Philadelphia

[ekt8750]

Wanted to add on to this. There's now a BGS on the ramp from I-95 NB to I-476 directing to MacDade Blvd also in Clearview.

I saw that BGS while there this past Saturday night.

I'm thinking the APL in the FHWA font is either a test or a contractor screw up.

Given that PennDOT has had prior experience with Highway Gothic installations; I would think the latter (not a bad thing, this time around). 

The only other reason could due ot the fact that the surrounding Clearview BGS' feature a slightly taller (& wider) letter size (at least they're not the super-sized Clearview lettering as seen on the Exit 329 signage along I-76 westbound); which would've made the width of the APL BGS as wide if not wider than the entire northbound I-95 roadbed.

So the mystery deepens with this interchange project. We now have another new sign up for I-476 NB coming off I-95 SB and the Plymouth Meeting legend is done in Series E (may even be Series D). This sign on the same gantry as the Clearview MacDade Blvd exit sign. There's also a yellow advanced warning sign for the end of the left lane that's currently covered.

[Ian]

Oh how I wish more people in this hobby took pictures of signs. I want to see these new signs in my backyard, but I won't be back in PA for another month. 

[ekt8750]

Oh how I wish more people in this hobby took pictures of signs. I want to see these new signs in my backyard, but I won't be back in PA for another month. 

I go through this interchange on my commute everyday. I'll get one tomorrow. lol

[ekt8750]

Oh how I wish more people in this hobby took pictures of signs. I want to see these new signs in my backyard, but I won't be back in PA for another month. 

Here ya go:

2015-11-19_10-06-03 by Eric Butler, on Flickr

[PHLBOS]

Oh how I wish more people in this hobby took pictures of signs. I want to see these new signs in my backyard, but I won't be back in PA for another month. 

Here ya go:

2015-11-19_10-06-03 by Eric Butler, on Flickr

If that photo was taken along the northbound I-95 exit ramp; the latter two signs to the left of the MacDade Blvd. BGS must've been very recent add-ons.  When I drove that ramp last Saturday night the older (and graffiti-worn) pull-through BGS was still there.  Note: the lights weren't yet shifted to align with the new signs.

Note the absence of Clearview on the new I-476 North BGS (the Clearview MacDade Blvd. exit BGS was just erected a few days earlier).  Such also uses smaller Series D numerals rather than the larger Series C numerals shown on the other signs.

This area's getting almost as many mis-matched BGS styles & formats than the I-76/US 202/422 interchanges in the King of Prussia area.

[ekt8750]

Oh how I wish more people in this hobby took pictures of signs. I want to see these new signs in my backyard, but I won't be back in PA for another month. 

Here ya go:

2015-11-19_10-06-03 by Eric Butler, on Flickr

If that photo was taken along the northbound I-95 exit ramp; the latter two signs to the left of the MacDade Blvd. BGS must've been very recent add-ons.  When I drove that ramp last Saturday night the older (and graffiti-worn) pull-through BGS was still there.  Note: the lights weren't yet shifted to align with the new signs.

Yeah they had to have gone up Tuesday night. They weren't there Tuesday morning.

Note the absence of Clearview on the new I-476 North BGS (the Clearview MacDade Blvd. exit BGS was just erected a few days earlier).  Such also uses smaller Series D numerals rather than the larger Series C numerals shown on the other signs.

This area's getting almost as many mis-matched BGS styles & formats than the I-76/US 202/422 interchanges in the King of Prussia area.

I will say while I do prefer Clearview for control city legends (numbers and all caps applications are another story), if PA does go back to FHWA, I hope they do use Series E as shown here instead of E Modified as they did before Clearview. One thing Clearview has shown us is that heavier weighted typefaces don't always equate to better visibility.

[PHLBOS]

I will say while I do prefer Clearview for control city legends (numbers and all caps applications are another story), if PA does go back to FHWA, I hope they do use Series E as shown here instead of E Modified as they did before Clearview. One thing Clearview has shown us is that heavier weighted typefaces don't always equate to better visibility.

My take on Clearview is either apply it properly (including no gargantuan text heights) or don't apply it at all.

To their credit (& for the most part), PennDOT & PTC seemed to have finally gotten the hang of how to properly apply the Clearview font (the worst examples of such in southeastern PA is along PA 309 in Montgomery County).  It's mostly other states that are still screwing their signs up by misusing or overusing the Clearview font.

[ekt8750]

I will say while I do prefer Clearview for control city legends (numbers and all caps applications are another story), if PA does go back to FHWA, I hope they do use Series E as shown here instead of E Modified as they did before Clearview. One thing Clearview has shown us is that heavier weighted typefaces don't always equate to better visibility.

My take on Clearview is either apply it properly (including no gargantuan text heights) or don't apply it at all.

To their credit (& for the most part), PennDOT & PTC seemed to have finally gotten the hang of how to properly apply the Clearview font (the worst examples of such in southeastern PA is along PA 309 in Montgomery County).  It's mostly other states that are still screwing their signs up by misusing or overusing the Clearview font.

Couldn't agree more. I'm looking at you Delaware and Maryland.

