[TRAFFIC SIGNAGE] State route shields in the US

[Kraake]

Regarding to supersobes' topic about Washington state road signage, we would like to collect similar information about all the states.

In this case we are focusing on STATE ROUTE SHIELDS.

An example:

(thank you Mr. supersobes)



Alabama | Alaska | Arizona | Arkansas | California | Colorado | Connecticut | Delaware | Florida | Georgia | Hawaii | Idaho | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Kansas |
Kentucky | Louisiana | Maine | Maryland | Massachusetts | Michigan | Minnesota | Mississippi | Missouri | Montana | Nebraska | Nevada | New Hampshire |
New Jersey | New Mexico | New York | North Carolina | North Dakota | Ohio | Oklahoma | Oregon | Pennsylvania | Rhode Island | South Carolina | South Dakota |
Tennessee | Texas | Utah | Vermont | Virginia | Washington | Washington DC |West Virginia | Wisconsin | Wyoming Updated: 01.04.2019

We would like to cover all the states from the list above.

If there is some difference we would like to have a link (Google maps street view) from concrete place / state.
Once is done, each state will be crossed eventually.

Thank you very much in advance....

[Bedavd]

I'm starting with Michigan, as I already have the necessary images saved on my computer. Now that this is posted I'll hunt around for other signs to post for you guys!

Michigan employs a simple white diamond as its state route shield. Here it can be seen as a stand-alone sign:

Junction of M-52 and M-36 south of Fowlerville, Michigan

And here it can be seen on the green, overhead gantry signs:

US-23 and M-14 interchange outside of Ann Arbor, Michigan

Here it is to the side of the road:

On ramp to M-6, south of Grand Rapids, Michigan

*NOTE* When used on the gantry signs, the "M" is not included on the diamond.

Now to find more examples that'll be useful to you guys before 2029!

[Bedavd]

Idaho State Roads use a square, with the silhouette of the state in the bottom left corner, and the number of the route on the top right.

Here it can be seen on an overhead gantry, note that it is white, with black numbers/outline:


Here it is as a stand alone, note the black sign with white state outline/numbers:



It does say "IDAHO" on the bottom of the state silhouette on both the sign and gantry versions.

Lastly, I noticed this one in Spokane, Washington, near the boarder. It's saying you will travel east on Washington Route 290, which will turn into Idaho Route 53.

[Bedavd]

Next, we move south to Utah! Hopefully we wont be waiting too long for these to show up, so here they are before it's too late.

Utah uses beehives a lot, as this is the state symbol and a symbol of Mormonism in general. I think they're adorable.

Here it can be found on an overhead gantry:

Exit onto U-105, north of Salt Lake City

Here is another exit sign, but on the side of the highway:

Exit onto U-196 west of Grantsville

As a standalone it's pretty similar to how it appears on the green signs, but with the black box around it:

This indicates the on ramps to U-67, with some extra signs denoting it as a scenic byway that I thought you might be interested in

And lastly, here it is as a standalone for the intersection of two Utah routes:

Intersection of U-154 and U-171 in Salt Lake City

[Sora]

Texas is a bit odd.

In theory it uses the design shown in the picture. That one is used for standalone signs leading to the state highway, and on reassurance markers when they exist.

But on larger signs, sometimes the word "Texas" appears above the number, and there's no black border. Sometimes it's more of a rectangle, due to a long number.
Sometimes it's a toll road, and it looks like this instead. But sometimes it's a toll road and doesn't. Sometimes it says something other than Texas, such as Beltway, Loop, or Spur. This is noted on the standalone signs as well, but the layout is different when it is.

We also have Farm Roads, which are basically a lower tier road than State Highways, which look similar on overhead signs, but completely different on standalone signs. There are also Ranch Roads which are basically the same thing except they serve ranches rather than farms, and are generally located in the western half of the state.

Finally, although I think it would be proper to denote these roads using their "real" signs on maps (i.e. what appears on standalone signs), I've only ever seen maps use encircled numbers for state highways and boxed in numbers for farm/ranch roads. I'm not going to guarantee anything I've said in this particular line since I might just be looking at the wrong maps though.

[alclark]

Delaware
Standalone state route shields are black squares (with rounded corners) with white circles for 1 and 2 digit routes, and black rectangles (with rounded corners) with either flattened-top or regular white ovals for 3 digit routes.
Both style of oval are used, sometimes next to each other:
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6693554 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.7224017 ... 312!8i6656



On both overhead and roadside navigation signs, only the white circle or regular oval is used. As with the standalone signs, the shape of the white area depends on the route number.
Overhead: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.6693225 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5134639 ... 312!8i6656
Roadside: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5008591 ... 312!8i6656

More reference: Delaware MUTCD https://www.deldot.gov/Publications/man ... _Signs.pdf

Maryland
For standalone roadside signs, 1 and 2 digit routes use square signs, and 3 digit routes use rectangular signs. Both have "MARYLAND" in the upper box area.



For overhead or other navigational signs, the design has a white border and the black outlines, but does not include the "MARYLAND" text in the upper box.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4534992 ... 312!8i6656

Maryland uses different colored signs for business routes for both State and US Highways. All parts of the sign that are normally black are green. For Maryland state highways, instead of "Maryland" in the upper box, "Business" is there. On US Highway business routes in Maryland, "Business" is located just above the route number.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.527051, ... 312!8i6656



For navigational signs, the color scheme is reversed; green parts are white, white parts are green.
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.3734346 ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5262658 ... 312!8i6656

Maryland MUTCD: https://www.roads.maryland.gov/Index.aspx?PageId=835

[alclark]

New Jersey
State highway signs are similar to Delaware's with square/circle signs for 1-2 digit routes, and rectangle/oval for 3 digit routes.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.0431681 ... 312!8i6656

Navigation signs vary. On highway exit signs, just the white portion of the sign is used, but on other local signs, the black portion of the sign is shown as well.
Both non-outlined and outlined shield types are visible here: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.7114519 ... 312!8i6656

Location: https://www.google.com/maps/@40.2562923 ... 312!8i6656


Location: https://www.google.com/maps/@39.4235225 ... 312!8i6656

I will also include the shields for the New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway since they are essential parts of the state's highway infrastructure. It will be more appropriate to go into detail about these routes once the map gets closer and there's a dedicated thread for the state.



West Virginia
Square signs with a black border for 1-2 digit routes, and rectangular signs with a black border for 3 digit routes.



Navigation signs omit the black outline.
https://www.google.com/maps/@39.473623, ... 312!8i6656
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.4390761 ... 312!8i6656

[Bedavd]

Colorado! A fairly simple design, Two main parts, on top is the state flag of Colorado, and below is a white rectangle with the route number on it.

Here we can see it overhead:


and standalone:



Also, I noticed this interesting one coming up to a roundabout near Telluride.

[Bedavd]

Wyoming!

Wyoming uses a pretty simple, yellow/gold colored shield, with "WYOMING" written across the top.

Here it can be seen overhead:


and on the side of the road:


Here are the shields at a normal intersection


And lastly as a standalone sign:


Notice that on the standalone signs, there's a very small cowboy on the bottom middle of the shield.

[supersobes]

@Bedavd On the standalone Wyoming route shields, are the direction plaques and arrow plaques always yellow like in your example?