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Miscellaneous California Bloopers E-Mails |
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Miscellaneous California Bloopers E-Mails |
Laurel Clark at the Caltrans Library writes on 6/21/99:
| Joel - I think the best way to handle is for you to directly email the following individuals in each of the appropriate district Public Affairs offices. The people in the districts can take it from there, referring the information on to the appropriate person. Laurel |
Mike Brady write on 6/6/99:
| S.B. I-5 at S.R. 133 South. Two
overhead signs are places next to each other. The first one says only "San". The sign next to it has an I-5 shield with the word "Diego" below it. Does the fact that 6 Southbound lanes below the sign mean that two signs are needed to be sure that all traffic can see it? U.S. 395 business loop in Inyokern. While it is a well marked business loop, why is it that a majority of the signs show 395 as a state highway rather than a U.S. highway on that business loop? S.R. 86 in Indio. Exit signs from I-10 show S.R. 86S. Since when does Caltrans Add a letter to a numbered route? My guess is that the "S" might stand for "spur", which is a first for Caltrans. If that is so, where in Indio does the spur route branch off S.R.86? I remember that until about 1982 S.R. 86 was cosigned with Business Loop 10 through the city of Indio along Indio Blvd. Is it possible that it still does only in legislation, a hidden state route like S.R. 51 (Business Loop 80) in Sacramento? The Central Skyway in the Westbound (Northbound) direction last time I was there still has a sign beyond Van Ness for U.S. 101. I thought the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake took away any continuity of U.S. 101 on the Central Skyway beyond Van Ness. For years (but I haven't been there lately, so it may be gone) there was a sign Northbound on Jefferson approaching S.R. 90 freeway near Marina Del Rey showing it as U.S. 90. Did U.S. 90 get extended from Texas to L.A.? In Yuma, AZ. on Westbound I-8 there is a sign put up by the Arizona Department of Transportation showing a California shield for S.R.186-exit 6 miles, which is correct, and I applaud the state of Arizona for putting a California shield on one of their signs. The problem is that in California there is no mention of S.R. 186 on it's exit sign, although there should be. Because it is late at night, I won't go on, but I will E-mail you about other things that come to mind at a later date, but just not tonight. Before I sign off if you can tell me something I have been trying to find out for years, why is it that California is the only state I know of that does not post a state wide network of mile markers and exit numbers on it's highways, I mean, would that bankrupt the state to do that? Goodnight, Mike Brady. |
John David Galt wrote on 6/7/99:
| In the caption of the
"R71" milepost near Ferndale: "I concern this more of a oddity" ??? The highway 110 signs (Harbor Fwy and Pasadena Fwy) are legitimate. All of 110 was once an Interstate, but the feds decommissioned part of it. (I believe this is because federal law limits the total Interstate mileage, so every bill that gives Interstate designation to a stretch of road takes it away from another.) I believe SR-199 is legitimate. The AASHTO does not require US designation for a highway that crosses state lines if its total length is less than 200 miles, as I recall. The Fruitridge Rd. sign looks to me as though the "e" is present, but blacked out, probably in the act of erasing graffiti. (Or perhaps the "e" was knocked off by vandals.) The US route sign with a white background is obviously temporary (see the "Detour" sign underneath?) and therefore legitimate. As for the one with a black background, you don't say where it is, but it's my bet that someone other than CalTrans put it up. (Perhaps the park service or the military, if it's in the right locations. There's a military one in San Francisco's Presidio, for example.) The "101 North - Sacramento" sign, as I recall, puts you on 101 just in time for you to exit onto I-5. Thus, it is correct. (60 miles from 101 at Santa Rosa? Try 90.) Crossing on- and off-ramps (as you show in Red Bluff) exist in many places. (Off the top of my head: southbound US 101 at Old Middlefield Way (onramp) / Shoreline Blvd (offramp) in Mountain View; westbound US 50 at 65th St (onramp) / Elvas Freeway (offramp) in Sacramento.) I would not group them with sign "bloopers" as they are not unintentional. They are a different type of problem, and sometimes they are the best that can be done within budget. The 12th Ave. gore-point you show has been there since the 50s. There are a bunch of similar works spread around the state, usually in places where the neighbors have blocked upgrades. San Francisco's elevated freeways come to mind (and are loaded with similar unsafe features); likewise the entire Glendale Freeway. These are not bloopers, since they represented the state of the art when they were built. However, they should go on an "unsafe features" page and be corrected.... John David Galt |
Daniel Thomas wrote on 7/29/99:
| I like your page concept. I have one correction and a
suggestion:
The correction:
The I-110/CA-110 signage is technically correct. As far as the State
Legislature is concerned, there is one Route 110, which covers both the Pasadena and
Harbor Freeways. But only the Harbor Freeway portion received Interstate Highway funding
(the Pasadena Freeway portion is not constructed to minimum Interstate standards) -
therefore the two different signs. The same explanation holds true for I-238/CA-238 (there
are several good web pages devoted to this route).
The suggestion: On southbound I-5 near Santa Nella there is a sign for the upcoming Route 152 junction. 152 is signed with an Interstate shield. I saw this as recently as June. I would take the picture myself but I don't get up there that often! Keep up the good work on your page! |
Lewis W Yee at Caltrans wrote on 10/8/99:
For your information. The shortened name of the California Department of
Transportation is Caltrans, not CalTrans (the "t" is not capitalized). I have
seen this error in many references to our organization.
