Non-standard Interstate shields

[agentsteel53]

the National Network Symbol

what does that mean?

[myosh_tino]

BTW, is that sign below the shield some sort of truck route sign?  What does the number "102" within the truck symbol mean?  I've never seen a sign like this before.

That's the National Network Symbol sign. Too bad Wikipedia commons don't have that yet.

So the "102" is kind of like a route number?

[froggie]

No...it means trucks greater than 102 inches in width are required to use the roads on that network.

[KillerTux]

No...it means trucks greater than 102 inches in width are required to use the roads on that network.

Beat me to it. PA has something like that too..
ftp://ftp.dot.state.pa.us/public/PubsForms/Publications/PUB%20411.pdf

[Alex]

not every shield is standard...

Indeed...

[Quillz]

That one looks like the usual California 3di shield. Is the font different or something?

[Alps]

That one looks like the usual California 3di shield. Is the font different or something?

I think it's much smaller, and very slightly misshapen.  18"x22"?

[Quillz]

Just want to say thanks very much to Jake for helping me find the proper shield size I was looking for. It let me make this incredible non-standard Interstate shield:



And thus I can conclude that that style shield is what I saw on I-5. There were at least 4-5 of them, mostly as reassurance markers, between Wheeler Ridge and Castaic.

[Ian]

That Connecticut I-95 shield wouldn't look bad if it weren't for the blocky font and funky shape.

[agentsteel53]

And thus I can conclude that that style shield is what I saw on I-5. There were at least 4-5 of them, mostly as reassurance markers, between Wheeler Ridge and Castaic.

they're all over the state.  plenty here in San Diego County on I-5, I-8 and I-15

[Quillz]

For some reason, I just never noticed them until the other day, as they were very prevalent on that particular stretch between the valleys. I haven't seen any on the stretch of I-5 in the S.F. Valley.

Are the I-405 shields in the valley using the current 3di shields, or the '61 spec?

[agentsteel53]

Are the I-405 shields in the valley using the current 3di shields, or the '61 spec?

damn near every California shield is '61 spec.  that includes every 405 I can recall with a handful of exceptions:

random bubble shield:


and... this!  Which is actually a '61 specification, just for green signs, except for ... yeah ...

[Quillz]

That's odd, then... Where exactly does California use the 3di 30×25 shields? That's the one that's all over Wikipedia and looks almost the same as the '61 shield, but obviously they're not the same.

[agentsteel53]

That's odd, then... Where exactly does California use the 3di 30×25 shields? That's the one that's all over Wikipedia and looks almost the same as the '61 shield, but obviously they're not the same.

both are '61 spec.  I have no idea why the disproportionate 30x25 was included in that specification manual, to go with 21x18 and 42x36, when the correctly proportioned size would have been 28x24.  The 30x25 looks just a bit silly, with too much space between the state name and the number.

[myosh_tino]

That's odd, then... Where exactly does California use the 3di 30×25 shields? That's the one that's all over Wikipedia and looks almost the same as the '61 shield, but obviously they're not the same.

I believe California uses the 30x25 3-digit shields for their "Freeway Entrance" assemblies found at freeway on-ramps.  Since I already had a 30x25 shield in my library, I added the rest of the signs on this particular assembly (FREEWAY ENTRANCE - CA G92, Cardinal Direction sign - CA G47-1, Directional Arrow sign - CA G43) to my library so I could build this...



This sign assembly uses the 30x25 3-digit shield and it's a pretty close match to what's found in the real world...

[agentsteel53]

looks like the shield in the photo uses DM numbers, while your design is D. 

[myosh_tino]

looks like the shield in the photo uses DM numbers, while your design is D.  

Yeah, that's something I've noticed over the years but using the Roadgeek fonts, all I have is D.  I have not found a way to mimic D(M) yet.

Maybe I should have used this photo instead...

[Scott5114]

If you have a vector graphics program like Inkscape, try giving the text an outer stroke of the same color as the digits, then adjusting the width of that stroke to match the appearance of DM.

[Quillz]

I actually had no idea there was a D(M), I assume it's not a standard?

[froggie]

It's one of the developed fonts, but not very common.

[Quillz]

I've never seen it on any MUTCD documentation, do you know when it first appeared? I know I've seen in many times before, because there have been many Series D signs that just never looked quite right to me.

[J N Winkler]

It was never a federal standard.  It was, however, used by Caltrans, Minnesota DOT, and Arizona DOT, and referenced directly as "Series D Modified" in old editions of the Arizona MOAS.  It was basically a Stimsonite alphabet and there is a Stimsonite publication from, I believe, the early 1960's with specification details.

[myosh_tino]

Seeing how California was a heavy user of button copy, can it be argued that D-Modified was developed to accommodate the button reflectors?  Can it also be argued that E-Modified was developed for the same reason?

[J N Winkler]

Series E Modified was developed to accommodate button reflectors:  this is confirmed.  I assume the same is true of Series D Modified, but I have no direct confirmation.

Does Series D Modified predate demountable button copy?

[Scott5114]

If Series DM originated from Stimsonite, the well-known button copy supplier, to me that's strong circumstantial evidence to suggest that it was created for the purpose of accommodating buttons.