California

[cl94]

Well, there goes my hope of driving part of 190 in November. Though I had written that off at this point.

It really hasn't been a good year for roads in the Southwest. Between Hilary and this weekend's monsoon rains, there is a ton of damage just in the past few weeks.

[Quillz]

I assume others in the SF Valley have noticed the long and high concrete median being constructed on the 101? It seems to be almost done.

What are the benefits of this? Have cars gone over the median in the past? It has been under construction for a long time, and yet it doesn't seem to be much different from what was there before. (Some new BGS have also gone up in the same area).

[RZF]

I assume others in the SF Valley have noticed the long and high concrete median being constructed on the 101? It seems to be almost done.

What are the benefits of this? Have cars gone over the median in the past? It has been under construction for a long time, and yet it doesn't seem to be much different from what was there before. (Some new BGS have also gone up in the same area).

I don't like it simply for the fact that it forces drivers in that fast lane to drive a little slower. With no shoulder on the left and, instead, a big concrete wall, I personally don't like driving in that lane when I'm in the Valley.

[Occidental Tourist]

I assume others in the SF Valley have noticed the long and high concrete median being constructed on the 101? It seems to be almost done.

What are the benefits of this? Have cars gone over the median in the past? It has been under construction for a long time, and yet it doesn't seem to be much different from what was there before. (Some new BGS have also gone up in the same area).

I assume it's replacing the glare screen paddles that got removed off the top of the lower median. My recollection of driving the 101 when the paddles were still on was that quite a few would be knocked off.

[jdbx]

I assume others in the SF Valley have noticed the long and high concrete median being constructed on the 101? It seems to be almost done.

What are the benefits of this? Have cars gone over the median in the past? It has been under construction for a long time, and yet it doesn't seem to be much different from what was there before. (Some new BGS have also gone up in the same area).

They are doing a similar project up in the Bay Area on I-80 within Contra Costa County.  The stated reason is to reduce glare from oncoming vehicles, and they are also installing median lightning.

[Quillz]

I assume others in the SF Valley have noticed the long and high concrete median being constructed on the 101? It seems to be almost done.

What are the benefits of this? Have cars gone over the median in the past? It has been under construction for a long time, and yet it doesn't seem to be much different from what was there before. (Some new BGS have also gone up in the same area).

They are doing a similar project up in the Bay Area on I-80 within Contra Costa County.  The stated reason is to reduce glare from oncoming vehicles, and they are also installing median lightning.

Interesting. No lighting here yet, didn't know glare was a major hazard. I'm not usually in the lane so I don't notice as much.

[heynow415]

I assume others in the SF Valley have noticed the long and high concrete median being constructed on the 101? It seems to be almost done.

What are the benefits of this? Have cars gone over the median in the past? It has been under construction for a long time, and yet it doesn't seem to be much different from what was there before. (Some new BGS have also gone up in the same area).

They are doing a similar project up in the Bay Area on I-80 within Contra Costa County.  The stated reason is to reduce glare from oncoming vehicles, and they are also installing median lightning.

Interesting. No lighting here yet, didn't know glare was a major hazard. I'm not usually in the lane so I don't notice as much.

Another reason is that many of the older median k-rails are too low for modern vehicles which tend to sit higher and can end up mounting/crossing/crashing through a lower barrier.

[Quillz]

I figured it was more for cars going over the median. I've not seen that here but I figured it was possible. But I brought it up because it seems the old median wasn't that much smaller. This new one seems more rounded, though, at the base.

[Plutonic Panda]

The response I was given from caltrans was, it was to reduce glare and rubbernecking. I didn't hear anything about median lighting, but it would be nice.

[The Ghostbuster]

Has anyone heard about this?: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/massive-san-francisco-sinkhole-forms-after-crews-fix-water-main-break-in-74-year-old-pipes/ar-AA1gChTJ?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531&cvid=a5915b2bb7f8447191c2b74ec1f3b943&ei=73.

[Occidental Tourist]

Mike Ballard has video clip of the US-99 sign at the CA-134@ I-5 interchange.

