The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926. Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California. The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant. However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.
This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes. The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield. In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.
The 2026 Caltrans Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices revision killed the G26 series cutout US Route shields
When the US Route System was created by the American Association of State Highways Officials (AASHO) during November 1926 the original reassurance highway shield was a cutout design which resembled the Great Seal of the United States. The original shield design was an embossed stamped steel design with porcelain enamel paint. The shield carried the highway number in the bottom of the shield and the state name in the crown.
The standard size for the original US Route shield had a height of 16 inches and a width of 16.5 inches. A smaller city design was also permitted by AASHO but never had an analog in California.
This graphic depicts the standard design of the original US Route shield (Scott Nazelrod and Levente Jakab graphic).
Below the original US Route shield design can be seen at the junction of US Routes 60 and 89 in Wickenburg during May 1931 (Arizona Highways photo).
The January 1926 volume of California Highways & Public Works covered the then planned US Route System. The initial draft of the US Route System was approved by the Secretary of Agriculture during November of 1925. The US Route System within California was approved by California Highway Commission with no changes recommended. The article describes the standardization of the planned US Route shield and features a drawing of the design.
The Division of Highways would outsource the initial run of US Route shields in California to the Automobile Club of Southern California (ACSC) and California State Automobile Association (CSAA). The Auto Clubs had previously been contracted to sign Auto Routes within California along with several neighboring states. The ACSC covered southernmost counties in California whereas the CSAA covered the majority of California north of the Los Angeles County/Kern County line.
The Auto Clubs would begin to sign the US Routes in California beginning in 1928. The Auto Club designs of the US Route shield rather than using an embossed sign used a flat variation instead. This flat variation was coated in porcelain to ensure longevity in-field. The Auto Club logo was also included at the bottom of the shield.
Below an original Auto Club style US Route 466 shield can be seen on J Street (now Sierra Highway) in Mojave multiplexed with California State Route 7 at some point between 1935-1937. The California Sign Route system was commissioned during August 1934 and was also initially signed by the Auto Clubs.
The initial Auto Club style US Route and State Sign Route shields specifications were changed in 1937 to include an option for reflectors. The reflectors were intended to be used in applications where enhanced visibility would be valuable. The new reflector designs for the US Route and State Sign Route shields were featured in an April 1937 California Highways & Public Works regarding "Guide" signs. A simplified version of the US Route shield intended for overhead gantry use is shown in the chart graphics. This simplified gantry design would form the basis for what became the G26-1 US Route shield.
The 1937 Auto Club US Route shield design can be seen prominently displayed at the Four-Level Interchange in downtown Los Angeles below during late 1940s.
The simplified gantry-style US Route shield can be seen below on southbound US Route 97 at the California state line.
The first Federal Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) was published in 1935 and incorporated the original AASHO US Route design. The standard US Route shield was modified in 1948 to use what is now modern Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) typeface. The 1948 shield unlike the original was not embossed and included an option for a 24x24 square blank shield. The 24x24 shield was simplified with the state name, cross bar and "U.S." all omitted.
1948-specification MUTCD US Route shields can be seen below in a publicity photo taken for a May 1963 article in the Flint Journal.
The September/October 1956 California Highways & Public Works featured the changes to both the US Route shield and State Sign Route spade.
In 1961 the standard MUTCD US Route shield switched to the 24x24 blank whereas the more ornate 1948-era cutout was retained for reassurance use. Most states would opt to use the 24x24 blank shield as aluminum and reflective surfacing vinyl started to become widely adopted. The 24x24 blank was not adopted in California.
The G26 series US Route shields can be seen as being specified in the Chapter 2D of the 2014 Caltrans MUTCD.
A 1956-style California style US Route 466 shield can be seen below as a display piece (Dennis and Tinker Darr photo). The 1956 specification still used steel and non-reflective porcelain.
