The Best/Worst Highway Innovations Of Each Decade...

[PHLBOS]

Best of the...

1970s: Small, fuel-efficient cars

Actually, those were around well before the 1970s; they just didn't sell in as large numbers prior to then in the U.S. or survive. 

Example: 1954-1961(?) Nash Metropolitan

[kkt]

1870s - asphalt pavement (U.S.)
1880s - pneumatic tires (U.K.)
1930s - limited access, high-speed highways (Germany)

[NE2]

1930s - limited access, high-speed highways (Germany)

Italy was first (1924) unless you count Germany's AVUS (1921): http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostrada_dei_Laghi

[agentsteel53]

1930s - limited access, high-speed highways (Germany)

Italy was first (1924) unless you count Germany's AVUS (1921): http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autostrada_dei_Laghi

what about that road on Long Island whose name escapes me.  wasn't that 1919?

[NE2]

what about that road on Long Island whose name escapes me.  wasn't that 1919?

1908. Another "unless you count" case, given at-grade left turns onto connecting ramps.

[agentsteel53]

what about that road on Long Island whose name escapes me.  wasn't that 1919?

1908. Another "unless you count" case, given at-grade left turns onto connecting ramps.

got it.

speaking of the AVUS, I looked it on Street View and accidentally crossed to an underpass, which has cobblestone.

http://goo.gl/maps/U2f2e

is that original?  looks to be very 1930s-or-older design.

[bugo]

Supposedly with new coke, people sip Coke Classic so the lower sweetness will not be a problem, but having an overly sweet pepsi like taste is bad if you want to sip, since some people get sick of the taste after maybe a can.

The reason New Coke failed is that it didn't have the quality taste of Old Coke.  It tasted cheap.  It really wasn't much sweeter than Old Coke.  It had a sort of a chocolatey flavor to it, and didn't have the harsh bite of Old Coke.  I drank it for years because it was much cheaper than Old Coke (then Classic) but it was just missing something.  It was better than RC but not as good as Pepsi (which isn't as good as Old Coke.)

Does anyone remember the gold top Coke cans?  They were the first New Coke cans before they changed the logo and can design.  They were just like the Old Coke cans except the top of the can was gold colored.  The gold top New Coke tasted nothing like the redesigned can New Coke.  I read somewhere that Coke adjusted some flavor levels during the 3 months that Old Coke was off the market.

[Scott5114]

I seem to recall in the 90s that a gold top was used for caffeine-free Coke.

[PHLBOS]

I seem to recall in the 90s that a gold top was used for caffeine-free Coke.

A gold top was always used for caffeine-free Coke, which first rolled out a year or two prior to New Coke.  The original design/label of the can/bottle was mostly gold with red pin stripes.


Couldn't find a copy-able pic. of the original label in can form; but the can itself was indeed gold-colored.

[J N Winkler]

My vote for best:

1990's:  Online highway construction plans (Ohio DOT was the first, in 1998)

[Billy F 1988]

Best of the...

1970s: Small, fuel-efficient cars

Actually, those were around well before the 1970s; they just didn't sell in as large numbers prior to then in the U.S. or survive. 

Example: 1954-1961(?) Nash Metropolitan

I'm aware of a fellow neighbor out in Frenchtown, MT that has that same car.

The best:
1930's: Missoula's first bridge over the Clark Fork River along Orange Street, the original US 93, now Business 93.
1960's: Commissioning of US 12 extending west of Missoula over into Idaho
1990's/2000's (?): Decommissioning of US "Triple Six" or "The Devil's Sign"/renumbering of 666 to 491.

Worse:
1970's: Fuel crisis
1980's: Decommissioning of US 10 in Montana, US 66
1990's: Congressional reformatting of highway numbers


2010's so far: Google buying out YouTube, crappy mapping system in Google Maps,

[agentsteel53]

crappy mapping system in Google Maps,

Apple replacing it with something significantly worse.

[Alps]

Best of the...

1970s: Small, fuel-efficient cars

Actually, those were around well before the 1970s; they just didn't sell in as large numbers prior to then in the U.S. or survive. 

Example: 1954-1961(?) Nash Metropolitan

I remember quite well a TV show where one of the characters gave birth in the backseat of this exact car. Whoa!

[msubulldog]

Only two things I can think of:
Worst of the 1990s:  Directional tabs and directions on BGS featuring the first letter bigger than the others. Also my home state of TX using 3-di shields for Interstates and vice versa.
Worst of the 2010s:  Designating Interstates on freeways that don't end at other Interstates (eg I-69 and its offspring in TX; and also I-2 in the Rio Grande Valley).

[roadman]

Worst of the 1990s:  Directional tabs and directions on BGS featuring the first letter bigger than the others.

The only thing I don't like about the "elongated inital letter" (to use the official FHWA term) is when states use it on words other than cardinal directions, like "TO".  New Hampshire has been one of the worst offenders in this regard.

And, IMO, one of the best innovations of the 2000s is the "LEFT" exit tab.  Although I wish the MUTCD would adopt the MassDOT standard and require "LEFT" to be mounted on a separate plate above the exit tab, as opposed to the current E1-5bP "combined" tab.

[msubulldog]

Worst of the 1990s:  Directional tabs and directions on BGS featuring the first letter bigger than the others.

The only thing I don't like about the "elongated inital letter" (to use the official FHWA term) is when states use it on words other than cardinal directions, like "TO".  New Hampshire has been one of the worst offenders in this regard.

And, IMO, one of the best innovations of the 2000s is the "LEFT" exit tab.  Although I wish the MUTCD would adopt the MassDOT standard and require "LEFT" to be mounted on a separate plate above the exit tab, as opposed to the current E1-5bP "combined" tab.

