Another I-93 Update (Plus Other Signs)

I'm in the process of graduating with a second Master's degree and looking for work. Both these activities led to trips up the I-93 Southeast Expressway and back on Saturday, and along the lower '128' Beltway this morning. I used the opportunities to check out progress on sign replacement on I-93 and take photos of other interesting signs I saw along the way.

1. Southeast Expressway Trip (4/26/13)
I took the expressway from Braintree into Boston Saturday dodging post-accident congestion heading in and waiting for a funeral procession to clear the route south to Columbia Road heading back. There has been further progress in installing new signs at the expressway on-ramps:

Here northbound at East Milton Square (Exit 9) they replaced a perfectly acceptable I-93/MA 3/US 1 guide sign with the new standard North I-93/US 1 Boston seen elsewhere. They have also replaced the signage for both directions along Granite St (Exit 11 'To MA 203), southbound seen here:

This leaves only the on-ramps for Exits 12 and 14 to be changed. There is only an on-ramp southbound for Exit 14. The signs for the MA 3A Neponset exit are a combination of ground-mounted Mass Guide/Green Signs (MGSs) and overheads. It appears the overheads will not be updated until work starts on replacing the overhead signs along the SE Expressway. This will not start until the work between Braintree and Randolph is completed (see below).

Since I took the Mass Ave exit on my return to I-93, I took the liberty of taking a couple photos there:

Above is one of the 'implied I-90/I-93 multiplex' signs, and one of the few now remaining with button copy numbers in the interstate shields. The actual split of the ramps features some ground level signage:

The signs should indicate you reach I-93 South only after going through 2 stoplights, and in my case, waiting for a funeral procession to pass by on its way to South Boston.

Returning south the entire length of the Expressway, I got to take photos of a couple previously installed signs I saw in my last trip, but did not have a camera ready. These two (if you look closely) are at the south on-ramp from Exit 9 in East Milton:

No changes to route shields on the Expressway itself, only a few new regulatory (speed limit) signs.

2. "Route 128" from Braintree to Randolph
Work is proceeding in placing the foundations for the future overhead signs. I have learned that the contractor plans to put up all the signs along this end of the project first, before tackling the Expressway section. The first work was to put in the foundations between Exits 6 (MA 37) and 5 (MA 28). It appears that all the foundations have been placed going south, they still need to put in at least 1 foundation for the MA 37 ramp sign northbound. Here's one for the sign before, the future 1/2 mile advance sign:

They are now working southbound between Exits 5 and 4 (MA 24) with median foundations done earlier this week and today working on those on the right shoulder. I assume then they will start working back the other way. One foundation has been placed in the median between Exits 6 and 7, but no other work was seen in that area.

3. Other I-93 and Misc. Signs
My travel today took me further along '128' to Dedham. I took some photos along the old US 1 route, which is still not old according to this sign:

This is approaching Providence Highway from Washington St westbound. The US 1 sign here looks too new to predate the move of US 1 in 1989. It may have even been put up after the 'To US 1/I-95' MGS in the background. Here's a close-up which has a unique take on the US shield border than typically seen in MA:

Could this (and the misplaced US 1 sign) have been put up by someone else than MassDOT?

Washington St continues across Old US 1, and originally was the start of MA 1A. Today there are signs directing people 'To MA 1A' as seen here:

Drivers exiting I-95/MA 128 at Exit 15A, to discourage them from crossing 3 lanes of traffic to make a left turn onto MA 1A/Elm St, are directed to north about a mile before told to take a left to get to MA 1A. You can do this much easier by taking a right at Elm and turning around (there's a MA 1A straight arrow sign approaching the intersection from that direction. Meanwhile, here's the signage at what is the intersection of Washington St and Elm St where supposedly MA 1A North turns to terminate at US 1, and going straight takes you onto MA 1A South, yet there is no MA 1A signage at all:

Just another To US 1/I-95 sign, standard MassDOT issue, this leads you a block east before intersecting Providence Highway.