In 1961 the standard MUTCD US Route shield switched to the 24x24 blank whereas the more ornate 1948-era cutout was retained for reassurance use. Most states would opt to use the 24x24 blank shield as aluminum and reflective surfacing vinyl started to become widely adopted. The 24x24 blank was not adopted in California.
A 1961-era specification MUTCD style US Route 312 shield from Montana can be seen below (Tom Fearer collection).
In 1964 the California Division of Highways adopted the modern G26 series US Route shields and green G28 series State Sign Route shields. The 1964-specification shields were constructed from aluminum and used reflective vinyl sheeting. The use of reflective vinyl negated the need to use reflectors on G26-2 shields. Reflectors would continue to be used on G26-1 gantry US Route shields until the late 1990s.
Below a modern G26-2 US Route 395 shield can be seen at the terminus of California State Route 136.
Below a modern G26-1 US Route 101 shield can be seen on California State Route 1 near Rockport in northern Mendocino County.
In 1966 Congress would pass the Highway Safety Act. Said act required all state highway departments to create a safety program by December 31, 1968, and adhere to uniform standards set by the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) as a condition for Federal-Aid funds. Non-compliance carried a 10% reduction in funding as a penalty.
The Federal Highway Administration was created on April 1, 1967, as a branch of the USDOT. The FHWA was assigned responsibility for overseeing changes to specification in the Federal MUTCD. The FHWA updated the US Route shield design to the modern M1-4 specification in 1971. The 1971 shield had a fattened shield crown to permit larger numbers and a wider 36-inch design to accommodate three-digit highways. The design is intended to be promote better visibility with highway numbers but in the opinion of this author is quite ugly.
A modern 1971-specification two-digit US Route 67 shield from Texas can be seen below (Tom Fearer collection).
A modern 1971-specification three-digit US Route 202 shield for Pennsylvania can be seen below (Tom Fearer collection).
The California Division of Highways would be consolidated into modern Caltrans in 1972. Caltrans would mostly retain the Division of Highways MUTCD specifications well into the 21st century. This included the use of G26 series cutout US Route shields instead of M1-4 style blanks.
Some states such as Florida also had derivatives of the US Route shield. The Florida Department of Transportation had been using colored US Route shields until the FHWA threatened funding reductions under the purview of the 1966 Highway Safety Act. The threatening of Federal-Aid reductions for the most part has kept states in line with using the M1-4 US Route shield in addition to other Federal MUTCD standards.
On January 18, 2026, Caltrans published a new revision of the state MUTCD. The Caltrans specifications were updated align the 2023 revision of the FHWA MUTCD.
A full copy of the 2026 Caltrans MUTCD can be found at the below hyperlink. It does contain other items popular in the road enthusiast hobby such as Mile Markers.
2026 Caltrans MUTCD Chapter 2D specifies the use of M1-4 US Route shields. The chapter contains no mention of the G26 cutout US Route shields. There is no explanation given in the chapter for the elimination for the G26 shield series.
Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields? Every indication in the 2026 Caltrans MUTCD seems to indicate the G26 shield series is in fact dead. At this point it is not clear why Caltrans elected to change to the M1-4 US Route shield.
In the opinion of this author the elimination of the cutout US Route shield is an outright shame and one of the most disappointing things to happen in the realm of standardized highway signage in quite some time. The timing is especially disappointing given the US Route System is celebrating a centennial anniversary on November 11, 2026.
The G26 series of cutout US Route shields will likely persist on California highways for decades to come. Gantry replacements of G26-1 shields often comes slowly due to funding requirements and many G26-2 were replaced in recent years with SB1 funds. It is likely that cutout US Route shields in California will be still plentiful for several decades.
Incidentally this happens to be the 3,000th article posted on the blogger.com iteration of Gribblenation. If you have read this far, we are celebrating our 25th year as a site and may have an upcoming podcast about our history as part of Season 3 of California Highways: Route by Route.
Comments