Oldest freeway signs you can find in your city

[CL]

Usually when you see those old, button-copy signs you wonder how long they'll stay up before the DOT replaces them. What are some of the oldest freeway signs you can find in your metropolitan area (I'm not really interested in rural areas but those work too). I'll start with a pair of old BGS over I-80 (c. 1970s).

[Alex]

There is not much around, but here is the oldest I know of.

Button copy mileage sign posted after Alabama 59 on I-10 east:


There is another button copy mileage sign westbound on I-10 west after the Wilcox Road exit (Exit 53). I have photos, they are just not posted online.

The only remaining button copy sign in northwest Florida that I know of is a bridge identification sign reading "9th Avenue" over the eastbound shoulder of Interstate 10 in Pensacola. I have a pic of this somewhere, but it is also not posted.

The closest conventional guide sign still kicking on U.S. 90/98 is along westbound at I-10 Exit 27:

[agentsteel53]

oh, you want freeway, great ... was gonna point to this 1950s auto club sign:



on the freeway, the black ROADSIDE BUSINESS sign is covered up, so the oldest has to be the ones on I-5 that have US-101 patched over.

[WillWeaverRVA]

VA 195 westbound has a few old signs on it dating back to when it opened, but VDOT didn't install them. VA 195 is owned and maintained by the Richmond Metropolitan Authority, but IIRC they order signs for VA 195 from VDOT.

All the eastbound signs, and some of the westbound ones (US 60, Meadow St, and VA 161) were replaced in early 2006. VA 146 (connection between VA 195 and Powhite Pkwy) also had its signs replaced in 2007.

[bugo]

There are two button copy signs on SB Cincinnati Street pointing to US 64 and OK 51.  The 64 shields are button copy.  One of the 51 shields is a meat cleaver, while the other is a circle.  There are also some ancient signs pointing to I-244 from the SB Tisdale Parkway.

Don't have any pictures, but these signs are visible on Google Street View.

[US71]

Closest to me is probably a button copy mileage sign near Pocola, OK



About the same age, is a button copy BGS for I-540 near Van Buren.

Both date back no earlier than circa 1970

[Alex]

The aforementioned button copy guide sign along Interstate 10 east of Loxley, Alabama:



In northern Delaware, the oldest guide sign, dating from the 1961 completion of Interstate 95 through Wilmington is this overhead above Delaware 48 (2nd Street) westbound:



All of the other 1961 guide signs were carbon copied within the last few years, but last I knew, this particular assembly (posted abnormally high on the I-95 viaduct) was still standing.

[akotchi]

http://www.northeastroads.com/new_jersey050/pa_tpk_ext_eb_exit_002_04.jpg

http://www.northeastroads.com/new_jersey050/i-095_sb_exit_006_05.jpg

These signs and structures on the New Jersey Turnpike date back to original construction, which was in the early 1950's.  Exit 6 is the closest exit to my home in Pennsylvania.

[agentsteel53]

that guide sign is from 1961?  Complete with retroreflective background and modern shield and all?

as for the NJ Turnpike original art deco gantries - I believe the green signs are replacements.  There are two gantries with black guide signs that date back to 1956 on I-78, the Turnpike Extension going towards New York City.





Steve A. would be the one to know for sure, but as far as I know, the black signs came first and then were swapped out with green when routine maintenance occurred in the 1960s.  (And yes, Steve will tell you that the signs in the photos above are "dark dark dark green" - I say they are black!)

(Edit: they're not actually on the freeway - they're at exits 14A and 14B, after the tollbooths but before the freeway itself... ask me about the time my friend Dan and I spent about $75 in tolls exploring every ramp of the turnpike!  EZPass, thou art like vehicular crack cocaine.)

[Alex]

Its easy to spend that much money in the NYC area. EZPass makes it bearable!



DelDOT replaced all of the original Interstate 95 Delaware shields around 2000. They were all faded and badly cracked like the one here:



Those signs never reflected to my knowledge. Even better is a postcard that Jim K. Georges gave me a scan of (note the similar sign style):

[Alps]

that guide sign is from 1961?  Complete with retroreflective background and modern shield and all?

Yes.  Not that modern up close.  It's on my DE 48 page, too.

as for the NJ Turnpike original art deco gantries - I believe the green signs are replacements.  There are two gantries with black guide signs that date back to 1956 on I-78, the Turnpike Extension going towards New York City.

