![]() This means that any new signs must use Highway Gothic again, though existing signs with Clearview do not need to be replaced as long as they are in good condition.Īmong some circles, this decision represents a major lapse in judgement. That "Interim Approval" of Clearview was suddenly terminated on Monday, according to a notice posted on the Federal Register by the FHWA. Studies suggested that Clearview was easier to read than Highway Gothic, especially in the dark, and about 30 states updated their highway signs as a result. At this stage, the states which are making a complete conversion to Clearview appear to be a minority of those who have obtained an interim approval to use Clearview from FHWA.In 2004, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced its " Interim Approval for Use of Clearview Font for Positive Contrast Legends on Guide Signs," allowing states to change the prevailing font on road signs, Highway Gothic, to a font called Clearview if they chose. ![]() (Local agencies and turnpike authorities are a different matter the KTA has at least one Clearview sign already, while Franklin County in Ohio and the city of Oakland in California have moved toward Clearview.) As an example, California, Kansas, and Ohio all have Clearview IAs, but (judging from pattern-accurate signing plans) Caltrans, KDOT, and Ohio DOT are continuing to use Series E Modified on their infrastructure and show no signs of wholesale conversion to Clearview. The rare true believers ("Clearview to be used on all future signing," plus systematic replacement of old signing using Series E Modified in either reflective lettering or button copy) include TxDOT and Arizona DOT. I have seen recent signing plans using both Clearview and Series E Modified coming out of PennDOT, so I don't think it falls into this category. Those are old laminated-panel signs with reflective button letters. The usual design practice for these signs called for centered exit tabs with no bottom border, and state and US route designations in text only ("PA" and "US" at a smaller letter height than the digits). However, AFAICT, Interstate shields (no text designations) were always used on these signs. These old signs are endangered because they can't comply with the current MUTCD requirement that a sign have substantially the same appearance by night as it does by day. In practice a sign can comply with this requirement only if it is illuminated or has retroreflective sheeting over its entire surface, and these old laminated signs have non-reflective background panels and button frames (only the buttons in the button copy, which are made of clear plastic and are arrays of cut-corner prisms similar to bicycle reflectors, are retroreflective). But, unlike TxDOT and Arizona DOT, PennDOT rarely does "pure" sign replacement contracts-usually signs are changed out as part of resurfacing work.Īlso, is the exit number part of the main sign because the same sign in real life has no exit number, not even on a separate panel above. ![]() There are basically three officially approved ways of affixing the exit tabs (the labels which follow are my own invention and not official nomenclature): Since California opted out of the federal requirement to have exit tabs for more than 30 years (from 1971 to 2002), exit tabs have had to be retrofitted to freeway guide signs in California and the process is still ongoing. * Conventional-separate tab attached to the main sign panel, as in the other 49 states. ![]()
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