Another new member here

[huskeroadgeek]

Glad I finally found this board. I've been wanting to post on a board like this for a long time.

A little about me: I'm 38 years old and I'm from Lincoln, NE(hence my screenname-Go Big Red!). I'm just like so many other people-growing up, I thought I was the only one who was interested in this stuff. I've been interested in maps and highways since I was little. My first big experience with maps was when I was 9 years old and my family was going on a trip to Colorado, I checked an atlas out from the library so I could follow along with the trip. Then the following Christmas, I asked for and got an atlas(an old HM Gousha atlas-I miss those!). Then when I was 12, my parents let me plan(along with some help from my older brother) the itinerary and route for our family's 2 week trip through the Rockies and Pacific NW. From then on I planned the routes for every vacation my family took. From about high school on through college I was known as "Mapman" or "Rand McNally" and was and still am often used as a resource for others when they want to know how to get somewhere or where some place is. I've been looking at websites related to roads for about 12 years now and have used AARoads and its precursors often.

I'm looking forward to contributing things to this site-I've wanted to discuss road and highway related stuff for years but I've never been able to do it because I don't know anybody personally who is into this stuff like I am and haven't been able to find a good message board like this that discusses such topics.

[bugo]

Nebraska is a neat state.  There is far more in Nebraska than the average person thinks there is.  And the Sand Hills are quite scenic.

[huskeroadgeek]

I agree. I love the Sand Hills, but unfortunately I've only been out there a couple of times. They are somewhat visible on I-80 W. of North Platte, but to really see them, you have to get out on 2 lane roads in the middle of nowhere. Hwy. 2 is a great way to see them. As most people say, you really have to get off I-80 if you want to see the real beauty of Nebraska.

[bugo]

I agree. I love the Sand Hills, but unfortunately I've only been out there a couple of times. They are somewhat visible on I-80 W. of North Platte, but to really see them, you have to get out on 2 lane roads in the middle of nowhere. Hwy. 2 is a great way to see them. As most people say, you really have to get off I-80 if you want to see the real beauty of Nebraska.

I went on a bridgehunt with a fellow road enthusiast in central Nebraska back in 2002.  There are lots of really cool bridges if you know where to look.

[agentsteel53]

any of the Nebraska/US shields still out there?  The 275 in Omaha was just recently taken down.

[huskeroadgeek]

any of the Nebraska/US shields still out there?  The 275 in Omaha was just recently taken down.

My memory goes back about 30 years and I never recall seeing one, except the US 275 one in Omaha which I only saw in a picture.

[agentsteel53]

I'm trying to figure out when they stopped using them.  They had the "fat" shield shape that was a 1970 federal standard, but I am thinking they started it in the 1960s and had stopped by 1971 or so. 

there was an 83 that survived in North Platte until the reconstruction of US-83 that started about two years ago, and a 20 on the mainline and a 30 somewhere on an I-80 off-ramp which both were spotted in the early 2000s, and several US-6es on Dodge Street in Omaha that were taken down during its reconstruction around 2003.

I didn't spot any in 1998 or 2003 but both times I made the mistake of taking 80 straight across with very little deviation.  The first time I really poked around Nebraska was 2006.

[huskeroadgeek]

Now that you mention the US 6s on Dodge Street, I think I do recall seeing those at some point. I didn't realize there ever were any others though. The only other different kind of shield I have seen is an older style(with "US" but without the state name) Jct. US 34 shield on 48th St. just before O St. here in Lincoln. I always thought it had to be old, because the only reason I could think of why they would have a "Jct. US 34" sign on 48th St. is because it used to be NE 2, which was moved to a new alignment in the south part of town back in the 1960s or so.

[agentsteel53]

Now that you mention the US 6s on Dodge Street, I think I do recall seeing those at some point. I didn't realize there ever were any others though. The only other different kind of shield I have seen is an older style(with "US" but without the state name) Jct. US 34 shield on 48th St. just before O St. here in Lincoln. I always thought it had to be old, because the only reason I could think of why they would have a "Jct. US 34" sign on 48th St. is because it used to be NE 2, which was moved to a new alignment in the south part of town back in the 1960s or so.

how have I managed to consistently miss that sign?  I thought I had scoured both Omaha and Lincoln for old signs!

can you get a photo of that shield please?  We'd love to have it on the AARoads shield gallery!

the Nebraska/US state-named shield was the state standard, and therefore ostensibly appeared in many places.  I have seen it used most often as a reassurance marker, and in one case as a directional indicator with an arrow:

 

that might be in error, though, as generally the older federal standards specify a more abstract marker for intersections, and the "full" style (state name, US, number) as reassurance.

I have never seen a US-only shield in Nebraska.  It was a federal spec from 1961: a cutout US-only marker to be used a reassurance marker only when paired with an interstate shield on a freeway, but some states used it in other contexts, like Arkansas using it as a junction marker in at least one example I have seen, and of course California using it universally.  Other states (New York and Wisconsin come to mind quickly) had the "US" in various shield incarnations where the feds had omitted it, as late as 1965 for NY and 1982 for WI.

[huskeroadgeek]

Now that I see the picture here, I realized that the one in Lincoln has the state name in it too. It's the exact same style as the one in the picture. I was just trying to remember if the shield is still up-I go by that way often enough that I don't even pay any attention to it anymore. If my memory serves me right, I don't recall seeing it recently, but if it's still up I'll get a picture of it.

[agentsteel53]

Now that I see the picture here-I realized that the one in Lincoln has the state name in it too. It's the exact same style as the one in the picture.

well damn, how did I never find it?  Also, Alex went to Lincoln at one point and he never found it either.

well, what do I know... took me three scourings of Omaha to find this sign:



and I missed this sign all three times and it was Jeff Royston who found it.



the 480 is gone; the 80 is still around as of Oct 2009, and is likely the very last original-spec interstate shield in the state!

Please do send us a photo of the 34 (shields@aaroads.com) as that may be the very last US shield of that specification around.

[huskeroadgeek]

Possibly the reason why you never saw it was that it isn't on the mainline-it was only on 48th St. just S. of O St. Since 48th St. isn't a state highway(or hasn't been for 40+ years), you wouldn't have any reason to expect to see a highway sign there.
BTW-I was just poking around on StreetView, and I found the sign-but alas, the old sign is gone and replaced by a newer US 34 sign. Since 48th St. isn't maintained by NDOR, I wonder whether it was NDOR or the city of Lincoln that replaced the sign.

Here's where the sign was and the newer sign is:

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Lincoln,+Lancaster,+Nebraska&ll=40.812088,-96.653659&spn=0,0.010986&z=17&layer=c&cbll=40.811954,-96.653673&panoid=OM41mK0A6ySdQqxbEPPhaA&cbp=12,22.96,,0,5.18

[bugo]

Arkansas using it as a junction marker in at least one example I have seen,

Got a pic?

[agentsteel53]

Arkansas using it as a junction marker in at least one example I have seen,

Got a pic?

Jim Lindsay photo from 1974.  Alas, I have no context beyond this so I do not know what is above the NORTH banner.  Maybe a different route shield and a corresponding arrow?

[bugo]

Probably either a US 65 or US 67 shield.