Traffic signals hanging by cables?

[brickbuilder711]

As far as Florida goes, FDOT found a way to use pivotal hangers to make them more sustainable under hurricanes. All major span wire intersections in Miami-Dade, and some in Broward and PBC were updated to have them. Meanwhile, some lights in the Tampa Bay area and most recently noted, the US 27 corridor have them.

Even though the mast arm idea took off, span wire intersections are still installed new in Broward. In fact, two intersections near Hard Rock that previously had mast arms were DOWNGRADED to have a diagonal wirehung installed. US 27, and the Griffin Rd/I-75 interchange had wire hungs installed.

Florida uses either of two setups for span wires. They use the double wire mentioned earlier but more recently have installed single wire span wire intersections, seen especially in the Tampa Bay area. IMO the single wires, especially US 301/SR 60 look "beep"ing hideous. Orange County still uses double wires.

[JoePCool14]

Illinois is 100% mast-arms, right? Obviously in the suburbs and city its mast arms.

[signalman]

Illinois is 100% mast-arms, right? Obviously in the suburbs and city its mast arms.

Just about. I recall one permanent span wire installation that I think Brandon shared with us a while back.

[thenetwork]

Northern Ohio has been s-l-o-w-l-y converting from span wires to mast arms....More like a trickle over the last 3 decades.  Toledo and Akron had been using mast arms the most since the 70s, but both areas still have a combination of mast arms and span wires.  Cleveland, and other smaller towns in Northern Ohio still use some of each.  But overall, when upgrading intersections, I'd say any given intersection will have a 60% chance of converting to mast arms.

Colorado uses a combination of span wires and mast arms as well. 

[MillTheRoadgeek]

Pretty much every SPUI intersection in the DC area is span wire... except I believe I-270 and Falls Road, which is one of those "truss-thingy" arms? Anyway, check that out on Google Maps (or whatever aerial map you use) or you can go into Street View.

[roadman65]

As far as Florida goes, FDOT found a way to use pivotal hangers to make them more sustainable under hurricanes. All major span wire intersections in Miami-Dade, and some in Broward and PBC were updated to have them. Meanwhile, some lights in the Tampa Bay area and most recently noted, the US 27 corridor have them.

Even though the mast arm idea took off, span wire intersections are still installed new in Broward. In fact, two intersections near Hard Rock that previously had mast arms were DOWNGRADED to have a diagonal wirehung installed. US 27, and the Griffin Rd/I-75 interchange had wire hungs installed.

Florida uses either of two setups for span wires. They use the double wire mentioned earlier but more recently have installed single wire span wire intersections, seen especially in the Tampa Bay area. IMO the single wires, especially US 301/SR 60 look "beep"ing hideous. Orange County still uses double wires.

You know what amazes me, is the way the signals are installed even for replacement.  When Osceola County changed two signals on FL 535 a few years back, they had one that was previously mast arm while the other was previously span wire.  They replaced the two at the same time, but you cannot help if engineers got both signals backwards as the mast arm got downgraded and the span wire got upgraded. 

Then again at FL 535 and Poinciana Boulevard just recently got an X span wire mount to replace aging mast arms that were there for several years, but recently a few weeks back another intersection a few hundred feet away two tower posts just got a mast arm replacement instead of them making it all span wire as this is all part of the same interchange.   The original mast arm NB on 535 is still there as there was nothing wrong with it, but the tower signals were temporary as the original mast arm for left turn signal got removed years ago, so Osceola County installed a DC type of median mount for the LTS.  Now the SB FL 535 has permanent green arrows with two overhead signal heads for SB FL 535 turning left onto EB Osceola Parkway.

I think its the mood of the day of the engineers or the eeny minee mo thing decides if the signal should be mast arm or wires in Florida.  Also that God awful green trusses that are used on OBT between the Beachline and I-4 that are hated by all, managed to make sure that a new installation for a Wal Mart near Oakridge Road got one of them.  That burns me up on that one as those ugly green gantries are a total waste of our tax dollars.

[cl94]

Outside of cities, the standard in New York is span wire, even in windy areas such as Western New York and the Adirondacks/North Country, where signals often fall down during the 60-70 mph winds that happen once or twice a year. The city of Buffalo uses mast arms almost exclusively and Region 1 has a decent amount of mast arms. Growing up in Lake George, wide roads tended to have span wire, while those with 2 or 3 lanes, especially in Glens Falls and Saratoga County, usually had mast arms. NYC and Nassau County are also mostly mast arms and have been for decades. The new standard up here appears to be mast arms, as every NYSDOT signal replacement I have noticed since I started attending UB in Regions 4 and 5 has used them, many with the yellow reflective tape.

