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[Quillz]

For those of you familiar with Alaska, what exactly are these?

https://www.google.com/maps/@61.948456,-147.1464441,3a,75y,57.96h,94.62t/data=!3m9!1e1!3m7!1s6FZamD9GWZHOCQ-NljzEZg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!9m2!1b1!2i22

I've only seen them in Alaska, and only south of Fairbanks. Most of the time, there is nothing on them, they are just bent poles. Sometimes, though, I'll see reflective tape on them, and then reflective signs on top. That makes me assume these are intended to be makeshift lampposts? They are also always in the arrangements as seen in the photo: huge groupings of them, usually about a mile or so in length. Then you'll never see them again. They are mainly in the Anchorage area, although the Glenn Highway (pictured) has them in maybe 2-3 large groupings. A place to put on chains?

Are these anywhere else in northern North America, such as Canada? These seem to be exclusively Alaskan and most don't seem to really serve much purpose anymore.

[oscar]

Snowplow guides?

[JayhawkCO]

Snowplow guides?

Sure seems like it. Just more or less a bent version of what exists on mountain passes out here in Colorado. It looks like they're bent over to mark the very edge of the shoulder.

[Scott5114]

I want to say Japan (Hokkaido specifically) has a similar style of snowplow marker, so that's probably it.

[Quillz]

Interesting. I'm not from an area where snowplows are a thing, so I didn't think that's what they were. The reflective tape on the sides of most of them, which is also occasionally on the paddles on top (when they are installed) is why I thought they were some kind of "lamppost."

But I'm still curious why they are grouped like that? And they don't seem to exist at all once you go north of the Glenn Highway. I've driven the big Anchorage-Fairbanks loop numerous times now, and on the entire Parks and Richardson Highways, except for the latter near Valdez, they don't seem to be a thing.

Anchorage also has a more stylized variant on some of their bridges: https://www.google.com/maps/@61.4809416,-149.2531806,3a,75y,22.06h,103.21t/data=!3m10!1e1!3m8!1s0W1XsMBN4cXIp7clW-GTjg!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3D0W1XsMBN4cXIp7clW-GTjg%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D303.01%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192!9m2!1b1!2i10

[kphoger]

They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

[Quillz]

They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

Oh, interesting. I've only taken the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle, not gone north of there yet. Using Google Maps, I found some of those poles through the Brooks Range area. I guess that explains why they are grouped the way they are, those areas just accumulate a lot of snow for various reasons.

[triplemultiplex]

One sees those types of more elaborate delineators through mountain passes quite often.  They are indeed to help the snowplow drivers stay on the road during snow removal.  These are sections of road they shut down when it's snowing too hard and wait for it to stop before trying to plow.  Several feet can accumulate over the course of the shutdown and the edge of the road becomes ill-defined; especially when it's drifting.  And in mountain sections like this, going into the "ditch" means a long, deadly tumble.

The reflectivity aids vehicles in staying on the road during low visibility, too.  They're especially nice at revealing an upcoming curve in the road. Driving at night in a snowstorm is a white-knuckle experience as it is on flat terrain.  In the mountains, the stakes are bit higher.

[US 89]

These are way more elaborate than anything I've ever seen in the western lower 48. Most snow poles out there tend to look something more along the lines of this or this.

[triplemultiplex]

By cantilevering them from further beyond the edge of the road, they reduce the chances of the delineators getting knocked over by the snowplows.

[kphoger]

By cantilevering them from further beyond the edge of the road, they reduce the chances of the delineators getting knocked over by the snowplows.

Or errant vehicles.

[kphoger]

They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

Oh, interesting. I've only taken the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle, not gone north of there yet. Using Google Maps, I found some of those poles through the Brooks Range area. I guess that explains why they are grouped the way they are, those areas just accumulate a lot of snow for various reasons.

Example of the Pexco version on the Dalton:
https://goo.gl/maps/YDCLY8jDWZ7P2Mnz7
https://goo.gl/maps/TVGAZg9sDWWpXK33A

[J N Winkler]

I want to say Japan (Hokkaido specifically) has a similar style of snowplow marker, so that's probably it.

The markers that are used in Hokkaido appear in pairs and consist of arrows that point downward at the shoulder stripe on each side.  They are retroreflectorized (and, in some cases, illuminated) so that the driver sees candy striping on the nearside and yellow on the offside.  They are also quite high above the ground to maintain usual clearance for overhead signs (I don't know what Japanese standards call for specifically, but 17' is the norm in the US).

They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

The Dalton used to have delineators that were arranged so that, in a blizzard, a driver could stay on the road by tacking toward alternating colors--moving toward white, then yellow, then white . . .  This doesn't work if the same color is used on both sides of the road, as the MUTCD requires, so it looks like Alaska DOT is experimenting with different shapes in white.

[Quillz]

I want to say Japan (Hokkaido specifically) has a similar style of snowplow marker, so that's probably it.

The markers that are used in Hokkaido appear in pairs and consist of arrows that point downward at the shoulder stripe on each side.  They are retroreflectorized (and, in some cases, illuminated) so that the driver sees candy striping on the nearside and yellow on the offside.  They are also quite high above the ground to maintain usual clearance for overhead signs (I don't know what Japanese standards call for specifically, but 17' is the norm in the US).

They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

The Dalton used to have delineators that were arranged so that, in a blizzard, a driver could stay on the road by tacking toward alternating colors--moving toward white, then yellow, then white . . .  This doesn't work if the same color is used on both sides of the road, as the MUTCD requires, so it looks like Alaska DOT is experimenting with different shapes in white.

Oh, those Japanese ones are neat. I would have made the whole backside yellow, instead of just the tips, but either way that seems like a pretty neat idea.

[ErmineNotyours]

And now to an area that doesn't need snow removal...

I was impressed by Maui putting reflectors right on roadside trees.