Signing for incomplete Interstates

[NE2]

It was probably signed future because of FHWA wonkiness with approving it as an Interstate.

[jp the roadgeek]

Surprised no one has mentioned the grandaddy of them all: I-95 in NJ.  There as still "TO I-95" signs on I-295 between exits 60 and 67, then on I-195 between I-295 and the NJTP.  I can even remember seeing these signs on a trip to Great Adventure as a teenager along the turnpike from Exit 7A to Exit 10.  Once the Somerset freeway was officially cancelled, they just changed the "TO" to "North", and added reassurance markers southbound.

[thenetwork]

Unless CDOT planned on extending I-270 westward beyond I-25, it seems odd they would have signed it as "Future". There isn't even one full mile of I-270 between I-76 and I-25, so there wouldn't be much else yet to open.

They don't even mention "To I-25 North" on the I-270 West guide, which I think is a major omission. (You can't exit onto I-25 North from I-76 West.) They do have one supplemental guide sign in the mix that does mention it, but it looks easily missed.

For all intents & purposes, there was no reason for CDOT to even add the TO heading to US-36 as US-36 was multiplexed with I-270 already (but as we all know in Colorado, any US or state route which shares an interstate does not exist in the eyes of CDOT).

So whether the freeway connection between I-270 and US 36 was completed or not there had to have been an official routing of US-36 between the Boulder Turnpike and Byers.

[roadman]

In MA, there were some 70s-era BGS' for I-95 South in Topsfield & Danvers that listed Lynn along with Boston as its control cities giving hint the highway would eventually pass through Lynn.  Needless to say, this didn't happen but the old BGS' remained as is until they were all replaced sometime during the 1990s.

similar to how out here, I-710 has a control city of Pasadena, even on replacement signs from the 2000s.

I remember the Lynn-Boston signs, as well as the fact that one of the local radio stations (101.7, WFNX?) always called its geographical location "Lynn/Boston".  other than that - having grown up at the other end of missing I-95 (Canton) - I barely knew where Lynn was.

WFNX had their studios in Lynn at one point, hence the "Lynn/Boston" moniker.  As for the "Lynn-Boston" signs on I-95, most were removed when the "Task A" interchange (95/128 "split") in Peabody was opened to traffic in 1989.  The sole remaining sign, which was a pull-thru on I-95 south at Route 1 at the Topsfield/Danvers line (Exit 50) was replaced during the 1994 sign updating project on I-95 between Peabody and Georgetown.  Note that the 1994 signs are about to be replaced under a sign replacement contract that was just awarded for this same section of I-95.

[PHLBOS]

WFNX had their studios in Lynn at one point, hence the "Lynn/Boston" moniker.  As for the "Lynn-Boston" signs on I-95, most were removed when the "Task A" interchange (95/128 "split") in Peabody was opened to traffic in 1989.  The sole remaining sign, which was a pull-thru on I-95 south at Route 1 at the Topsfield/Danvers line (Exit 50) was replaced during the 1994 sign updating project on I-95 between Peabody and Georgetown.  Note that the 1994 signs are about to be replaced under a sign replacement contract that was just awarded for this same section of I-95.

I drove on that stretch of I-95 fairly frequently until mid-1990 (prior to my I moving to PA) and I know for a fact that the two 95 SOUTH Lynn Boston BGS' along US 1 south at Exit 50 were still present then.  And since the current BGS' (the pull-through and the ones at the I-95 on-ramps) have the button-copy I-95 shields, that tells me that all those BGS' at that interchange were all replaced at the same time (circa 1994). 

As mentioned earlier, the two advance notice diagrametric BGS' for I-95 North (along US 1 North) and I-95 South (along US 1 South) appear to have been recently replaced.

The only Lynn Boston BGS that got nixed during the 80s was the one further south in between MA 114 & Lowell St.; top of the hill w/the tree-laden median that never sported an I-95 shield.  That one, along w/the gantry, was replaced in 1982 by a left-side cantilever gantry w/a BGS that intially read:

95 SOUTH 128
Burlington
Gloucester
EXIT 2 MILES
Note: the font on the 95 & 128 shields were of a type that the MassDPW & RIDOT experimented w/for a brief period.

About a year or two later the 2 shields and cardinal were replaced (w/much smaller lettering for the cardinals) and the BGS read:

95 SOUTH 128 NORTH SOUTH(NORTH placed above SOUTH)
Burlington
Gloucester
EXIT 2 MILES
Both shields featured the more standard fonts.

In the mid-90s (probably 1994), the BGS & gantry were replaced with the current cantilever post gantry & BGS reading:

95 NORTH 128 (NORTH placed above 128)
[/i]Waltham
Gloucester
EXIT 2 MILES[/i]
The I-95 shield being of the button-copy type.

While looking through Google Earth, it appears that this gantry & BGS are missing; it might've been knocked down in an accident and never replaced.