[roadman65]

I was noticing that Schenectady and Albany as well as Nassau County use yellow signal heads instead of green even on standard NYS span wire assemblies.  I believe Buffalo uses yellow on their mast arms and I think Niagara Falls uses yellow in Downtown near the Falls.

[cl94]

I was noticing that Schenectady and Albany as well as Nassau County use yellow signal heads instead of green even on standard NYS span wire assemblies.  I believe Buffalo uses yellow on their mast arms and I think Niagara Falls uses yellow in Downtown near the Falls.

Buffalo and Niagara Falls do use yellow, as do Suffolk and Monroe Counties and New York City. Most of upstate uses green to increase visibility in the snow. IIRC, every state installation is green, but local municipalities are free to choose.

[roadman65]

I was noticing that Schenectady and Albany as well as Nassau County use yellow signal heads instead of green even on standard NYS span wire assemblies.  I believe Buffalo uses yellow on their mast arms and I think Niagara Falls uses yellow in Downtown near the Falls.

Buffalo and Niagara Falls do use yellow, as do Suffolk and Monroe Counties and New York City. Most of upstate uses green to increase visibility in the snow. IIRC, every state installation is green, but local municipalities are free to choose.

Some states the state itself tells the locals how to erect signals.  I like the fact that NY lets each municipality choose, and it makes it interesting to see NYC different from the rest of the state pretty much. 

New Jersey, on the other hand, is influenced heavily by the state.  Counties like Burlington that used span wires on county owned installations were forced to conform to NJ truss style mast arms and Essex who had loved to use NYS Green were forced to make their signals yellow when NJ went yellow in the mid 80's.  Also, I see Newark slowly abandoning the horizontal traffic signals for typical NJ trust mast arms with vertical signal heads and along McCarter Highway in Newark fancy brown monotube mast arms were installed north of LaFayette Street funded by NJ money which also abandoned the old Newark tradition of horizontal heads as well.

However, I did see some places like my hometown of Clark, NJ be allowed to use black signal heads as well as a few places in Rahway.  Plus Union County, NJ seems to have developed their own kind of mast arm in the recent years where the arm rests atop the pole hanging over the end instead of it sprung out from the pole like normal.  In addition the poles are either brown or green instead of bare metal and I have noticed most signals on county roads in Union have been changed out in the last twenty years to these new design including the Linden Shopping Center which had nice old signal heads mounted from fancy brackets on each corner along Wood Avenue that were so neat.

[dfnva]

Maryland and Virginia frequently install traffic signals on span wires, at least at state-maintained intersections. 

The District of Columbia almost never installs signals on span wires, except if the installation is of a temporary nature.
[/quote]

Since the early 1990s or so, the vast majority of new/replacement signal assemblies in Virginia (VDOT or otherwise) have been mast arms.  Some exceptions exist such as new SPUI interchanges and temporary signals.  The last new VDOT-installed span wire I've seen, other than at a SPUI, was at VA-28 and SR-619/Bristow Rd in Bristow around 2007 or so.  Since then, VDOT has appeared to accelerate its efforts to replace many of the remaining span wire signals in Northern Virginia with mast arms.

Span wire assemblies are fairly rare now in VA with the exceptions of Northern Virginia and the Richmond suburbs.

-Dan

[wisvishr0]

I don't think MD installs span wire anymore: all new installations I've seen are mast arms. In the older suburbs, though (closer into the city but not urban areas), there still exist mostly span wire installations, but they're being replaced by mast arms as they fall into disrepair, I think.

[realjd]

As far as Florida goes, FDOT found a way to use pivotal hangers to make them more sustainable under hurricanes. All major span wire intersections in Miami-Dade, and some in Broward and PBC were updated to have them. Meanwhile, some lights in the Tampa Bay area and most recently noted, the US 27 corridor have them.

Even though the mast arm idea took off, span wire intersections are still installed new in Broward. In fact, two intersections near Hard Rock that previously had mast arms were DOWNGRADED to have a diagonal wirehung installed. US 27, and the Griffin Rd/I-75 interchange had wire hungs installed.

Florida uses either of two setups for span wires. They use the double wire mentioned earlier but more recently have installed single wire span wire intersections, seen especially in the Tampa Bay area. IMO the single wires, especially US 301/SR 60 look "beep"ing hideous. Orange County still uses double wires.

