Never knew Interstate exit numbering was such an issue, after-the-jump ….
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Like many of you, I haven’t done much long-distance driving during the pandemic (plus I utilize Amtrak whenever possible, and will do so for Netroots Nation). Recently, I did drive 140 miles for a hiking trip with old chums at an old haunt: Bash Bish Falls, a ¾ mile relatively easy hike (on the NY-Massachusetts border, a few miles north of the border with Connecticut) with a great waterfall to see at the end. It was wonderful to socialize, and finish-off with a nice dinner for a day-trip.
It was not until the return trip that I noticed the numbering systems on the two Interstate highways in Massachusetts that I needed to take for this trip (I-91 and I-90) had changed … no longer sequential, but instead based upon mileage. For most readers, this is not news: your Interstates have been this way for some time. I recall seeing this in Pennsylvania (when I flew and used a rental car) and also, the state of Maine changed its portion of I-95 to a mileage based system back in 2014.
Yet I might not have given this any further thought ….. until three days later, when I read a blistering essay from the economist/author Robert Kuttner— who also teaches at Brandeis University — in the American Prospect magazine, where he is co-editor. And as a Massachusetts resident, he was not happy about the change:
What genius came up with this? I was hoping it was some corrupt Trump appointee, with stock in a company that manufactures highway signs.
But no such luck. The truth is even stranger.
Believe it or not, the requirement of exits based on distances was mandated by the Federal Highway Administration back in 1970! And for half a century, the FHWA has been granting selective waivers, in response to protests.
But in the last few years, FHWA has cracked down. At this writing, only Rhode Island still has a full waiver. Almost everywhere else, the motorist encounters exit signs on the interstate highway system mostly based on distances.
He went on to say that making these changes cost the Commonwealth of Massachusetts $2.8 million, that some states used part of the Obama stimulus money to finance these changes … and that our money could be better used.
Looking at the Wiki explanation of this that he referenced …. my head hurts, over the exceptions and variations within states. As he noted: on the two Interstate highways I traversed in Massachusetts, the new signs do have a (small) appendage at the bottom, “Old Exit 26”…. yet that is not uniform elsewhere. Wiki also indicates that the state of Delaware also still uses sequential exit numbers.
It also indicates that the FHWA prefers — when there are two exits for the same interchange — that it not be directional (say, Exit 15-E and 15-W, or Exit 25-N or 25-S) …..… but rather, 15-A and 15-B, and so on.
The main reason that I have not noticed these changes … is that I have lived on-or near the border of Vermont and New Hampshire the past 30+ years … and they are two other hold-outs on changing Interstate signs. On the more rural areas of the states, an exit sign might also have underneath, “Next exit, 15 miles”.
They also happen to be the last two states to still have only a two-year term for its governor. Arkansas was the most recent state to switch to four years: Bill Clinton was elected to his first term for only two years, yet its state constitution was changed so that his last term (before becoming President) was a four-year term.
It seems that Vermont has worked out a compromise— adding a mileage marker at the bottom of the traditional sign (unsure if that will be a permanent waiver).
Let’s close with an indie band formed in 2010 ….. to sum-up the confusion.
Now, on to Top Comments:
From inkstainedwretch:
In the diary by Portland True Blue on being an RN in an ICU/CCU— while I teeter between hope and dread about Qpubs failing or succeeding, this is a wonderful story …. plus a txdoubleddreply to a Hinoema01 comment.
From Nanny Ogg:
In tonight’s Evening Shade diary by hpg— this comment by Maru in regards to a replacement for Jason Miller as FormerGuy communications director.
Highlighted by thishobbit:
In the front-page story on the Arizona fraudit— this comment made by akronboy.
And from Ed Tracey, your faithful correspondent this evening ........
In the diary by poopdogcomedy about the upcoming Missouri primary for the US Senate — with one Democratic candidate mocking GOP hopeful Mark “Point a gun” McCloskey — Tamar gives some background on the Show-Me State, and how two toxic GOP candidates may provide hope in a red state.
Next - enjoy jotter's wonderful (and now eternal) *PictureQuilt™* below. Just click on the picture and it will magically take you to the comment featuring that photo.
TOP PHOTOSJune 9th, 2021 (NOTE: Any missing images in the Quilt were removed because (a) they were from an unapproved source that somehow snuck through in the comments, or (b) it was an image from the DailyKos Image Library which didn't have permissions set to allow others to use it.)
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And lastly: yesterday's Top Mojo - mega-mojo to the intrepid mik ...... who rescued this feature from oblivion:
1) Thank you for reading! by Sara R +18027) Everything Trump touches, dies. … by Ralphdog +58