The Worst of Road Signs

[Brandon]

I've seen similar abominations in Virginia, but this was the most recent discovery. A US marker was turned upside down and an attempt was made to convert it into a circle for a secondary route marker.

The epitome of laziness.

[Voyager75]

South of Birmingham on AL 119. "Eh, I'll just use a backwards P since I can't find the 9."

[chays]

South of Birmingham on AL 119. "Eh, I'll just use a backwards P since I can't find the 9."

Good find.  I've captured a GSV image that shows this gaffe more clearly.

[Voyager75]

Yeah it was the same on the other side. I also saw this at Exit 153 on I-20 in Chula Vista today. Hope it doesn't topple over with all that bold font on top.

[kphoger]

meh

[Quillz]

I've seen similar abominations in Virginia, but this was the most recent discovery. A US marker was turned upside down and an attempt was made to convert it into a circle for a secondary route marker.

The epitome of laziness.

Wouldn't that actually require much more effort than just obtaining a standard circle? Some of these contractor errors are quite incredible, to tell the truth.

[national highway 1]

How the hell do I read these tiny shields?
Photos from okroads.com


Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

[paulthemapguy]

How the hell do I read these tiny shields?
Photos from okroads.com
(see above post for images)
Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

Omg thank you for posting these signs.  I hate hate hate seeing these every time I drive through Iowa.  The shields are so small, they're illegible.  Unforgivable.  Fix this, Iowa.

[thenetwork]

How the hell do I read these tiny shields?
Photos from okroads.com

And the "Maximum Ramp Speed" notation is a little odd as well.

[ekt8750]

Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

That US 218 shield looks like it really let itself go lol.

[thenetwork]

Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

That US 218 shield looks like it really let itself go lol.

Driving through Iowa on I-80 in June, I noticed that the black-outlined shields on the BGSs are being phased out on newer/replacement signage.  Kind of sad, as I like outlined shields on the BGSs.  Fortunately Utah, which is much closer to my home, still does the outlines.

[national highway 1]

Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

That US 218 shield looks like it really let itself go lol.

Driving through Iowa on I-80 in June, I noticed that the black-outlined shields on the BGSs are being phased out on newer/replacement signage.  Kind of sad, as I like outlined shields on the BGSs.  Fortunately Utah, which is much closer to my home, still does the outlines.

California still does outlines for its sparse number of US Routes too.
Speaking of California, here's this woeful attempt at a Miner's Spade, originally posted by Oscar:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=18561.msg2165935#msg2165935

[paulthemapguy]

RE:  Last couple of posts

I believe South Carolina also does the US shields with the outlines and wonky shapes.

[3web]

Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

That US 218 shield looks like it really let itself go lol.

Driving through Iowa on I-80 in June, I noticed that the black-outlined shields on the BGSs are being phased out on newer/replacement signage.  Kind of sad, as I like outlined shields on the BGSs.  Fortunately Utah, which is much closer to my home, still does the outlines.

I bet the boss of the sign creator kept yelling "MAKE THOSE SHIELDS NOT TO BIG, NOT TO SMALL" but the worker was pissed and made these instead

[kphoger]

Could it simply be that they wanted to maintain spacing between shields?  In order to fit three of them to the left of "NORTH," it's either cram them together or make them smaller.

[seicer]

Could be worse: Ohio just slaps up shields to the top of existing panels.

[paulthemapguy]

It was a retrofit of an older panel once Iowa 27 was created.  They had to fit three shields (380, 218, 27) in a space that previously only allowed for two (380, 218)

[tckma]

RE:  Last couple of posts

I believe South Carolina also does the US shields with the outlines and wonky shapes.

Yes, they do, at least the last time I drove through the state (April 2015).

I will sorely miss Connecticut's button-copy, no-background shields, though.  They were truly unique, and are being phased out in newer signage.

Newer BGS style: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.8550914,-72.4229167,3a,41.9y,314.73h,82.6t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1saaTJ7_T-hFDN8t726iiHbg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1
Older BGS style: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7341357,-72.7494327,3a,75y,247.13h,74.71t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1szLExdYdBP7pb4Rj_1019Jw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

There's also these BGSs that I absolutely love, which are exclusively on the Merritt Parkway (CT-15):  https://www.google.com/maps/@41.0908283,-73.6577824,3a,75y,63.85h,75.75t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sCQpUzlyFR8N3Q4tRM9JrCw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!6m1!1e1

[Alex]

How the hell do I read these tiny shields?
Photos from okroads.com

Also, what is with the shape of that US 218 shield on the sign on the right for exit 239A?
Silly Iowa.

This set of signs was replaced following the decommissioning of IA 965 along old US 218. The other set still has the micro shields



Sad to write also that both IA and SC no longer post outline US shields on their guide signs. Utah still does, but not consistently.

[thenetwork]

Sad to write also that both IA and SC no longer post outline US shields on their guide signs. Utah still does, but not consistently.

Didn't Virginia outline their BGS shields at one time as well?

[bassoon1986]

Sorry for the awful iPhone quality, but this ugly set of signs is off of exit 44 on I-10 near Iowa, LA. I'm not even sure if that qualifies as an acorn shield for the 165 shields. And the 90 shield should say "TO US 90" not South.


Untitled by Josh Bumgardner, on Flickr

[jbnv]

GSV caught it. Looks like a normal shield, but the oversized digits make the shield look stretched. Also looks like the 165 signs are larger than the 90 sign.

(BTW, I found that I could overcome some of the windshield glare by ramping up the contrast and lowering the brightness. You can do both of these in the iPhone's photo editor.)

Sorry for the awful iPhone quality, but this ugly set of signs is off of exit 44 on I-10 near Iowa, LA. I'm not even sure if that qualifies as an acorn shield for the 165 shields. And the 90 shield should say "TO US 90" not South.


Untitled by Josh Bumgardner, on Flickr

[WillWeaverRVA]

Sad to write also that both IA and SC no longer post outline US shields on their guide signs. Utah still does, but not consistently.

Didn't Virginia outline their BGS shields at one time as well?

They did - some old signs are still up, such as this now erroneous and infamous one in Fredericksburg.

[amroad17]

Sad to write also that both IA and SC no longer post outline US shields on their guide signs. Utah still does, but not consistently.

Didn't Virginia outline their BGS shields at one time as well?

They did - some old signs are still up, such as this now erroneous and infamous one in Fredericksburg.

Virginia used to have kick-ass signage in the 1970's!  95% of them looked like they were done correctly.  Now........misshapen shields and derp signage, especially in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

[WillWeaverRVA]

Sad to write also that both IA and SC no longer post outline US shields on their guide signs. Utah still does, but not consistently.

Didn't Virginia outline their BGS shields at one time as well?

They did - some old signs are still up, such as this now erroneous and infamous one in Fredericksburg.

Virginia used to have kick-ass signage in the 1970's!  95% of them looked like they were done correctly.  Now........misshapen shields and derp signage, especially in Norfolk and Virginia Beach.

Suffolk also had some pretty nice old signs, but they've gradually replaced them with horrendous monstrosities. I need to get pictures next time I'm down there.