[Ian]

Oh how I wish more people in this hobby took pictures of signs. I want to see these new signs in my backyard, but I won't be back in PA for another month. 

Here ya go:

2015-11-19_10-06-03 by Eric Butler, on Flickr

Thanks for posting it! I don't mind the look of the exit tab. I was never a fan of PennDOT's usual exit tabs where the corners have the same radius as the corners on the main sign panel.

[ekt8750]

This sign here on 95 was also recently replaced a similar one done in Clearview: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9007804,-75.1545495,3a,75y,255.39h,89.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soOi9uwQQ-SeuxksSQ736WA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

[ixnay]

Richmond Street near the Philly waterfront has reopened...

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/11/23/key-artery-in-port-richmond-reopens-to-traffic/

but...

[W]ork on nearby I-95, however, will expand early next month with the closure of the on-ramp to I-95 north at the Girard Avenue interchange. That project will result in slight detours for the next 18 months.

ixnay

[PHLBOS]

This sign here on 95 was also recently replaced a similar one done in Clearview: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.9007804,-75.1545495,3a,75y,255.39h,89.02t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1soOi9uwQQ-SeuxksSQ736WA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Its northbound companion (located at the Girard Point Bridge) was also replaced as well.

Personally, the replacement BGS' are actually an improvement.  The predecessor BGS boards were a tad too small for the messages (which made such BGS' looked crowded).

[MASTERNC]

Looks like the second lane on the I-95 NB ramp to I-476 NB is open.  Was looking at traffic cameras due to an accident further up the road and noticed the cover on the option lane APL sign was gone.

[PHLBOS]

Looks like the second lane on the I-95 NB ramp to I-476 NB is open.  Was looking at traffic cameras due to an accident further up the road and noticed the cover on the option lane APL sign was gone.

That must've been very recent opening.  That lane wasn't yet open as of this past Sunday (APL option lane was still partially covered).

[jeffandnicole]

Based on this 511 alert from a few days ago, it appears that 2nd lane may have opened up on Dec. 8th.  http://511enews.com/tag/pennsylvania/ .

From 8:00 PM Monday, December 7, to 5:00 AM Tuesday, December 8, the I-95 north off-ramp to I-476 north in Ridley Township, Delaware County, will be closed for the removal of temporary concrete barriers. During the ramp closure, northbound I-95 drivers heading to I-476 north will be detoured north on I-95 to the Ridley Park exit (Exit 8). At the top off the exit ramp, they will turn left onto Stewart Avenue, left at the on-ramp to I-95 south, and follow I-95 south to the ramp to I-476 north.

[MASTERNC]

It's definitely open, although the lane markings on I-95 don't appear to be done that well (hard to describe, but the option lane isn't well marked).

[jemacedo9]

Line striping and overhead sign installation to occur at I-95/I-476 interchange over the next week:

http://www.penndot.gov/RegionalOffices/district-6/Pages/details.aspx?newsid=222

[ekt8750]

Looks like the two big fork signs are going to be replaced on SB 95 approaching 476.

[PHLBOS]

It's definitely open, although the lane markings on I-95 don't appear to be done that well (hard to describe, but the option lane isn't well marked).

I drove that stretch last night.  The only other signs giving hint of the shared-turn lanes are a couple of R3-8-style signs posted along the right-hand shoulder prior to the new APL BGS.  IMHO, there should be at least one more advance APL along I-95 North even if such means replacing a couple of relatively-new BGS'.

Looks like the two big fork signs are going to be replaced on SB 95 approaching 476.

I guess the replacement(s) will be APL as well?

[ekt8750]

author=ekt8750 link=topic=2410.msg2112148#msg2112148 date=1449866629]
Looks like the two big fork signs are going to be replaced on SB 95 approaching 476.

I guess the replacement(s) will be APL as well?
[/quote]

I hope so. I drive that stretch of road almost daily and it annoys me to no end how many people weave in and out of lanes trying to figure out which Interstate they need to be on and which lane that entails getting in.

[Flyer78]

Weird that they finally added exit only tabs to the 95SB signs, if they were just going to be replaced later anyway.

[ekt8750]

Weird that they finally added exit only tabs to the 95SB signs, if they were just going to be replaced later anyway.

To be fair they were only slapped onto the old signs. Those tabs needed to go up when the Blue Route first opened so putting a temporary solution up before the permanent one goes up is better than not.

[Flyer78]

As of last night, there existing signs were still there on I-95 SB.

[ekt8750]

They still are this morning as well. The bulletin says the work is weather permitting and there is a window that goes through Friday morning.

[Flyer78]

http://www.philly.com/philly/business/20160115_PennDOT_might_open_Schuylkill_Expressway_shoulders_to_traffic.html

The stretch of highway between Route 202 and Route 1 has been subject of a traffic study since late 2014, PennDOT spokesman Eugene Blaum said Thursday, because of major backups that routinely occur there. A study by American Highway Users and AAA last year found the expressway at Route 1 to be among the 50 worst bottlenecks in the country

Only a study at this point, but I seem to recall a similar study/proposal to also open the shoulders on the Blue Route's southern section as well.