My idea for "temporary" interstates and freeways not meeting...

[capt.ron]

...modern "interstate" standards.
Meet the proposed "temporary" shield! It is orange / brown and shows "Temporary" instead of "Interstate". It is to be signed on any stretch of highway that will in the future be upgraded to full interstate standards, or to an alignment that is adjacent to the existing interstate. Example: Interstate 70 was severely damaged by a rock slide / fall and both sets of travel lanes were blocked. An old US highway immediately adjacent to 70 wasn't damaged. Traffic is then diverted to the old US highway and the orange / brown sign has been erected and is signed as "Temporary" 70. Another example: "Temp" 57 signed on US 67 from Walnut Ridge, AR to Poplar bluff, MO and then on US 60 to Sikeston. The orange /brown sign is smaller (and cheaper to make) than those huge "future" interstate signs. The orange / brown temp 69 could also be used along US 59 in Texas from Cleveland, TX northeastward along the existing US highway.
temp_interstate_shield by Ronnie Bradley, on Flickr

Example 2: The black / grey shield is for continuity purposes and is signed as such. Example: A freeway has a section ahead that doesn't meet modern interstate standards but could be 1) Close enough ie, narrower shoulders, left exits, some at-grades like I-40 and I-10 in west Texas. Picking US 67 again as an example, the black / grey shield could be erected in Jacksonville, AR where the freeway doesn't meet modern standards but is still controlled access.
A US / state highway that is 4 lanes and divided and has a mixture of at-grades and interchanges, and there are interstate grade highways on either side of non interstate grade highway. Also, it could be used for "alternate" interstates. if it's "alternate" it will say so on the shield in lieu of "Interstate". An example as such would be an older section of US highway close to an interstate highway that is 4 laned and divided and can function as a "relief" route.
nis_interstate_shield by Ronnie Bradley, on Flickr

[Max Rockatansky]

Neat concept but would it really be worth the expense of erecting signage versus the benefit to a traveling motorist?  Example; putting Temporary I-11 on US 93 in Arizona wouldn't really add anything as navigational aid given it is already the logical corridor between Phoenix-Las Vegas. 

[wanderer2575]

I don't see any advantage over posting TEMPORARY, ALTERNATE, or EMERGENCY banners over the familiar RWB interstate shields, especially when it's next to impossible to read the text at the top of shields at highway speed.

Methinks you misunderstand the purpose of posting those large and expensive FUTURE signs.  They're to start drumming up economic development before the freeway makes its appearance.  A differently-colored shield won't do that when most people don't understand its meaning.

[capt.ron]

It would probably not benefit local travelers but for some out of state travelers that desire continuity with numbers, it should cut down on confusion. I think that "Temp 11" would be a very good example. Back in the 1960's and 1970's, that would have worked very well in California regarding I-15 from the inland empire down to San Diego. They had "temp" signs but they were the same color as the regular Interstate shields.
Another good example of the orange / brown shield would have been the section of old 66 from around Ludlow to Needles beginning 1968. The existing US 66 would be still signed as such but the temp shield would make an appearance on the 2 lane sections. or the [freeway] section in Needles that wasn't completed yet (pre 1972).
I realized that someone else on here also proposed an "Alternate" Interstate shield but theirs was dark brown (nothing wrong with that!).

[Max Rockatansky]

The implied Route of I-11 is way more simple than I-15 was in the Inland Empire.  Also, why would it be necessary to post a bunch of extra signage for continuity when someone could GPS the most direct route through multiple highways?   Yeah, but in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s there would be a substantial benefit but not now with the massively increased benefit of navigation technology.  So on a cost analysis why would a DOT bother attempting to fund massive signage projects like Temporary Interstates when the benefit is very low?

[Life in Paradise]

It would probably not benefit local travelers but for some out of state travelers that desire continuity with numbers, it should cut down on confusion. I think that "Temp 11" would be a very good example. Back in the 1960's and 1970's, that would have worked very well in California regarding I-15 from the inland empire down to San Diego. They had "temp" signs but they were the same color as the regular Interstate shields.
Another good example of the orange / brown shield would have been the section of old 66 from around Ludlow to Needles beginning 1968. The existing US 66 would be still signed as such but the temp shield would make an appearance on the 2 lane sections. or the [freeway] section in Needles that wasn't completed yet (pre 1972).
I realized that someone else on here also proposed an "Alternate" Interstate shield but theirs was dark brown (nothing wrong with that!).

That would also help in the case of Interstate 69 (mostly Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee).  There have been gaps in between them that yes, if you had GPS or good map knowledge you would know the connection between, but if you were traveling and weren't that well versed on the connection you might get lost.  I mentioned Tennessee since that's I-69's destination and continues on.  The rest of Mississippi, Arkansas, and Louisiana are a different story, the Temp signs would probably rust out before the real road went in.  Texas might benefit, though.

[vdeane]

I don't see any advantage over posting TEMPORARY, ALTERNATE, or EMERGENCY banners over the familiar RWB interstate shields, especially when it's next to impossible to read the text at the top of shields at highway speed.