Leaving Dedham behind, I went to check out a construction project that is closing lanes on I-95 south of MA 128. Could not tell what work was being done, perhaps fixing the right shoulders prior to re-paving the road. No new signage, so here is the last on-ramp sign northbound for I-95 along eastbound Neponset St, where it is not also MA 128, until Peabody:

Finally, I took the liberty of taking photos of two new I-93 North signs. A new practice in MA is putting up overhead signs along an on-ramp, here from I-95 North to I-93/US 1 North for the MA 138 exit:

It duplicated the MA 138 exit on the mainline between the I-95 on and off-ramps. The newest sign is here:

This one for Exit 2A MA 138 South. As you can see they are still working on completing this section of the widening project. MassDOT decided after the project started that it might be a good idea to turn the off-ramp from I-95 North into an exit only lane for the Stoughton exit. This has taken longer than expected. Hopefully the placement of the new overhead means they are getting closer to finishing. I will update the blog when more new signage is placed.

April I-93 Signage Project Update

I took a quick trip along I-93 this afternoon in the Quincy, Braintree and Randolph areas to check up on progress on the sign replacement project going on along the interstate from Exit 4 to Exit 20. This project started in the fall of 2011 but, until recently, little significant progress had been made in updating route or exit signage. I noticed, however, last week that the Mass. Guide (or Green) Signs (MGSs) at a couple on-ramps to I-93/US 1/MA 3 Southeast Expressway in Milton, that had been up since the 1980s and had I-93 and MA 3 shields, had been replaced by newer versions sporting I-93 and US 1 shields. I decide to take a look today at the roads leading to the interchange to the south, Furnace Brook Parkway, Exit 8, to see if those signs has been changed as well. The MGS at the on-ramp to I-93 North already had been updated in 2011. As this photo shows, the signage at the road leading to the north on-ramp has the new 2 route designation:

 

Quarry Hills, listed below Boston on the top sign, is a golf course built in the old Quincy granite quarries.

Signs at the southbound on-ramp had been changed as well:

Despite the dropping of MA 3 from these signs, the southbound control 'cities' have stayed the same. Needless to say, neither I-93 nor US 1 goes to Cape Cod, at least as of right now. With the installation of these new on-ramp signs, only Exits 11, 12 and 14 (SB only) now have the now out-dated I-93/MA 3 signage. 

There are no new exit or route signs south of Exit 8, for now. There are signs (sorry), however, that this will change soon. The contractors have completed placing foundations for new cantilever overhead signs along I-93/US 1 South for the first two MA 28 exit signs:

If you look behind the guardrail you can see one of the new sign foundations under an orange traffic cone, which is behind the orange tag with the project's sign number on it. This is apparently going on at the same time they have been closing lanes in the area at times to replace sections of guardrail.

There is also a completed foundation just behind this 1/2 mile sign for MA 28 North, I took the photo in case this sign is replaced soon:

I took a photo of the next overhead assembly for MA 28 as well for historic documentation (am a practicing archivist now, someone should have a photo before the current signs disappear). 

This assembly had no new foundations with it, nor the overhead 1/4 mile before for MA 24. The auxiliary sign for MA 24 in the photo is to be replaced as well. Taking the ramp for Exit 5A (already with a new sign put up in 2010) and turning around heading north, I also noticed a new sign foundation completed for the 1 Mile Exit sign for MA 37 and a foundation still under construction for the 1/2 mile MA 37 sign. 

Lastly, two of the intersecting routes between Randolph and Braintree have overhead signage that, while not inaccurate, are outdated and  will be replaced as part of the I-93 project. This includes these signs on MA 37 North by the South Shore Plaza:

The button copy Interstate shields are no longer MA sign practice and Canton has replaced Dedham as a control city for South I-93/US 1. The US 1 and arrow assembly on the light pole to the right predate the overhead signage and were put up when the overheads just referred to I-93. I am assuming, given its condition, that this will be removed too.

It is unknown whether the contractor plans to put up new sign support foundations for the entire stretch of I-93 from Randolph to Boston before placement of new sign supports and signs, or whether they plan to complete all the work along the '128' segment of I-93 first (Exits 4-7) and then move on to the Southeast Expressway portion (Exits 7-20) at a later date. I'll be monitoring the situation over the coming months, so stay tuned.

Catching Up: 2011 Honeymoon Trip - Part 2: St. Augustine, FL

The second city stop during our honeymoon was St. Augustine, Florida.  We stayed at the historic and amazingly impressive Casa Monica Hotel.  The hotel was first opened in 1888, and spent many years vacant and then later as the St. John's County Courthouse until it was renovated and re-opened as a hotel in 1999.



For the entire set on flickr, head here.



