the east end of US-50 has a single mileage (Sacramento 3073) on an overhead gantry, but to have multiple distances like that on an overhead is a California thing, and no overhead sign in California has distances greater than what is "reasonable".  Offhand, the largest distance I can think of is Lake Tahoe City on US-50 in Sacramento at something like 98 miles.  There may be one in the Bay Area for Los Angeles on 101, maybe.

So to have 2600 miles on an overhead sign must certainly be unique.

It happens occasionally, but not often. There are a few mileage signs posted on sign bridges in southern Virginia for instance:

[TheStranger]

There may be one in the Bay Area for Los Angeles on 101, maybe.

404 miles from Mountain View/San Jose, right around the time the control city switches from San Jose to Los Angeles.

http://www.aaroads.com/california/images101/us-101_sb_exit_400b_01.jpg

Interestingly, since US 101 reaches downtown Los Angeles at the Four-Level (exit 4A/4B), this actually means that the milage sign is about 8 miles off!

[agentsteel53]

404 miles from Mountain View/San Jose, right around the time the control city switches from San Jose to Los Angeles.

http://www.aaroads.com/california/images101/us-101_sb_exit_400b_01.jpg

that is side-of-the-road, not overhead.  there's one on 80 that has the distance to Truckee (66 miles; the sign is in Colfax, I believe) but other than that and the South Lake Tahoe sign they tend to be pretty uncommon.  Most of the time the overheads list the mileages to upcoming exits.