Turning towards the Delaware Valley

Despite the fact that the Somerset Expressway (missing I-95) was killed off nearly 3 decades ago; PennDOT's signage along I-95 North from Bristol (Exit 40) to the NJ state line over the last few years have sported Princeton listed on the BGS'. 

Similarly (and for a much longer timeframe), signage for I-295 North in NJ from I-195 (Exit 60) northward list Princeton as well.

For those that don't know; Princeton was one of the reasons why the orginal plans for I-95 in NJ was never built between Ewing & Metuchen.

[roadman]

You are indeed correct PHLBOS - my comment about the Task A interchange construction was in reference to the "Lynn-Boston" signing on the I-95 mainline only.  The BGSes on Route 1, including the signs for I-95, within the Exit 50 rotary were not replaced until about 1998.

[PHLBOS]

my comment about the Task A interchange construction was in reference to the "Lynn-Boston" signing on the I-95 mainline only.  The BGSes on Route 1, including the signs for I-95, within the Exit 50 rotary were not replaced until about 1998.

1998 ?   I would've thought it would've been replaced earlier; when the mainline BGS' along I-95 were done in 1994.

Regarding that pull-through BGS (the only pull-through that had the Lynn Boston control destinations); that one was still there circa mid-July of 1990.   

In total, there were only four 95 SOUTH Lynn Boston BGS' actually erected (the 4th one never getting an I-95 shield).  There probably would've been a 5th one had Exit 46 been built to its original design movements.  IIRC, there was a gantry that had a single BGS for US 1 South (reading 1 SOUTH Saugus w/a single down-arrow) placed on the right-side of the gantry with the left side left blank (for the never erected I-95 BGS).  The advance gantry w/the 4th I-95/Lynn Boston BGS (prior to Lowell St.) also had a similar BGS for US 1 SOUTH (containing Saugus as a control destination).

The original 70s-vintage BGS for US 1 South at Exit 50 had Middleton Danvers as its listed control cities... hinting of the upcoming MA 62 interchange.

Note sure if this one's still here, but an old 50s/60s era BGS in Readville, MA intended to direct motorists to the I-95/Southwest Expressway; note the blank space for an I-95 shield that would never be posted.

[Alps]

the gantry topology was identical to this, except all green-white (and with NORTH and SOUTH switched).

OT: One of those two signs is hanging on my wall: The other was traded for more signs.

[Alps]

Back in the 1970s Indiana used "TO" I-94 on SR 39 as did Michigan on M-239. Probably the same on the ITR. Michigan used at least some "TO" I-196 signs between Jenison and Holland on former M-21 (now M-121).

Wouldn't that have been "TO" I-96? I thought they were completed before the switch.

[Alps]

Note sure if this one's still here, but an old 50s/60s era BGS in Readville, MA intended to direct motorists to the I-95/Southwest Expressway; note the blank space for an I-95 shield that would never be posted.

Not sure if it's still there, either. When I first saw it, it had this sign on the left, but flipped upside-down, and I think it was then removed:

[roadman]

@PHLBOS.  The signs on US 1 at Exit 50 were replaced as part of the Chelsea to Danvers US 1 re-signing project (panels and structures) in 1999, as opposed to the I-95 Peabody to Georgetown re-signing project (panels only) in 1994.

[mukade]

Back in the 1970s Indiana used "TO" I-94 on SR 39 as did Michigan on M-239. Probably the same on the ITR. Michigan used at least some "TO" I-196 signs between Jenison and Holland on former M-21 (now M-121).

Wouldn't that have been "TO" I-96? I thought they were completed before the switch.

It was I-94. The Indiana missing link was completed in the early 1970s.

[NE2]

Note sure if this one's still here, but an old 50s/60s era BGS in Readville, MA intended to direct motorists to the I-95/Southwest Expressway; note the blank space for an I-95 shield that would never be posted.

Actually it would have had ROUTE (I-)95 in text. The other sign once had ROUTE 135.

[PHLBOS]

@PHLBOS.  The signs on US 1 at Exit 50 were replaced as part of the Chelsea to Danvers US 1 re-signing project (panels and structures) in 1999, as opposed to the I-95 Peabody to Georgetown re-signing project (panels only) in 1994.

Thanks for the update/clarification.  Which supports my earlier point of 3 of the 4 Lynn Boston BGS' surviving into the 1990s.

Actually it would have had ROUTE (I-)95 in text. The other sign once had ROUTE 135.

Possibly, but one has to remember the existence of the 50s era BGS' mounted on the northbound Tobin (then Mystic) Bridge containing 18" I-95 shields.  So in this case, it could've been an either or scenario.  There looks like there's room for an 18" shield.

[seicer]

The West Virginia Turnpike had "TO I-77" shields as the highway was still two-lanes and not up to interstate standards. It was not until circa 1988 that the regular I-64/77 trailblazers were installed.

1979:


Today

--

[akotchi]

Surprised no one has mentioned the grandaddy of them all: I-95 in NJ.  There as still "TO I-95" signs on I-295 between exits 60 and 67, then on I-195 between I-295 and the NJTP.  I can even remember seeing these signs on a trip to Great Adventure as a teenager along the turnpike from Exit 7A to Exit 10.  Once the Somerset freeway was officially cancelled, they just changed the "TO" to "North", and added reassurance markers southbound.

