The national program of subsidizing the Interstate system ties that money to compliance with lots of rules. If the highway is funded by tolls the subsidy is much lower and the rules much lighter. The New Jersey Turnpike and the Mass Pike are like that. The Connecticut Turnpike used to be that way but Connecticut gave up and joined the federal club years ago. California is tearing up all the Botts Dots between lanes because of several issues, but the federal rules now require lane markers that are flat (so the snow plows don’t lop them off), and the Botts Dots are out.
California has exit numbers tied to mile markers on State routes and Interstates, but they are small and only on a few of the signs leading to the exit itself. Mostly we use names of streets. Local customs are interesting. Is the West Coast the only area where highways are called “The 5” or “The 405”? instead of I-5 or I-405?
In NJ, you can always tell someone who is not a native. Native Jerseyans call the NJ Turnpike, “The Turnpike”, but those who are recent arrivals call it “I-95”.
Some 40 years ago in Central NY they decided to put lane markers in that were proud of the road. Many of us thought it was going to be a disaster the first snow storm. I was behind the plow on the very first snow and watched as those things started to fly off the front plow. The plow driver had the sense to turn the blade so they only flung off to the right and not hit anything. At 40mph those things flew at least 100’. Ping…Ping…Ping…
Then NH must have gotten an exception or they don’t consider a highway widening project the same. I-93 widening project in NH is near completion. Numbers are still the same (1, 2, 3,4…etc). Just one small section left on the North bound. All new signs too.
Thankfully, Florida continues to resist those regs… for very good reasons.
We don’t have snow plows. If it snows, everyone stays home! and 2) The slap-slap-slap of the raised lane markers are the only thing keeping half-blind motorists and cell phone addicted drivers even close to their actual lanes
Yeah, but the damned watch barks at 4am to tell me to sign in with my password to iCloud. I’ll refrain from further explanations, lest I set the bulletin board on fire. And you thought lithium ion batteries got hot.
Florida also needs those lane markers when the sky opens up. I’ve seen torrential rains at home, but not as often as in Central Florida. And at 6:30 AM, too. You can’t see anything, let alone lane markers.
Not to change the subject but I learned that lesson very young. There were about three of us working on a mower one day when I suppose we were about 10. Didn’t seem like it was running so friend grabbed it from underneath to lift it up. Removed his hand to show the bloody finger and hanging flesh. Started screaming “Ma” as he jumped over the fence and ran home. Trip to the doctor and a couple weeks and he was good as new but we all learned not to lift up a dang mower when it is running-even a little.
We have all done stupid things. Remembering like 7th grade, did not understand how a techmatic razor worked, the one where you twisted a lever to get a new razor more or less. Busted it open, cut the hell out of my thumb, ends up it was a sharpened band that got rotated to the shaving position.
Another one I never told my parents about maybe 3rd grade made buds with a squirrel, all was good till I picked it up, load of claw scratches! Even 5 years ago county board member lost 2 fingers cleaning out a snowblower.
Then there was a finger in formaldehyde over the door to shop class. A kid lost his little finger in a planer, kids asked how it happened. Being as how his hand was bandaged, showed them with his other hand, then lost that little finger also!!!
I hope you’re joking but I don’t think so. We had a school principal that had lost his arm on a table saw at another school . He never really explained how that happened but I’m glad the kids never asked him to demonstrate with the other arm.
Years ago we were driving through rural Missouri and it was about time to make a bladder stop. I saw a sign for “Sarcoxie business loop” and took the exit, figuring it must be a fair size town. We saw another sign with “Sarcoxie” on both sides with farm fields beyond it and a side road going to the left. I turned onto the side road and after a short distance we came to a town square with a courthouse, a barber shop, a Western Auto and maybe a café or a church. That was the whole downtown so we turned around and went farther down I44 to the next town.
Don’t remember for sure where but I think it was a town off I 44 in Mo. called Doolittle every time I saw it I thought with a name like that it would be a good town for retired people and another town in western Mo I remember the name of Peculiar Mo as for who would live there I dunno nuff said.
Ah yes, some highway exits lead to rather nowhere. It was quite an eye opener to discover how few and far between any services were in the vast rural spaces of the western states.
Over the past 40 years I’ve driven between St. Louis, MO and Tulsa, OK many times. The change in how much more built up things are along I-44 is amazing. But at the same time many of the gas stations and tourist comfort stops selling kitsch and candy out in the middle of nowhere have long since closed up shop.
IN Pennsylvania, when they finally coordinated information systems between different departments they found our that they were still re-issuing drivers licenses to many people who were receiving aid to the blind.
States like PA and NY that paid for their own expressways before the interstate system came along are still ticked off that they were never reimbursed by the Feds for building their own and are not inclined to do anything the feds suggest. In NY the tolls were due to come off the Thruway in 1995 . When 1995 came along, politicians, never willing to give up a revenue source, changed the law. One of the reasons they gave for not removing the tolls was that they did not want to put all the toll collectors out of work. Now they are removing the toll booths and toll collectors but the tolls remain and are being raised for anyone who does not use E-Z Pass or a compatible system.
Using Names and route numbers interchangeably can cause problems.
I Had been driving tractor trailers for 30 years but had never East of NY State from Buffalo. I ha been as far South as the Carolina s and Kentucky and as far west as Iowa. I had pulled short doubles and even triples in Ohio but never long doubles, You need a Thruway Tandem for that and it is specific to one company.
I got a job with a MA company pulling long doubles East to Syracuse or Utica and meeting MA or NY City drivers and swapping trailers
The home office wanted my tractor in for major service so I was sent to MA with 2 long trailers. I called central dispatch and asked the route. We did not choose our own routes and could be fired for deviating from the companies route. I as told just stay on I-90 and get off the Mass Pike at a certain exit. That turned out to not be exactly correct.
When i got to Albany and the Thruway made a right turn onto I-87, I continued straight East on I - 90. It turns out that long doubles are not allowed on the non toll section of I-90 and I was quickly pulled over on the shoulder by the state police. The trooper wanted to break up the set and pull the trailers and dolly individually to the intersection of I-90 and the Mass Pike.
I told him, that presents a problem, I have no pintle hook on the back ofr this tractor to pull the dolly and if I pull the dolly behind one tractor I am still over length and the dolly has no mud flaps either.
The trooper decided to escort me to the Mass pike and did not even write me a ticket. It could have been quite a mess, they could have made me call our Albany terminal and make them send out two city drivers and mud flaps to pull the other trailer and the dolly. Or they could have simply chained the whole rig to the guard rail and arrested me.