Lewis W Yee
Dan Lovegren on 10/15/99 writes
"West Sacramento/ Harbor Blvd on ramp to Business 80": I think this one is
correct, as the "red and blue shield" I-80 DOES exist at this point. The split is east of
this point, so either the "red and blue" or "green" shield (or both) would be correct here.
"Harbor & Pasadena Fwy separation (I-110/SR-110) near downtown LA": This is
correct, as the Harbor and Pasadena Freeways change from "Interstate" to "State" at the
101 interchange. As you may recall, the Harbor and Pasadena Freeways used to be
State Highway 11 all the way from Pasadena to San Pedro. Then, in order to obtain
Interstate funding to build the Harbor Freeway double-decking for HOVs, the designation was
changed to Interstate at this point. Since the Pasadena Freeway (Arroyo Seco to
die-hards) was way below Interstate standards, to the point of not allowing trucks
(although that is not as defining as one might think, as trucks are prohibited on I-35E near
downtown St. Paul, Minnesota) it was kept as a state highway. Perhaps to alleviate confusion,
rather than enhancing it, the Pasadena Freeway signage/designation was changed from "11" to
"110." Wheeler Ridge 99/I-5: The term, "Junction," as I recall, is obsolete, and not to
be used on Interstate sites, i.e., interchanges (even though this may not really be an
interchange).
Dan Lovegren
Dan Lovegren writes a reply to the above message on 10/18/99 Yes, you are right. I checked it over the weekend. I had Harbor Blvd. confused with the next interchange west. I apologize. |
| Daniel Hayes on 10/26/99 writes I know of a few things you might be interested in regarding the control cities used in highway signs: Eastbound I-10 after Palm Springs uses "Other Desert Cities" as the control in at least one case. In San Francisco, two major freeways (US 101 and I-280) go to San Jose. To differentiate between the two, the signs use "San Jose" for US 101 and "Daly City" for I-280. After you pass through Daly City, the control switches to "San Jose" Northbound I-5 North of Redding uses "Portland" as the control (about400 miles away.) Also, have you heard about Interstate 242 near Walnut Creek? -Daniel |
| Phil Pacier writes on November 22,
1999 Hi! I just wanted to say hi and tell you that I enjoy your pages and the work you put in to them. It's nice to know that there are many other highway buffs out there. It started for me when I was a kid, and I would memorize the Thomas Guide and maps to the point where someone could pick a number and I could tell you where the highway started and ended in CA! Well, maybe I'm just a nut, but thanks for the work anyway! Phil Pacier |
Greg Bayol writes on April 14, 2000
I love your site. You must admit, that given the thousands upon thousands of signs that we do get the vast majority right. Now I have only glanced through your items but one caught my eye - The Ronald Reagan Freeway. There is no law or firm policy that says a person must be deceased before a road can be named for them. We have several in the Bay Area where the person is still living. Former State Senator Quentin Kopp had a rule that no road naming of a living person would pass through his Transportation Committee.
This was due to the naming of a freeway in Southern California for Paul Carpenter, a legislator who was later brought up on charges of having an illicit relationship with a minor. Years ago the Golden gate Bridge had a sign that read "Godlen Gate Bridge".
They still use the spelling "busses" rather than buses which means kisses. We had a sign on I-80 in Berkeley that read "San Fransico". They are gone but not forgotten.
In the San Fernanado Valley they show 101 as being an east/west route. I complain to my friends in District 7 but they won't give in. If I find more, I will pass them along. You might find my named highway list interesting - www.dot.ca.gov/dist4/trivia.htm
Thank you,
Greg Bayol,
Chief Public/Legislative Affairs
Caltrans District 4 Oakland, California
Curt Reeves writes on April 13, 2000
Hello, Highwayman!
Terrific site you have! I have spent the past 3 hours just cruising along with your wonderful information. I had never noticed the "C" blocks before, and now that you have educated me, I will look for them along stretches of older highways.
I am also basking a little in your glory of having driven on nearly all the signed highways in our glorious state. I too have kept track of all the highways that I have driven on (although I confess that when I drove some of them, gasoline was 35 cents a gallon :<) I have an old ACSC map that I have highlighted whenever I drove over the highway, or segment, as the case may be. For me, about the only area of the state where I need the most work is in the southeastern desert area. Plus, there are a handful of minor highways that are very short that I have not bothered to drive on. Keep up the good work. (By the way, what is the only federal highway missing from your conquest?--I have driven all of those!)
Finally, according to a CalTrans acquaintance of mine, the milepost markers along the highways are referred to as "paddles." The blooper/oddity photos are neat--if I ever spot one, I'll take up your offer.
Best wishes and continued success with your site.
Curt Reeves
Fresno, Calif., formerly of Glendale
p.s. There was something neat about the federal signage when I was a kid--US 6, 40, 60, 70, 80, 99, 466, 399, etc., that the dull Interstate highways lack.
Caroline Sandlin writes on June 17, 2000
On your "bloopers email" page, you misspelled two words in the intro:
receive, not "recieve", and entitled, not "intitled". Since you are in
charge of catching mistakes on signs, I thought you might want to correct
these.
Caroline
Karyn Grigsby writes on June 22, 2000
Are you aware of all the typos and grammar errors on your bloopers pages? I
would be happy to help FOR FREE if you would like... but it's quite
distracting. Thank you,
Karyn Grigsby
District Maps courtesy of 
Page updated on June 25, 2000
Special Thanks to Casey Cooper for his help with all of the shields for my pages
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