I'm pretty sure all of the signs on the original gantries are also originals.  I would have to do a lot of research at my company on my own time to verify - and I spend enough time there as it is!

As for other original signs, see the Parkway frontage road northbound from US 9 and NJ 184/CR 501.

[agentsteel53]

okay yeah on closer inspection that Del sign does look a bit worse for the wear ... the shield is brand new for sure, though!  Same style of flaking on the white legend as Virginia seems to have.  I don't think either state ever used button copy (though I have seen a glass-cateye DELAWARE US 13 shield!)

green original signs on the NJTPK?  Please do verify this - the majority of photos I've seen from the 1950s were b/w, making the color rather tough to tell.  Please do check on this. 

as for the ones on the GSP ... which ones do you refer to?  I just took a glance at all your mainline GSP pages on alpsroads.net and this is what appears to be the oldest:

http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/nj/gsp/n159r.jpg (please no hotlinking)

that or the square county-route shield green signs ...

[ctsignguy]

Jake

what about that NJ Tpke Entrance sign with the green cateyes?

[agentsteel53]

those are plastic, not glass ... I'm thinking that's a 60s or 70s sign.

[Alps]

The one I was referring to is on my US 9 page actually (north of I-195).  Other original ones:
The speed limit signs on I-78 east of the Tpk. (on my I-78 page).
All the signs on I-280 east of Exit 8 date to 1970 (on my site - many have been replaced now).
Exit 58 on I-80 EB has original signs (early 1960's at best).
When all the signs on I-95 north of Exit 68 were replaced by the Turnpike Authority (when they took over from NJDOT), they missed one on the westbound Exit 70 C-D Road that dates to the 60's as well.  I believe it's gone now.

[agentsteel53]

the Parkway and Turnpike pair?  I can't tell for sure but those look dark dark green (as opposed to dark dark dark green aka black).  Here's a dark dark green sign pair from the Turnpike.



and this is regular dark green



the green that is neither dark, nor dark dark, is the retroreflective stuff, which I didn't take pictures of because they're not as interesting.

[Alex]

Do they even have any old flippables still in use:





I know that those particular assemblies are gone, but when I first started riding and filming the Turnpike in 1993/94, they were all over.

[akotchi]

Do they even have any old flippables still in use:


I know that those particular assemblies are gone, but when I first started riding and filming the Turnpike in 1993/94, they were all over.

They are still in use, and generally at the same locations.  The assemblies you showed were modified to show static panels above the changeable panel.  the static panels show route shields and cardinal directions.  these are the only ones that were modified that way.

The widening project between interchanges 6 and 9 may change the look of these panels further.

[deathtopumpkins]

There are a few old flippable signs still up around here...
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=&sll=37.234565,-76.642513&sspn=0.04722,0.077248&ie=UTF8&ll=37.240766,-76.652706&spn=0,359.990344&t=h&z=17&layer=c&cbll=37.240806,-76.652803&panoid=hvG0MWAE1FALJkYDVeHjmw&cbp=12,119.48,,0,1.8
On US-60 EB approaching Busch Gardens and the interchange with I-64. There are several of these assemblies still up. I'm going to try and snag some pics next time I'm over there.

[Hellfighter]

Here we go...





and finally...

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=42.382862,-83.217852&spn=0,359.981976&z=17&layer=c&cbll=42.382777,-83.217852&panoid=Y3Jb1X1D-vsRt34Kq_cmqA&cbp=12,186.23,,0,-6.14

[us44mt]

Probably not the oldest in NYC, but a great old sign.

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/55173627@N00/2516311314/

[agentsteel53]

where in the Hell is that business spur 96 shield?  I've scoured Detroit four times and have never been able to find it.

can you get us a really nice close-up shot?  The shield gallery only has a tiny version available.

[Hellfighter]

where in the Hell is that business spur 96 shield?  I've scoured Detroit four times and have never been able to find it.

can you get us a really nice close-up shot?  The shield gallery only has a tiny version available.

It's Downtown, on Clifford between Washington and Bagley.

[agentsteel53]

I might not be in Detroit for a while; can you get us close-ups of the three signs you listed?

[Hellfighter]

I can't guarantee the first one, but I might be able to get the other two.