Skip to main content

Will NC Turnpike Shields be purple?

Image
By
Will this be what Toll NC 540 shields look like once the Triangle Expressway opens?  It certainly could be.

Bob Malme in a post to a regional transportation forum noticed that on a map of the now under construction Triangle Expressway thatthe NC 147 TOLL and NC 540 TOLL shields were purple.  Any non-toll NC routes were the traditional black background.  Bob references the 2009 NC Turnpike Annual Report which shows a map of the TriEx on page 17.

This would confirm a note I received informing me that at an unrelated meeting to the Turnpike, an NCDOT official said that local communities couldn't use purple for wayfinding projects because it is reserved for the upcoming toll roads.


The reason for purple?  The FHWA Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) requires it.  From page 10 of the 2009 Edition of the MUTCD:
J. Purple—lanes restricted to use only by vehicles with registered electronic toll collection (ETC)
accounts
The Triangle Expressway will be completely tolled electronically.  Most likely a 'TOLL' banner will be included above the 540 and 147 shields.

So of course, the question is - What do you all think?  Do you like the use of purple in a state highway shield?  Have better suggestions? Your own prototype you'd rather suggest?  Post and send away....
Labels:

Comments

Brian said…
As far as I can see in Section 2F.03 par. 1, purple is only supposed to be used as the background for the ETC information. To quote forthwith:

Standard:
01 Use of the color purple on any sign shall comply with the provisions of Sections 1A.12 and 2A.10. Except as provided in Sections 2F.12 and 2F.16, purple as a background color shall be used only when the information associated with the appropriate ETC account is displayed on that portion of the sign. The background color of the remaining portion of such signs shall comply with the provisions of Sections 1A.12 and 2A.10 as appropriate for a regulatory, warning, or guide sign. Purple shall not be used as a background color to display a destination, action message, or other legend that is not a display of the requirement for all vehicles to have a registered ETC account.

Judging from the wording solely in this paragraph, it would seem to me that purple in the route markers would be a violation. But consider that the design of state route markers are simply left to states; there could be some ambiguity.
9:09 PM
Anonymous said…
I love purple, it's my favorite color. But somehow I have visions of two and three year old shields where the purple has faded really badly. Wonder if the technology exists to make the colors last.
9:22 PM
llnesinthesand said…
Let it be written that if North Carolina decides to use the purple shield, it will be referred to as the "barney shield".
9:39 PM
Bob Malme said…
I've placed a zoomed up version of the NCTA map showing only the Triangle Expressway portion here:
http://www.duke.edu/~rmalme/triexmap09.html
I'll plan to link it to my Future Interstates (and Toll Roads) site.
11:10 PM
roadfro said…
If the toll road is completely electronically tolled, the purple background on the route shield could maybe be allowed under the MUTCD.

Since it's a state route marker, however, NC can probably get away with using purple anyway.
6:31 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Grand Loop Road of Yellowstone National Park

By
  Grand Loop Road is a 140 mile loop highway which traverses the interior of Yellowstone National Park.  Grand Loop Road connects all of the major attractions and geological features of Yellowstone National Park along with the entrance roads.  Grand Loop Road is a seasonal highway and despite some conjecture never has been part of the US Route System.   Part 1; the history of Grand Loop Road The majority of history pertaining to Grand Loop Road was taken from the below National Park Service article: Historic Roads - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service) (nps.gov) Yellowstone was declared the first National Park of the United States on March 1st, 1872.  The first real highway to access Yellowstone National Park came in 1873 when a tolled facility was constructed from Bozeman, Montana via Yankee Jim Canyon to Mammoth Hot Springs.  Numerous attempts were made to fund construction of roadway infrastructure during the early years of Yellows...
Post a Comment
Read more

The last 1956-63 era California Sign State Route Spade?

By
Along southbound California State Route 170 (the Hollywood Freeway Extension) approaching the Hollywood Freeway/Ventura Freeway interchange a white California State Route 134 Sign State Route Spade can be observed on guide sign.  These white spades were specifically used during the 1956-63 era and have become increasingly rare.  This blog is intended to serve as a brief history of the Sign State Route Spade.  We also ask you as the reader, is this last 1956-63 era Sign State Route Spade or do you know of others?  Part 1; the history of the California Sign State Route Spade Prior to the Sign State Route System, the US Route System and the Auto Trails were the only highways in California signed with reassurance markers.  The creation of the US Route System by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926 brought a system of standardized reassurance shields to major highways in California.  Early efforts to create a Sign State Route ...
Post a Comment
Read more

California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway

By
From 2017 through to early 2019 I drove the majority of the California State Route 70; the Feather River Highway from CA 89 southwest to CA 99. CA 70 is an approximately 178.5 mile state highway which starts at US 395 near the Nevada State Line and travels west through the Feather River Canyon to CA 99.  CA 70 is often referred to as the Feather River Highway" given it's close association with the river.  Historically CA 70 was previously signed as US 40A and CA 24.  The Legislative Routes prior to the 1964 California Highway Renumbering that made up the current route of CA 70 are as follows: -  Legislative Route Number 21 from US 395 westward to Oroville. -  LRN 87 from Oroville south to Marysville. -  LRN 232 from Marysville to the current junction with CA 99.  CA 70 was even dual signed with CA 99 into Sacramento on what was LRN 232 for a time. The change from US 40A/LRN 21/LRN 87/LRN 232 can be seen by comparing the 1963 State Highway Ma...
Post a Comment
Read more