Junction shield on freeway

[coatimundi]

This is the only the instance I can recall of a "junction" shield on a freeway in California. I would guess it's there to emphasize the upcoming exit without putting another BGS up?

https://goo.gl/maps/pLKpbmeCd7N2

[hotdogPi]

I believe I-93 in Massachusetts has "JCT 128" signs because of the rule that I-95 and MA 128 cannot appear on the same sign.

[andy3175]

I've seen this around California ... here's a junction SR 79 sign on northbound I-15 in Temecula:

https://www.google.com/maps/@33.472858,-117.1376645,3a,75y,333.45h,92.07t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sf8upA06ZSnpXCz4bHHdJxA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

[sparker]

This is the only the instance I can recall of a "junction" shield on a freeway in California. I would guess it's there to emphasize the upcoming exit without putting another BGS up?

https://goo.gl/maps/pLKpbmeCd7N2

In the first years after the 1964 renumbering, when previously unsigned highways were being signed in the field for the first time, the "JCT" signs became a regular feature on several freeways -- US 101 between Ventura and Salinas seemed to have the most instances of these.  As BGS's were eventually replaced -- or some of the shorter routes (e.g. CA 224, CA 176) were eventually relinquished, the JCT signs were replaced by those BGS's or simply removed.  I made several trips from the L.A. area to the Bay Area as a college student from 1967 to 1971 and recall seeing "JCT" signs on CA 144, CA 227, CA 146, and CA 183 among others along US 101.  CA 99 also had a few pre-BGS examples, including CA 201, CA 233, and CA 219; again, these disappeared as newer BGS's were installed.

[OracleUsr]

They are pretty rare nationwide.  NC has one on Eastbound I-40 at the Great Smoky Mountains Expressway exit (Exit 27--US 74 West to US 19/23) that says JCT US 74.

[coatimundi]

This is the only the instance I can recall of a "junction" shield on a freeway in California. I would guess it's there to emphasize the upcoming exit without putting another BGS up?

https://goo.gl/maps/pLKpbmeCd7N2

In the first years after the 1964 renumbering, when previously unsigned highways were being signed in the field for the first time, the "JCT" signs became a regular feature on several freeways -- US 101 between Ventura and Salinas seemed to have the most instances of these.  As BGS's were eventually replaced -- or some of the shorter routes (e.g. CA 224, CA 176) were eventually relinquished, the JCT signs were replaced by those BGS's or simply removed.  I made several trips from the L.A. area to the Bay Area as a college student from 1967 to 1971 and recall seeing "JCT" signs on CA 144, CA 227, CA 146, and CA 183 among others along US 101.  CA 99 also had a few pre-BGS examples, including CA 201, CA 233, and CA 219; again, these disappeared as newer BGS's were installed.

Thanks for this. I found this very interesting, though I find almost all of your posts interesting.

I was hoping for a more intriguing reason, such as the one I suggested, but it seems like this is just another Caltrans instance of "They did it before, and they just forgot to stop doing it sometimes."

[sparker]

This is the only the instance I can recall of a "junction" shield on a freeway in California. I would guess it's there to emphasize the upcoming exit without putting another BGS up?

https://goo.gl/maps/pLKpbmeCd7N2

In the first years after the 1964 renumbering, when previously unsigned highways were being signed in the field for the first time, the "JCT" signs became a regular feature on several freeways -- US 101 between Ventura and Salinas seemed to have the most instances of these.  As BGS's were eventually replaced -- or some of the shorter routes (e.g. CA 224, CA 176) were eventually relinquished, the JCT signs were replaced by those BGS's or simply removed.  I made several trips from the L.A. area to the Bay Area as a college student from 1967 to 1971 and recall seeing "JCT" signs on CA 144, CA 227, CA 146, and CA 183 among others along US 101.  CA 99 also had a few pre-BGS examples, including CA 201, CA 233, and CA 219; again, these disappeared as newer BGS's were installed.

Thanks for this. I found this very interesting, though I find almost all of your posts interesting.

I was hoping for a more intriguing reason, such as the one I suggested, but it seems like this is just another Caltrans instance of "They did it before, and they just forgot to stop doing it sometimes."

Yeah -- this was in the Reagan era of budget-cutting; it seems as if field signage was deployed by the cheapest method possible.  There were some instances of this in the Riverside area, where I was attending college at the time -- including CA 31 trailblazer signage from both I-10 and CA 91 circa 1968 or so -- accomplished by the "JCT" stand-along signs as with the plethora of them along US 101.  Also, IIRC, the Kendall Avenue exit on I-15 (current I-215) a mile or so south of the Devore interchange had a JCT-type trailblazer for CA 206, which used that street SE toward central San Bernardino.