Here's the lame fix D7 made for that sign:

[Quillz]

They're not going to greenout the top left?

[Max Rockatansky]

"Golden Sta" is the ultimate control city.

[Concrete Bob]

Welcome to California:  Your tax dollars at work!

[Max Rockatansky]

Even still, talk about some super longevity on those early DOH freeway gantry signs. 

[kkt]

"Golden Sta" is the ultimate control city.

That's right up there with Other Desert Cities.

[RZF]

"Golden Sta" is the ultimate control city.

That's right up there with Other Desert Cities.

CA-91 W towards Beach Cities is an honorable mention.

[FredAkbar]

"Golden Sta" is the ultimate control city.

That's right up there with Other Desert Cities.

CA-91 W towards Beach Cities is an honorable mention.

Or more succinctly, I-8 West toward, simply, "Beaches".

[FredAkbar]

"Golden Sta" is the ultimate control city.

That's right up there with Other Desert Cities.

That one was so much better when it was "other Desert Cities" with the lowercase 'o'.

[ClassicHasClass]

Welcome to California:  Your tax dollars at work!

You mean our tax dollars at wo

[Techknow]

That fix of a sign over a BGS is not the first time I seen it, it can also be seen on I-280 in San Francisco at the Alemany Interchange. Here the US-101 symbol got faded after 20 years and I thought it was a cheap fix over replacing the entire sign.



The fix for the I-5 signage just looks... weird.

[DTComposer]

^^^ I saw that this week - more than the cheap/lazy fix, it reminded me that it seems the reflective signage has a much shorter lifespan than the older signs. So many of them are fading/peeling/etc. after 10 years or less.

They've replaced nearly all the signage on US-101 between San Francisco and San Jose - except for one BGS southbound - the one near Rengstorff in Mountain View that has the greenout over BYPASS. That sign, which is over 60 years old at this point, is in better shape (even with the later-added buttons) than a whole lot of the 2000s vintage signage.

That I-5 cover-up struck me as photoshopped on first glance.

[mrsman]

Not a good result Caltrans!

Either replace the signage so that the top line says "Golden State Fwy"

Or remove all of the new greenout so that we have two "SOUTH 5" entries.  Yes, the 99 needs to be covered by a 5, but its unfortunate that the color couldnt match better.

Where is Richard Ankrom when we need him?

[He is the guerilla artist who painstakingly painted a very realistic "5" on signage at the northobound Harbor approaching the Four Level.  Signage at the time indicated exiting right for 5 Santa Ana and 10 San Bernardino as well as signage for 101 north, but nothing for 5 north (which you need to stay in the left lane through all of the tunnels for the next 3 miles).  His sign was so heloful that it was later replaced with an official version.  ]

[roadfro]

Where is Richard Ankrom when we need him?

[He is the guerilla artist who painstakingly painted a very realistic "5" on signage at the northobound Harbor approaching the Four Level.  Signage at the time indicated exiting right for 5 Santa Ana and 10 San Bernardino as well as signage for 101 north, but nothing for 5 north (which you need to stay in the left lane through all of the tunnels for the next 3 miles).  His sign was so heloful that it was later replaced with an official version.  ]

Not so much "painted", but fabricated a shield and "north" placard to spec and then installed it on an existing sign.

[RZF]

Where is Richard Ankrom when we need him?

[He is the guerilla artist who painstakingly painted a very realistic "5" on signage at the northobound Harbor approaching the Four Level.  Signage at the time indicated exiting right for 5 Santa Ana and 10 San Bernardino as well as signage for 101 north, but nothing for 5 north (which you need to stay in the left lane through all of the tunnels for the next 3 miles).  His sign was so heloful that it was later replaced with an official version.  ]

Not so much "painted", but fabricated a shield and "north" placard to spec and then installed it on an existing sign.

Who's gonna erect their own BGS about 2 miles before the 101/405 and 10/405 interchanges saying "405 Right 2 Lanes" so we don't have all these horrendous backups from drivers trying to get over at the last minute?