New Jersey Turnpike

[jeffandnicole]

Sigh.  1:30pm on Wednesday before Thanksgiving, and the NJ Turnpike is showing green throughout all of Central Jersey.

Not like the good ol' days when we get the alerts about 25 miles of jammed traffic!

http://www.511nj.org/

[NJ]

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

[Rothman]

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

*shrug*

I like it and miss the squiggly exit arrows.

[NJ]

You really like them? I complained about them once. It makes it look silly and funny. I hope they will follow MUTCD.
Aren't they still there though? Many of their signs are outdated.

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

*shrug*

I like it and miss the squiggly exit arrows.

[Pete from Boston]

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

So much hate. 

Why does the dual-dual setup bother you (or is it the two Meadowlands alignments)?  I have never heard someone express disdain for it.

[dgolub]

You really like them? I complained about them once. It makes it look silly and funny. I hope they will follow MUTCD.
Aren't they still there though? Many of their signs are outdated.

As of the last time I was on there (which was only four days ago), they were.  As of when they extended the car/truck lanes down to exit 6, they hadn't gone MUTCD yet, so only very recently replaced signs don't have them.

[NJ]

I prefer having simple highway setup system like elsewhere; 5 or 6 lanes per direction better than 3 lanes and diving them. You can always include 'No trucks in left (two) lanes' - also saving money on extra overhead signs, etc.

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

So much hate. 

Why does the dual-dual setup bother you (or is it the two Meadowlands alignments)?  I have never heard someone express disdain for it.

[Pete from Boston]

I prefer having simple highway setup system like elsewhere; 5 or 6 lanes per direction better than 3 lanes and diving them. You can always include 'No trucks in left (two) lanes' - also saving money on extra overhead signs, etc.

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

So much hate. 

Why does the dual-dual setup bother you (or is it the two Meadowlands alignments)?  I have never heard someone express disdain for it.

Do you feel it is simpler and/or safer to change lanes 6 times to exit than it is to change 2 or 3 times?

[bzakharin]

I agree with the speed limit, but it's really not the NJTA's fault.

[jeffandnicole]

Yeah, saving money on signs. That's what they're worried about.

The Turnpike probably spent a billion dollars extra on the 6-8A dual-dual design than a design where 6 lanes would be together. It's a very safe design that most other states would like to do, but simply can't afford.

As for the 'No Trucks In Left Lane' signs, they are posted anyway since trucks aren't permitted in the left lane.

[Mergingtraffic]

Some of the merging areas around the Spurs are rather short. The long broken lines just end. I've found myself in a jam saying "oh shit the lane ends"

SB on the western spur and NB where I-80 comes in. Plus in some spots the left and right lanes merge in the center of the road. That's dangerous.

The western spur could use an extra lane both ways.
Other than that I love it!
But I miss the old signs.

[SignBridge]

I strongly disagree with NJ. To me the NJ Turnpike is probably the best engineered and safest highway in the Northeast. It is my favorite road to spend an hour or two driving on. And the Turnpike Authority's safety standards such as the wider, longer lane stripes meet or exceed the MUTCD's requirements.

Re: the changeover to MUTCD signing, I am a believer in standardization, but the NJT's sign system worked well too and the public probably didn't notice the difference. And yes, we will miss those unique NJT signs some day when they're all gone just like the original blue NY Thruway and Connecticut Turnpike signs.

[ixnay]

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

So much hate. 

Why does the dual-dual setup bother you (or is it the two Meadowlands alignments)?  I have never heard someone express disdain for it.

Or the squiggly arrows.

ixnay

[jwolfer]

I prefer having simple highway setup system like elsewhere; 5 or 6 lanes per direction better than 3 lanes and diving them. You can always include 'No trucks in left (two) lanes' - also saving money on extra overhead signs, etc.

N.J. Turnpike is the worst designed highway by far in America... I hate the outdated signs, long and thick lane paint, divided highways, low speed limits 

So much hate. 

Why does the dual-dual setup bother you (or is it the two Meadowlands alignments)?  I have never heard someone express disdain for it.

I am not an engineer but from what I understand too many lanes actually will decrease the level of service of a road. I believe it's over 4 lanes  in one direction. The divided carriageway seems more efficient from the perspective of a non PE roadgeek, driver. The NJTP moves better than 75/85 in Atlanta, IMHO

[SignBridge]

I too like the divided roadways for several reasons. The most obvious is that car drivers can use the truck-free lanes and not have to play tag with the semi's. Another reason is it facilitates traffic movement around accident scenes, etc. And maintenance and repairs can safely be done at night by closing one roadway and diverting all traffic to the other.

[NJ]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

[Pete from Boston]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

Signs.

[NJ]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

Signs.

Any examples?
What about the longer line paints making them normal sized like other highways?

[jeffandnicole]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

Signs.

Any examples?
What about the longer line paints making them normal sized like other highways?

The lines as painted are permitted, per the MUTCD:  "Broken lines should consist of 10-foot line segments and 30-foot gaps, or dimensions in a similar ratio of line segments to gaps as appropriate for traffic speeds and need for delineation."

[Pete from Boston]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

Signs.

Any examples?

All the new ones on the Eastern Spur, discussed upthread.

There's not a lot to say, as they're the same generic design you see all over the country.

[NJ]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

Signs.

Any examples?
What about the longer line paints making them normal sized like other highways?

The lines as painted are permitted, per the MUTCD:  "Broken lines should consist of 10-foot line segments and 30-foot gaps, or dimensions in a similar ratio of line segments to gaps as appropriate for traffic speeds and need for delineation."

NJ Turnpike is the only highway in New Jersey not using reflectors (cat's eyes) either...

[jeffandnicole]

Now that the Turnpike will follow MUTCD, what will change?

Signs.

Any examples?
What about the longer line paints making them normal sized like other highways?

The lines as painted are permitted, per the MUTCD:  "Broken lines should consist of 10-foot line segments and 30-foot gaps, or dimensions in a similar ratio of line segments to gaps as appropriate for traffic speeds and need for delineation."

NJ Turnpike is the only highway in New Jersey not using reflectors (cat's eyes) either...

That I wish they would use.

[DrSmith]

Off to the side by the gas station at the Alexander Hamilton service plaza there were what looked to be the new BGS attached to the canaliever arms ready for installation in the near future.

[roadman65]

Yes say bye bye to the signs we have grown to love.  One thing for sure, I believe NJ 495 will finally get displayed to the world as NJTA never signed it for Exit 16E before.

[KEVIN_224]

While on the New Jersey Turnpike today (November 27, 2015), I noticed that the Grover Cleveland service plaza, northbound near Exit 11 in Woodbridge, was open and completely remodeled.