Methinks you misunderstand the purpose of posting those large and expensive FUTURE signs.  They're to start drumming up economic development before the freeway makes its appearance.  A differently-colored shield won't do that when most people don't understand its meaning.

Then there's the North Carolina solution - post a regular interstate shield, just with the "interstate" text changed to "future", so that you can have your new interstate without doing any of the work to actually get it designated (see: I-26).

[Scott5114]

I've always thought future interstate shields made sense to be signed just like other types of routes, to get people used to the idea of the number following that corridor. Especially on freeway alignments that aren't signed for reasons of connectivity or because they still need upgrades to receive the designation.

There's a few square Interstate error shield floating around upstate New York (photo below from Alps). I think something like one of these would make a good temporary/future Interstate shield, with the square shape emphasizing the "unfinished" nature of the route (obviously replace "INTERSTATE" with "FUTURE INTERSTATE" or so):

[TheGrassGuy]

Doesn't something like this already exist in Spain? (And maybe some other European countries?)

[hotdogPi]

Doesn't something like this already exist in Spain? (And maybe some other European countries?)

Rectangles are their default route shape, differentiating between types by color. It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

[vdeane]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

[TheGrassGuy]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

"À" wouldn't work?

[Ned Weasel]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

"À" wouldn't work?

Now there's an idea!  If "C" can be a lettered suffix, why not have "A" as a lettered prefix?  "A" means "to" in Spanish.  I'd love to see some I-A69C shields go up in Texas.

Should this be in Fictional Highways?

[TheGrassGuy]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

"À" wouldn't work?

Now there's an idea!  If "C" can be a lettered suffix, why not have "A" as a lettered prefix?  "A" means "to" in Spanish.  I'd love to see some I-A69C shields go up in Texas.

Should this be in Fictional Highways?

Wouldn't it be lowercase in abbreviations? So "I-a69C"?

[hotdogPi]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

"À" wouldn't work?

Now there's an idea!  If "C" can be a lettered suffix, why not have "A" as a lettered prefix?  "A" means "to" in Spanish.  I'd love to see some I-A69C shields go up in Texas.

Should this be in Fictional Highways?

Wouldn't it be lowercase in abbreviations? So "I-a69C"?

"TO" is capitalized on our signs, so "A" or "À" would be capitalized. It would be I-A69C, or in decimal, I-42652.

[TheGrassGuy]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

"À" wouldn't work?

Now there's an idea!  If "C" can be a lettered suffix, why not have "A" as a lettered prefix?  "A" means "to" in Spanish.  I'd love to see some I-A69C shields go up in Texas.

Should this be in Fictional Highways?

Wouldn't it be lowercase in abbreviations? So "I-a69C"?

"TO" is capitalized on our signs, so "A" or "À" would be capitalized. It would be I-A69C, or in decimal, I-42652.

Nah, if I were to make "to" a letter prefix, it would be lowercase (i.e. I-to69C), and thus for every language.

[hbelkins]

I-A1C would be the Diabetic Highway. 

[hotdogPi]

Others:

I-A35 and I-A80: Misplace the hyphen, and you get confusion. (This actually applies for any of them, but it's obvious that you're talking about the wrong state except for a select few.)
I-A55, 110, 220, 440, 880: For musicians, A440 is the standard pitch to tune to, doubling goes up an octave, and halving goes down an octave. (Other notes are not integers.)
I-A55 is also not to be confused with Autoroute 55 in Quebec.
I-A1A can now exist, but we need an I-1 first.

[Mr. Matté]

It has nothing to do with being unfinished. If you see a dashed outline, it means "to".

Someone should tell that to Québec.  They currently don't have any kind of marking for "to", presumably for language reasons.

"À" wouldn't work?

Now there's an idea!  If "C" can be a lettered suffix, why not have "A" as a lettered prefix?  "A" means "to" in Spanish.  I'd love to see some I-A69C shields go up in Texas.

Should this be in Fictional Highways?

Wouldn't it be lowercase in abbreviations? So "I-a69C"?

Only in CraIG countY

[Roadgeekteen]

Whats the problem with the future banner?

[TheGrassGuy]

Others:

I-A35 and I-A80: Misplace the hyphen, and you get confusion. (This actually applies for any of them, but it's obvious that you're talking about the wrong state except for a select few.)

Hyphen?

[hotdogPi]

Others:

I-A35 and I-A80: Misplace the hyphen, and you get confusion. (This actually applies for any of them, but it's obvious that you're talking about the wrong state except for a select few.)

Hyphen?

I-A35 is what we're discussing in this thread. IA-35, if it existed, would be a state route in Iowa.

(And before you ask, yes, it's a hyphen. It's not a minus sign, an en dash, or an em dash.)

[HighwayStar]

I will admit I have a general love of highway signs and view variety as the spice of life, so why not? Are they strictly necessary? Of course not. Are they more useful than whatever they would replace? Marginally perhaps. But would they look neat? Sure. Could you employ people out of work to make them and put them up? Of course, so why not?

[Ned Weasel]

You could make an argument for using Business Loops to connect disconnected segments of an Interstate route, and using Business Spurs to extend an Interstate route on a non-Interstate-standard alignment.  But I'm not sure the AASHTO would approve the designation.