New Jersey Turnpike

[roadman65]

Wonder if "Somerville" will ever be used for NB I-287 or even "Morristown/ Mahwah" like the rest of the NB 287 ramps now use?  Only from the major NJ Turnpike does Metuchen get used, especially since NJDOT signs at the top of the ramps have no control cities for I-287 N Bound.

Incidentally, is the erroneous "Raritan Center" for CR 514 E Bound still there?  Also did NJDOT finally replace the gantry that was removed on CR 514 W Bound at the I-287 ramp as seen in GSV?

[storm2k]

Wonder if "Somerville" will ever be used for NB I-287 or even "Morristown/ Mahwah" like the rest of the NB 287 ramps now use?  Only from the major NJ Turnpike does Metuchen get used, especially since NJDOT signs at the top of the ramps have no control cities for I-287 N Bound.

Incidentally, is the erroneous "Raritan Center" for CR 514 E Bound still there?  Also did NJDOT finally replace the gantry that was removed on CR 514 W Bound at the I-287 ramp as seen in GSV?

Looks like it's still Metuchen. Should be Morristown/Mahwah like rest of 287. But since the mainline signs still use Metuchen, it's unlikely to change.

[Pete from Boston]

Wonder if "Somerville" will ever be used for NB I-287 or even "Morristown/ Mahwah" like the rest of the NB 287 ramps now use?  Only from the major NJ Turnpike does Metuchen get used, especially since NJDOT signs at the top of the ramps have no control cities for I-287 N Bound.

I'd suspect not Mahwah since the most direct route there is the Turnpike north to 3 or 80 to 17.  287 is sort of out of the way.

[noelbotevera]

The only reason that Metuchen makes sense is because that's the next town on I-287.

[storm2k]

The only reason that Metuchen makes sense is because that's the next town on I-287.

I'm pretty certain that it's a holdover from when Exit 10 was originally built in the 60s, since it was before 287 went all the way. 287 didn't adopt Morristown/Mahwah as control cities all the way through until 1993 when the button copy signage was erected north of 202/206 (and extended all the way in 1998 when the signage was finally replaced between there and the Turnpike).

[roadman65]

Does anyone know the history of I-287's diagramical signs that were used pre 1998?  I often wondered if that was an experiment that NJDOT was trying out back then to see if it would catch on, but later on in 1985, NJDOT painted over( I remember them repainting the signs when I used to work in Somerset and commute along 287) the button copy with a reflective green body and new white lettering as well as the big diagram.

I never saw that done before. Usually they replace a whole sign panel to update it, however repaint over the old (probably blasted off the old paint first of course). 

Anyway, sometimes I even got the impression that someone might of been obsessed with them signs and kept them even during a sign update project.  Even when NJDOT added the SB Randolphville Road exit ramp in 1991, they even created another diagramical sign for it.




On another completely different note, but totally related, it took up to 1998 for the whole 287 freeway to be numbered with exit numbers.  I know a lot of that had to do with the Somerset Freeway, that if it were built the numbers would have been 4 less then they are now for each exit, so NJDOT did not want to assign exit numbers to them until the final work was done on the never built I-95 from South Plainfield to Ewing, or its cancellation.  That of course is understandable.

However, giving River Road, CR 527, and Weston Canal Road exit numbers only made no sense.  Three lone exits in between two long stretches of having no exit numbers did not seem feasible considering exit numbers are to show a relationship between two points, but most of the intermediate points are eliminated in this case.  As the rest of Middlesex County exits on the south end had none, and NJ 28, US 22, I-78, US 202/206, CR 525, and North Maple Avenue created the gaps for giving 3 lone interchanges exit numbers.

[noelbotevera]

I can make a rough estimate of what I-287's exit numbers would be if I-95 used the Somerset. I believe it came at around where CR 529 (Exit 5) is? If it is, I'll start north of there, as I-95 took over the last 5 or so miles of I-287.

I-287 NB:
1       
2
3:
4:
5:
7:
8:
9A:
9B:
17A:
17B:
18A:
18B:
22A:
22B:
26A:
26B:
29:
31:
32A:
32B:
33:
35:
36:
37A:
37B:
39:
40:
41:
43:
48A:
48B:
49:
51:
53:
55:
56:
62:

I-287 SB:
62
56
55
53
51
49
47A
47B
43
41
38
37B
37A
36
35
33
32
31
29
25B
25A
21A
21B
16A
16B
12
9
8B
8A
7
5
4
3
2
1

[Roadgeek Adam]

For those people like me who are nerds about this series, the Flying Fish Brewery in Somerdale is coming out with Exit 15 beer real soon and is extremely limited. It is basically a coffee IPA.

[Alps]

I can make a rough estimate of what I-287's exit numbers would be if I-95 used the Somerset. I believe it came at around where CR 529 (Exit 5) is? If it is, I'll start north of there, as I-95 took over the last 5 or so miles of I-287.

Don't bother. I-287's exit numbers started out as if I-95 used the Somerset. Check an old map.

[SignBridge]

Off-topic but.........it's no wonder the State of California resisted exit numbering as long as they did considering how all the above posts show that exit numbering can create as much confusion as it solves. Maybe California was right. LOL

[storm2k]

Does anyone know the history of I-287's diagramical signs that were used pre 1998?  I often wondered if that was an experiment that NJDOT was trying out back then to see if it would catch on, but later on in 1985, NJDOT painted over( I remember them repainting the signs when I used to work in Somerset and commute along 287) the button copy with a reflective green body and new white lettering as well as the big diagram.

According to Steve Anderson's nycroads.com, it was a federally funded experiment. Not sure why they stayed for so long though. Wish there were more old pictures of them.

