Oklahoma missing?

[BridgesToIdealism]

Is it just me, or is the entire state of Oklahoma missing from AARoads.com?

[hotdogPi]

Is it just me, or is the entire state of Oklahoma missing from AARoads.com?

It is; the only other state missing is Alaska. However, it appears to be hidden only; see https://www.aaroads.com/guides/i-035-ok/ (I-40 and I-44 give 404 errors).

[Max Rockatansky]

The Shield Gallery?...pulled up for me.

[texaskdog]

Is anyone actually missing Oklahoma?

[Ned Weasel]

The old Craig County sign belongs in a museum.

[Alex]

Is it just me, or is the entire state of Oklahoma missing from AARoads.com?

Never got around to adding it...it is still on the to do list. Likewise Minnesota was not on the site either until just last year when Brent added a few pages.

It is; the only other state missing is Alaska. However, it appears to be hidden only; see https://www.aaroads.com/guides/i-035-ok/ (I-40 and I-44 give 404 errors).

Since we had not created an Oklahoma section previously, we made a mock page for it to test out layouts when we were changing the site to a new format several years ago. That's the hidden stuff you found.

Asides Jeff and Jake having random photos from Alaska which I only have a small fraction of, I have nothing to work with to create a section for it on AARoads. Alaska remains the only state I haven't visited as well.

[kphoger]

Since we had not created an Oklahoma section previously, we made a mock page for it to test out layouts when we were changing the site to a new format several years ago.

Does anyone else find it ironic that Oklahoma was used as a site for evaluating layouts?

[Max Rockatansky]

The old Craig County sign belongs in a museum.

Just insert the old Craig County sign and an ODOT official into this video:

[Alex]

Since we had not created an Oklahoma section previously, we made a mock page for it to test out layouts when we were changing the site to a new format several years ago.

Does anyone else find it ironic that Oklahoma was used as a site for evaluating layouts?

Heh. It's just what state my wife picked to create when she was working on new layouts back then. She could have chose Alaska or Minnesota just the same. 

[Alex]

Is it just me, or is the entire state of Oklahoma missing from AARoads.com?

It is; the only other state missing is Alaska. However, it appears to be hidden only; see https://www.aaroads.com/guides/i-035-ok/ (I-40 and I-44 give 404 errors).

I forgot I even did that. That was testing out a layout concept using NextGenGallery.

The same set of IH 35 photos are posted in the Oklahoma archive section.

[Scott5114]

Those I-35 photos brought back some great memories. Haven't seen some of those signs since I was in middle school. The captions say the photos were taken in 2003, and I think most of the signage on that stretch of I-35 was replaced either that year or the year after.

Here's an awesome blast from the past: what the hell was up with the random old-school VMS? Why was it there? I never saw it display anything other than "DRIVE CABREFULLY" from the first time I saw it in 1996, so we may never know.


Also note that even in 2003, with button copy and circle shields, OK managed to screw up arrows and have two different implementations of the state highway shield on the same gantry. Some things never change.

[Alex]

Those I-35 photos brought back some great memories. Haven't seen some of those signs since I was in middle school. The captions say the photos were taken in 2003, and I think most of the signage on that stretch of I-35 was replaced either that year or the year after.

That was a trip Andy and I made with Justin Cozart up to Wichita and back from Dallas. We attempted to meet Eric (okroads) but he had to work that day.

I have VHS camcorder footage of Norman/OKC roads from 1994 that Cary Todd shot and 1995 I did when I visited him out there for a week. There were still label scars on signs for Shields Avenue for what was US 77. Was major construction on I-35 then too IIRC

I recall Cary taking me somewhere in OKC where a guide sign had a large blank from all the US Routes removed (62, 77, 270?). Don't have any video of that, just the memory, but that sign was pretty sad looking.

Those "pill" shields for state highways back then too...   

[Scott5114]

That I-35 construction in 1995 would have been in the area between SE 15th and about SE 29th in Oklahoma City. I was 5 but I remember it because my dad always screamed at all of the other drivers while we were going through that area. I distinctly remember that the interstate mainline was shifted onto the frontage roads while they were reconstructing the mainline and they dug what seemed like a huge pit that they were building the new mainline lanes in. That was one of my first roadgeek memories.

The sign for Shields Blvd that had the blank space for the US-77 shield hung on until 2006 or so. The blank space always puzzled me as a kid, and I thought that they just made the sign extra big on purpose, either because Shields was a left exit or an important exit (it's a two-lane ramp after all). It wasn't until after the sign was gone and I learned about the old US route alignments through OKC that I realized that must have been a spot for a US-77 shield. I remember the sign for MacArthur Blvd exit on I-40 had a similar blank spot, though I'm not sure what went there (possibly OK-74?)