The single wire setups are MUCH better able to withstand hurricanes:
http://www.dot.state.fl.us/structures/structuresresearchcenter/Final%20Reports/BD545_57.pdf

[roadman65]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/8501343983/in/photostream/
I hope that MD and VA do not get sloppy like this here assembly in Texas lol!

You are right, though about MD and VA. All through the 90's when clinching US 1 I have found both VA and MD increasing the number of mast arms quite dramatically.

[kj3400]

There are still quite a few span wire intersections around. Maryland seems to only be converting the ones that are falling apart to mast arms. However, all the intersections seem to be getting new black visor yellow back signals. Take for example, MD 2, or Ritchie Hwy. I can't think of a single signal from here to MD 100 that is not now yellow and black, though there are still a few span wires in between.

[ET21]

I only see spanned wires in construction zones

[roadman65]

There are still quite a few span wire intersections around. Maryland seems to only be converting the ones that are falling apart to mast arms. However, all the intersections seem to be getting new black visor yellow back signals. Take for example, MD 2, or Ritchie Hwy. I can't think of a single signal from here to MD 100 that is not now yellow and black, though there are still a few span wires in between.

Baltimore City still uses the span wires.  In fact I believe they still paint the poles green like the entire state did back in the 60's and 70's.  I used to think that was neat seeing the dark green strain poles as that is just like the concrete one's that Florida uses.

Incidentally US 13 in Norfolk used to have Jersey Trust mast arms at the first intersection north of I-64.  Now they use a Florida span wire system with the concrete poles on the four corners.  What is interesting about that one is both times they used other state practices.

[Roadrunner75]

I was surprised to see so many signals on span wires in the downtown business district of Pittsburgh when I was there last weekend.

[Rainking75]

Here in NC span wire seems to be the rule. Even in new signal installations or conversions to new assemblies as permissive yellow phases in, they are most typically done on span wire.

[SSOWorld]

There are a few spanned lights in Rockford.  District 2 is very inconsistent in their mounting of lights

[kj3400]

There are still quite a few span wire intersections around. Maryland seems to only be converting the ones that are falling apart to mast arms. However, all the intersections seem to be getting new black visor yellow back signals. Take for example, MD 2, or Ritchie Hwy. I can't think of a single signal from here to MD 100 that is not now yellow and black, though there are still a few span wires in between.

Baltimore City still uses the span wires.  In fact I believe they still paint the poles green like the entire state did back in the 60's and 70's.  I used to think that was neat seeing the dark green strain poles as that is just like the concrete one's that Florida uses.

Incidentally US 13 in Norfolk used to have Jersey Trust mast arms at the first intersection north of I-64.  Now they use a Florida span wire system with the concrete poles on the four corners.  What is interesting about that one is both times they used other state practices.

Nope, most of them are silver/gray/whatever you call metal colored poles now. And even the city is very slowly converting to mast arms (like, very slowly).

[andrewkbrown]

I passed under one of these rare to find span wire installations in DC yesterday.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=38.952167,-77.072729&spn=0.002395,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.952364,-77.073562&panoid=ynyFuWm437rz5PDxGbQT8Q&cbp=12,217.53,,0,6.92

[wisvishr0]

I passed under one of these rare to find span wire installations in DC yesterday.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=38.952167,-77.072729&spn=0.002395,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.952364,-77.073562&panoid=ynyFuWm437rz5PDxGbQT8Q&cbp=12,217.53,,0,6.92

Wow, that is weird. I have to say, though, it's much more visible than the normal mast signals around DC. Especially on multilane roads, I've almost missed signals because DC doesn't use overhead signals for middle lanes (and only sometimes for the right lane). Traffic light visibility is one thing Europeans (and Washingtonians) don't do very well.

ETA:

Would you know that this intersection was signalized if you were travelling at 35 mph? Maybe not until the last moment. This is where span-wire signals (or at least mast arms) are more  helpful.

[Ian]

I passed under one of these rare to find span wire installations in DC yesterday.

https://maps.google.com/?ll=38.952167,-77.072729&spn=0.002395,0.005284&t=h&z=18&layer=c&cbll=38.952364,-77.073562&panoid=ynyFuWm437rz5PDxGbQT8Q&cbp=12,217.53,,0,6.92

Minus the grey signals, this looks like your average intersection in Maine.

[wisvishr0]

Actually, I'm pretty sure that those signals are MD-standard (black front and yellow black, rather than gray). They must have stolen them from MDOT or SHA.