Arkansas uses the "elongated first letter" on BGS's for "jct". There is also one on my daily commute that has "alt" in that setup.

[DaBigE]

And, IMO, one of the best innovations of the 2000s is the "LEFT" exit tab.  Although I wish the MUTCD would adopt the MassDOT standard and require "LEFT" to be mounted on a separate plate above the exit tab, as opposed to the current E1-5bP "combined" tab.

I would have to disagree. Including the LEFT tab is redundant/negates the placement of the EXIT tab on the left vs. the right side of the sign. IMHO, it was a solution looking for a problem. Another place where more education could have saved a lot of money in sign edits.



Another one I'd add to the 'worst of' for the 2000s would be the Google Map Maker editor. It's good in concept, but far too many inexperienced and unknowledgeable users have changed map data for the worse. I try and make edits on stuff I drive nearly every day just to be denied from someone in India.   On another note, I'm surprised we've gotten to page 3 and no one's mentioned Google Street View +/-.

[signalman]

I'm surprised we've gotten to page 3 and no one's mentioned Google Street View +/-.

This was indeed a great innovation for road geeks.  I often drive roads vicariously that I don't have the time to travel to to actually drive them.  It's also helped me to know the layout of roads and lane configurations in unfamiliar territory before I physically got there.

[hotdogPi]

I'm surprised we've gotten to page 3 and no one's mentioned Google Street View +/-.

This was indeed a great innovation for road geeks.  I often drive roads vicariously that I don't have the time to travel to to actually drive them.  It's also helped me to know the layout of roads and lane configurations in unfamiliar territory before I physically got there.

It takes about the same amount of time to drive in Google Street View compared to real life.

[PHLBOS]

Worst of the 1990s:  Directional tabs and directions on BGS featuring the first letter bigger than the others.

The only thing I don't like about the "elongated inital letter" (to use the official FHWA term) is when states use it on words other than cardinal directions, like "TO".

^^This. 

And, IMO, one of the best innovations of the 2000s is the "LEFT" exit tab.  Although I wish the MUTCD would adopt the MassDOT standard and require "LEFT" to be mounted on a separate plate above the exit tab, as opposed to the current E1-5bP "combined" tab.

^^Again, this.

For those that may not be completely familiar w/MassDOT's new LEFT EXIT tab design layout; one pic. = 1000 words:

[jeffandnicole]

I would have to disagree. Including the LEFT tab is redundant/negates the placement of the EXIT tab on the left vs. the right side of the sign. IMHO, it was a solution looking for a problem. Another place where more education could have saved a lot of money in sign edits.

Educating hundreds of millions of motorists, vs. a few dollars as signs are upgraded anyway?

Many motorists don't know basic rules of the road, much less how exit tabs work.   

[DaBigE]

I would have to disagree. Including the LEFT tab is redundant/negates the placement of the EXIT tab on the left vs. the right side of the sign. IMHO, it was a solution looking for a problem. Another place where more education could have saved a lot of money in sign edits.

Educating hundreds of millions of motorists, vs. a few dollars as signs are upgraded anyway?

Many motorists don't know basic rules of the road, much less how exit tabs work.   

The cost may be small for new sign installation, but updating existing signs adds up.

Ignorance is no excuse in my book (or just about any LEO). Another perfect reason IMO to require re-testing with license renewals. From a highway designer's perspective, it's making our job more difficult every time we dumb-down the driving task to serve the lazy. In the photo posted above, how much more help can the LEFT tab be? You already have a large diagrammatic arrow in addition to the tab being on the left side. That's my last $0.02, since this could go into a whole new topic thread of its own.

[PHLBOS]

The cost may be small for new sign installation, but updating existing signs adds up.

You might want to re-read Jeffandnicole's post a tad more carefully; reposted below w/bold emphais added:

Educating hundreds of millions of motorists, vs. a few dollars as signs are upgraded anyway?

All of the LEFT EXIT tab BGS' I've seen have been done as part of an overall sign replacement project.  My earlier-posted example of I-95/MA 128 in Peabody was part of an I-95 sign replacement project that recently took place.

The only time I've seen one BGS get replaced with another with the only change being an updated format was because the original BGS was either damaged in an accident or vandalized.

[DaBigE]

The cost may be small for new sign installation, but updating existing signs adds up.

You might want to re-read Jeffandnicole's post a tad more carefully; reposted below w/bold emphais added:

Educating hundreds of millions of motorists, vs. a few dollars as signs are upgraded anyway?

All of the LEFT EXIT tab BGS' I've seen have been done as part of an overall sign replacement project.  My earlier-posted example of I-95/MA 128 in Peabody was part of an I-95 sign replacement project that recently took place.

The only time I've seen one BGS get replaced with another with the only change being an updated format was because the original BGS was either damaged in an accident or vandalized.

No, I understood the post just fine. Replacing a sign while adding extra square footage (Read: adding the yellow LEFT tab) still costs more than just a 1:1 in-kind replacement. Installations I've seen have retrofitted the new LEFT tab onto an otherwise OK sign.

[signalman]

I'm surprised we've gotten to page 3 and no one's mentioned Google Street View +/-.

This was indeed a great innovation for road geeks.  I often drive roads vicariously that I don't have the time to travel to to actually drive them.  It's also helped me to know the layout of roads and lane configurations in unfamiliar territory before I physically got there.

It takes about the same amount of time to drive in Google Street View compared to real life.

I wasn't talking about not having the time to drive an undriven road (for me).  I said to destinations that I don't have time to travel to.  For example, I've never been to Los Angeles because it is too far from my home in northern NJ to travel to southern CA and back in my short window of free time.  I have driven the entire mess of LA freeways in GSV, however.