If there's a way to get that 94-95 camcorder footage on YouTube or something someday I'd love to see it.

[Henry]

Those I-35 photos brought back some great memories. Haven't seen some of those signs since I was in middle school. The captions say the photos were taken in 2003, and I think most of the signage on that stretch of I-35 was replaced either that year or the year after.

Here's an awesome blast from the past: what the hell was up with the random old-school VMS? Why was it there? I never saw it display anything other than "DRIVE CABREFULLY" from the first time I saw it in 1996, so we may never know.


Also note that even in 2003, with button copy and circle shields, OK managed to screw up arrows and have two different implementations of the state highway shield on the same gantry. Some things never change.

I wouldn't be surprised if that middle left sign somehow made its way out of NJ, because of the black background around the 9 shield (which neither of the outer signs have).

[hotdogPi]

I wouldn't be surprised if that middle left sign somehow made its way out of NJ, because of the black background around the 9 shield (which neither of the outer signs have).

Maybe they had some lying around because someone accidentally made NJ 9 shields instead of US 9 shields, and they had no use for them?

[kphoger]

Yeah, it's pretty unlikely that they just used a reassurance marker by mistake.  Oklahoma isn't really known for BGS mistakes like that.

[Alex]

That I-35 construction in 1995 would have been in the area between SE 15th and about SE 29th in Oklahoma City. I was 5 but I remember it because my dad always screamed at all of the other drivers while we were going through that area. I distinctly remember that the interstate mainline was shifted onto the frontage roads while they were reconstructing the mainline and they dug what seemed like a huge pit that they were building the new mainline lanes in. That was one of my first roadgeek memories.

The sign for Shields Blvd that had the blank space for the US-77 shield hung on until 2006 or so. The blank space always puzzled me as a kid, and I thought that they just made the sign extra big on purpose, either because Shields was a left exit or an important exit (it's a two-lane ramp after all). It wasn't until after the sign was gone and I learned about the old US route alignments through OKC that I realized that must have been a spot for a US-77 shield. I remember the sign for MacArthur Blvd exit on I-40 had a similar blank spot, though I'm not sure what went there (possibly OK-74?)

If there's a way to get that 94-95 camcorder footage on YouTube or something someday I'd love to see it.

Pretty solid early childhood memory then!
I recall Cary talking about that reconstruction and what a pain it was. Also remember how traffic was diverted onto the frontage roads through parts of the construction area as well.

I converted all of my VHS to DVD several years ago. Have a program that allows me to convert them to MP4's and other file formats, so I'll see what I can do.

Probably two decades ago at this point, I made vidcaps from some of the VHS tapes for the old AA Sign Gallery. Kept a few of those in use on Interstate-Guide for the I-235 page:


March 1994


May 1995

[Scott5114]

That's so cool! Definitely surprising to see how dark the shadows were where the US route shield used to be. By the time I could remember anything, the shadows had faded to the color of the rest of the sign and were nowhere near as prominent. (Then again, I was far more familiar with I-35, which didn't have any west-facing signs, obviously, so maybe the shadows were never anywhere near as dark.)

[okroads]

That was a trip Andy and I made with Justin Cozart up to Wichita and back from Dallas. We attempted to meet Eric (okroads) but he had to work that day.

Either I had to work or I had college classes to attend, I can't remember. Only took nine years after that day for us to actually meet up (in Mobile).

Nice vidcaps of the I-44/I-235 interchange from 1994. I didn't see those signs much in person if at all, as that was an area of OKC I didn't go to very much in those days.

The sign for Shields Blvd that had the blank space for the US-77 shield hung on until 2006 or so. The blank space always puzzled me as a kid, and I thought that they just made the sign extra big on purpose, either because Shields was a left exit or an important exit (it's a two-lane ramp after all). It wasn't until after the sign was gone and I learned about the old US route alignments through OKC that I realized that must have been a spot for a US-77 shield. I remember the sign for MacArthur Blvd exit on I-40 had a similar blank spot, though I'm not sure what went there (possibly OK-74?)

If there's a way to get that 94-95 camcorder footage on YouTube or something someday I'd love to see it.

OK 74 crossed I-40 on May. OK 3 ran along MacArthur from ~1979-1987 before that highway was rerouted onto I-44. https://www.odot.org/maps/state/pdfs/map_state_1986.pdf

I'd definitely like to see that footage too.