[ixnay]

Off-topic but.........it's no wonder the State of California resisted exit numbering as long as they did considering how all the above posts show that exit numbering can create as much confusion as it solves. Maybe California was right. LOL

Same for Texas.

ixnay

[roadman65]

Does anyone know the history of I-287's diagramical signs that were used pre 1998?  I often wondered if that was an experiment that NJDOT was trying out back then to see if it would catch on, but later on in 1985, NJDOT painted over( I remember them repainting the signs when I used to work in Somerset and commute along 287) the button copy with a reflective green body and new white lettering as well as the big diagram.

According to Steve Anderson's nycroads.com, it was a federally funded experiment. Not sure why they stayed for so long though. Wish there were more old pictures of them.

I wish I knew back in the 80's that the internet would be someday, and that there were other road enthusiasts besides me, as it was something I could not talk about to just anyone.  If I knew the future then, I would have photographed them then as well as old Pulaski Skyway signs and others around North Jersey that are long gone.

The funny thing is those diagramical signs were normal to me and guided me and several other motorists for quite some time, and now for quite some time they have been gone.  Since this last lapse in time technology expanded and created road enthusiasts groups and picture taking has become a major thing.

[SignBridge]

Ditto Roadman! When I was a kid in the 1960's I used to draw sign displays while sitting in class and my teacher would ridicule me. Like yourself I never knew anyone else was interested in this stuff 'til I got on the internet.   

[roadman65]

Signbridge, I was always fascinated by the NJ Turnpike (as well as the others) and its own unique way of signing.  The curved arrows, the exit numbering inside the sign panel and not on tabs, and the way the overhead exit numbers are (were in North Jersey)used at the gore point.

Of course no more thanks to the feds making the nation uniform.  Oh well.

However, some changes to them were welcome like NJ 495 finally being acknowledged at Exits 16E and 17. A real southbound exit sign for Exit 15E after years of just being a number only due to the NJTA not wanting to be challenged by the elevated Passaic River Bridge to put a sign with control points.  Then some control cities that were always lacking at certain points that in the past used "TURNPIKE NORTH" or "TURNPIKE SOUTH" instead of Trenton, NYC, Camden, Delaware Memorial Bridge, etc.

[SignBridge]

I'm with you Roadman appreciating the unique character of the NJ Turnpike.

It's also worth noting that the NY Thruway and the Connecticut Turnpike also had their own unique sign systems. I especially was intrigued with Connecticut's. Regrettably their old blue (upper-case only) signs were phased out in the mid-1980's and replaced with standard green MUTCD signs. Likewise the Thruway started replacing their old blue signs circa 1990 with semi MUTCD compliant signs.

Today's standard MUTCD system is an updated version of both the original NY Thruway system and original California practices. Please note, when I say original, I mean 1950's signing.

[roadman65]

I remember when NY used "ROUTE" for US routes on Thruway signs, and PA used "ROUTE" for PA routes on the PTC erected Turnpike signs.  NY routes were texted NY on the old blue and US routes on the PA Turnpike US Routes were "US" in text.

Both states had their own use for "Route."

NJ Turnpike used "US" and "NJ" quite well, and up until the late 80's, a text US 206 guide existed on the NJT SB on its one mile guide for Exit 7 that was a copy over as it was reflective green replacing the previous dark green button copy it had before that.

Oh, the Garden State Parkway did use "ROUTE 33" on a 1987 replacement overhead south of Exit 102 out of nowhere.  Obviously it was short lived as no one here photographed it or ever discussed it here and last I checked it was gone.

[storm2k]

As expected, the old button copy sign bridge past the Exit 10 toll plaza has been replaced:



Good to see that 440's direction is signed correctly, but those CR-514 shields are atrocious.

[SignBridge]

Routes 287 and 440 are actually the same road. It's interesting (and potentially confusing) that you can go in opposite directions that are both North. Why shouldn't 440 be signed as East?

[ixnay]

storm2k, I did notice just now that GSV just last month showed County 514 west signed for Highland Park/Raritan Center, but wasn't 514 west signed for Bonhamtown a few years ago?

ixnay

[roadman65]

NJ 440 was signed east, but because New York signs it north, NJDOT complied with them.

Also, I see they did not include a Garden State Parkway shield for NJ 440 that was on the old signs.  However, CR 514 does get mentioned.

[Mergingtraffic]

As expected, the old button copy sign bridge past the Exit 10 toll plaza has been replaced:



Good to see that 440's direction is signed correctly, but those CR-514 shields are atrocious.

Pretty soon there will be no reason to go to NJ for road-geeking-signing purposes. It's all going to be gone.  Did the NJ-495 East signage go up yet?

[SignBridge]

The new display is actually pretty well organized. I'm a little surprised though, that it's signed Outerbridge Cr instead of Staten Island. With NJTA supposedly going with MUTCD requirements a place name should be shown in lieu of the bridge name, though I would show both if possible for max benefit to the driver. (Yes, we've been all over this debate before.......) Were these signs spec'd before the decision to go with the MUTCD?

[storm2k]

storm2k, I did notice just now that GSV just last month showed County 514 west signed for Highland Park/Raritan Center, but wasn't 514 west signed for Bonhamtown a few years ago?

ixnay

It was, but Raritan Center is a better choice. No one knows where Bonhamtown is, but a lot of traffic goes to Raritan Center.

[storm2k]

NJ 440 was signed east, but because New York signs it north, NJDOT complied with them.

Also, I see they did not include a Garden State Parkway shield for NJ 440 that was on the old signs.  However, CR 514 does get mentioned.

514 is directly accessible from this interchange so this is logical.