Yield or Stop signs at highway entrances

[theline]

I assume the question refers to ramps leading onto freeways or expressways, rather than those leading onto surface streets. Though yield signs are sometimes used at the end of such ramps in the Midwest, the only places I've seen stop signs are temporary installations during construction. Lane closures sometimes eliminate or truncate acceleration lanes and stop signs become necessary. They can cause huge backups, since the vehicles waiting at the stop sign must wait for big gaps in the freeway traffic to allow safe acceleration.

[jp the roadgeek]

There's one on most ramps of the Merritt and Wilbur Cross Parkways in CT, as well as on the ramp where CT 17 N joins CT 9 N.

[roadman65]

Interstate 70, between Washington and New Stanton in PA, had them at one interchange I got on at Bentleyville.  I remember having to wait indefinitely to go W Bound on I-70 as the traffic was heavy.  Of course this was back in 1989, but from what I hear on this forum, the road is still not up to interstate standards, so I assume that said ramp is still without a merging area to this day.

[Mr_Northside]

Interstate 70, between Washington and New Stanton in PA, had them at one interchange I got on at Bentleyville.  I remember having to wait indefinitely to go W Bound on I-70 as the traffic was heavy.  Of course this was back in 1989, but from what I hear on this forum, the road is still not up to interstate standards, so I assume that said ramp is still without a merging area to this day.

It is as of now.  There are plans to work on it in a couple of years (I'd have to check the I-70 website for the schedule)

[doorknob60]

It's very rare in Idaho. Even in relatively high traffic locations with no merging lanes:



This ramp scares me every time I use it, as traffic is quite heavy (this is a suburban freeway built to rural standards), including a lot of truck traffic.

One exception though. There is a lot of construction on I-84 around Meridian, upgrading the interchange. Right now, all the ramps in that area have Yield signs, even though most of the ramps have ample merging room. I assume the construction contractor put them up at a time when they might have been needed, and never took them down. They'll be gone when the construction is done I assume.

Here's a stop sign on a US-97 ramp in Bend. Based on the angle and lack of merging/acceleration lanes, it makes sense. Still, I generally treat it as a yield or "California Stop" if there's no traffic coming.

 

[Zzonkmiles]

I believe H-1 in Honolulu has stop signs on its on ramps. At first this seemed dangerous to me, but then I saw how bad the traffic was and it made sense.

[roadfro]

In California, on I-80 WB at Farad exit 201 has one (or used to). This is the first exit entering from Nevada.

Due to the mountainous nature of this section of highway, there is little room on this side of the highway. Instead of standard diamond ramps, the westbound side is more of a compacted trumpet configuration that basically amounts to a right in/right out. It looks like the freeway repaving a few years ago added some acceleration/deceleration space–it used to have no acceleration space whatsoever so a stop sign was present on the westbound onramp. (I couldn't see the stop sign in current street view.)


Also in California: Several on ramps along the Arroyo Seco Parkway (CA 110).

[TheHighwayMan3561]

The only (formerly) permanent yield signs I remember on Minnesota freeways were the loop ramps from MN 7 to MN 100 in St. Louis Park. Those are gone as the interchange has been modified and now reconstructed.

[cl94]

Swore I saw a stop sign for a ramp onto the Saw Mill River Parkway, northbound somewhere.

Can't say for sure, but that sounds right. I believe the Merritt has a few as well.

A lot of the NYC-area parkways have STOP signs on the ramps.  They were built in an era when cars struggled to make 35 mph and as a result the parkways were built without acceleration lanes...they just weren't necessary.  Meanwhile, property near the parkway ramps, particularly in Westchester and Fairfield counties, was scoffed up, making land takings for building ramps when they became necessary impossibly expensive.  (Some other acceleration lanes couldn't be built because of how and where overpasses were built, effectively blocking the area where the acceleration lanes would be built.)  So, on roads like the Hutch and the Merritt, you'll see a mixture of ramps, some ending in STOP signs with no acceleration lanes, and others with those lanes ending in YIELD.

Yes. If a lane doesn't allow full acceleration, there is a stop or yield sign, stop being if there is no acceleration lane whatsoever. Yield signs are quite common in urban parts of Upstate as well for the same reason.