I guess those of us who live/work in the area are so used to it . . .

Originally the "TO" trailblazers were only between Exits 4 (I-95) and 67 (I-295) and in both directions.  If memory serves, no I-295 confirmation assemblies appeared on the mainline, but both I-295 and "To I-95" appeared on the interchange ramps in this section.  It was pretty confusing giving verbal directions because of how similar-sounding the routes were:  295, to 95.  The routing to I-95 North was up U.S. 1 to I-287 at that time and included Turnpike trailblazers on U.S. 1 proper.

When I-95 was pushed to U.S. 1 in about 1993, the "TO" was removed between Exits 4 and 67.  Not long after, the I-95/Turnpike trailblazers started to appear on I-295 SB and I-195 EB.  This was when the temporary ramp connections between I-295 to/from north and I-195 to/from east were in place, then eventually full completion of the interchange and I-295.

In both cases, there was never anything for the reverse direction on U.S. 1, I-295 or I-195.

[agentsteel53]

Possibly, but one has to remember the existence of the 50s era BGS' mounted on the northbound Tobin (then Mystic) Bridge containing 18" I-95 shields.  So in this case, it could've been an either or scenario.  There looks like there's room for an 18" shield.

the positioning of the word "TO" implies absent text, not an absent shield, to me. 

when was the left sign replaced?  it looked pretty decrepit by Sept. 2007, when I photographed it - but it is retroreflective, has the wrong font... and on the other hand, it is new enough that NE2 knows the sign it replaced, which I assume was button copy as well.

[NE2]

on the other hand, it is new enough that NE2 knows the sign it replaced, which I assume was button copy as well.

I was referring to this third sign, to the left of the other two:

[agentsteel53]

when I photographed that gantry, the third sign had been rotated 90 degrees, settling at its lowest gravitational potential (face down to the road).  Is it that way in Steve's photo as well?  looks to be.

[PHLBOS]

Surprised no one has mentioned the grandaddy of them all: I-95 in NJ. There as still "TO I-95" signs on I-295 between exits 60 and 67, then on I-195 between I-295 and the NJTP.

That's because most people (myself included) were primarily looking at signs that actually listed a destination that the incomplete Interstate was supposed to go through: In NJ, it was I-95 through Princeton; in MA, it was I-95 through Lynn.  Or hints of a connection to a missing Interstate (example: the fore-mentioned Readville, MA BGS blank spacing intended for I-95 text).

That said, those TO 95 signs could count if the ends of the TO trailblazers are indeed located where the Interstate abruptly ends (From NJTP Exit 10 to I-95 between NJ 31 & Federal City Road); essentially the set-up in NJ pre-1993(?).

[theline]

If you want a current example involving the control cities, consider that the new Interstate 69 in Southern Indiana has no northbound control city, since only half of the highway is built. Signage plans have indicated that Indianapolis will be added later on, but probably not until the highway is complete up to at least Bloomington if not Indy, time will tell. On the other hand, Evansville is the southbound control city even though Interstate 69 does not yet reach the city, it continues south of Interstate 64 as Interstate 164, but will be Interstate 69 in the future. No TEMP shields however and I'm unsure if there were ever any in Indiana.

"To I-69" signs have now been erected along the route connecting Bloomington to the temporary end of the interestate near Crane, IN: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=4855.msg214291#msg214291

No word on when a northern control city may appear.

[PHLBOS]

Attleboro, MA: previous-generation BGS' along I-95 at the I-295 interchange (Exit 4) had blank spaces intended for a 2nd control destination for the never-built I-895 east of that interchange.  Not 100% sure what the city/destination would've been listed... Newport perhaps?

Newport, RI: RI 138 (possible I-895) northbound, there's an old pull-through BGS that reads Fall River  Cape Cod (I believe in button-copy) with a RI 138 shield, NORTH cardinal and 45-degree arrow slapped above the control destinations.  This BGS would've likely have read 895 NORTH (or EAST) Fall River  Cape Cod had 895 been built.

A pic of that BGS can be found at (scroll towards the bottom of the page):

http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ri/ri_138/

Similarly, RI 138 westbound signage from Newport to US 1 include New York as a control destination; the freeway portions of RI 138 were once planned to be part of I-895.

East of Hartford, CT; the listing of Providence for I-384 East signage dates back to when this highway was once planned to be part of I-84.

[NE2]

A pic of Alanland can be found at (scroll towards the bottom of the page):

http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ri/ri_138/

[PHLBOS]

A pic of Alanland can be found at (scroll towards the bottom of the page):

http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ri/ri_138/

[theline]

A pic of Alanland can be found at (scroll towards the bottom of the page):

http://www.alpsroads.net/roads/ri/ri_138/

Alanland's fame ranges far and wide: http://goo.gl/maps/dxFqb