A view of Flagler College from our hotel balcony.  After checking in, and taking in the views from the balcony, we walked down St. Georges Street on our way to Castillo de San Marcos.  St. Georges Street is the heart of the Old City.  The pedestrian only street is home to numerous shops, restaurants, inns, and it's not limited to St. Georges.  You can find a lot of treasures ducking down an alley or two.



Just north of St. Georges Street is the Castillo de San Marcos National Monument.  The fort is the oldest masonry fort in the United States as construction began on the structure in 1672.  The fort has also seen service under four different flags and quite a handful of different names as well.





Castillo de San Marcos was named a national monument in 1924.  At the time it was called, Fort Marion - in honor of Revolutionary War hero, Francis Marion.  In the 1930s, the WPA created one of there famous screen-print posters promoting tourism to the fort.  You can buy an authentic reproduction of this design today at Ranger Doug Enterprises.  I'll save this for another blog post - but I purchase these great items based on the parks I visit and frame them at our home.

Dinner that night was at the A1A Ale Works, where sitting out on the balcony on a warm blustery evening, we were fortunate to see The Bridge of Lions in action.



The next morning we took a horse carriage tour of St. Augustine.  Our guide was informative and fun and it was great to see various parts of this historic city at a rather leisurely pace.

Like Flagler College:



Ancient City Baptist Church:



Memorial Presbyterian Church:



which we were fortunate enough to take a look inside of for a brief tour.



We ended our tour at St. Augustine City Hall - the former Alcazar Hotel.



At the end of the tour, we checked out of the Casa Monica to head towards Orlando, but we had one more stop.  The St. Augustine Lighthouse.



Constructed in 1874, the St. Augustine Lighthouse is the second structure that stood here to help navigate the waters around Anastasia Island.  Entrance to the lighthouse is $9.75 per adult and that includes a self guided tour of the lightkeeper's home and the opportunity to climb to the top of the lighthouse.  To view my entire flickr set, head here.



It can be a dizzying and at the top of the light an extremely narrow climb.  But the views from the top are worth it.





St. Augustine is a wonderful city and a great weekend getaway destination.  Though we only spent the better part of one day in the historic city.  It's unique charm and overflowing history is something we won't forget for years to come.

St. Augustine on Dwellable

First photo trip of 2013! - A Journey Along old US 64

Let's take a break from the Catching Up posts and how about a blog entry from a trip taken this year!

Yesterday, Joe Babyak and I took a brief trip exploring Eastern Wake County.  We also got into Nash and Franklin Counties.  And this trip proved once again that sometimes there's a lot you can find on a roadtrip just in your back yard.

For the entire trip set on flickr, head here.

Our first stop was an abandoned country church off of Mial Plantation Road which is a few miles nearby.  I have taken photos of this church before, but now that I have Lightroom 4 - I decided to play around with various editing settings.



I am not sure the name or denomination of this old country church.  There is an old family cemetery behind it belonging to the Auton Family, and all of the grave sites date to early 20th century.



What's also interesting about the area surrounding the church is that it is one of the rare rural dirt roads still left in Wake County.



We then worked our way back onto Business US 64 and did a brief photo walk through the town of Wendell.





Saw a great classic Chevy Truck.



And a decently old OK Used Cars sign for Universal Chevrolet.



Outside of town along Business US 64, we came along a Blue Star Memorial Highway marker.  This marker was recently restored by the local American Legion and Garden Club.  It is amazing to me how much that blue just pops out on the sign when you look at it close up.



Blue Star Memorial Highways and the accompanying markers began shortly after World War II by the National Council of Garden Clubs.  US 64 in North Carolina is a Blue Star Memorial Highway.  Since then, the program includes Memorial By-Ways and Memorials.  A Blue Star Memorial Marker is located in our town of Knightdale.

After stopping for lunch in Zebulon, the next town to be explored was Spring Hope.  Located on US 64 Alternate in Nash County.  Spring Hope is a rather pleasant small town with some great old commercial buildings, churches and homes.









And it never seems to fail, that inside a rural small town post office parking lot, you'll find an old embossed STOP sign.



From Spring Hope we continued on US 64 Alternate as it transitioned into an un-numbered old alignment, "Old US 64".  In Franklin County, we came across this old Robertson Fertilizers sign.



And came across a rather uniquely named community....Who's Your.......Daddysville?



We didn't have time to walk through Zebulon....but we'll save it for our next local photo trip - "From Bunn to Dunn".  If you are from this part of North Carolina, you'll understand the reference.