Skip to main content

Shoe Business Mini-Road Trip Report

Hoping not to bring winter back, and hoping spring stays around, I took a trip over to find some new walking shoes for the season. Decided to do a little roadgeeking along the way by checking out progress on the widening of I-93 between MA 24 and its terminus at I-95. Along the way I took a photo of this unique MA (or is it NJ?) sign assembly:
Since this portion of I-93 is to undergo a sign update project soon, thought it may be the last time I may get to take a photo (hey, it's only been up for 10-20 years). This is at the Furnace Brook Parkway (Exit 8) interchange in Quincy. Heading toward the northbound on-ramp is a newer sign:
This sign was put in as a replacement in the past year for the previous North I-93/MA 3 Mass. Green Sign that was knocked down. Though not part of the sign replacement project, can I say it is a 'sign' of things to come(?) as this should be the typical signage at on-ramps along the section of I-93 south of Boston. MA 3 signs may appear on the roadway itself and tacked on to sign supports at major interchanges. Speaking of signs, there is now a new diagrammatic sign for the I-95 interchange on I-93/US 1 South:
Notice the space for a letter next to '1' on the right-side exit tab. Notice also that, unlike the opposite-directions signs along I-95/US 3 in Burlington where there are no control cities listed, and the new signs for I-93/US 1 North the other way that only list Boston, this has two destinations listed, and hopefully no one confused as to why US 1 South goes to Portsmouth, NH. They are preparing two put up more overhead signs between MA 138 and the I-95 South on- ramp. These can be seen heading the opposite direction at the beginning of I-93 North:
Seen in the distance is one of the 2 remaining old overhead sign assemblies between I-95 and MA 24. They are making progress in replacing the other one at the MA 138 interchange:
Meanwhile, the last new sign for Exit 3 Northbound has been put up using the support for the new I-95 sign seen above:
The widening has been completed along this stretch, as can be seen approaching the MA 24 interchange:
Don't know if they plan to replace the next two overheads, the four-lane roadway comes to an end at the exit:
Apparently between the on and off-ramps from MA 24 the road will remain 3 lanes in both directions. The only part of '128' south of I-93 in Woburn that will have not have 4 lanes.

Status of I-93 signing projects: As of last Wednesday, 2/15, the two projects north of Boston were still scheduled to end this July. This despite the contract for I-93 from MA 129 (Exit 38) to the NH border only being 35% complete, and the section south of 129 to MA 28/38 (Exit 29) in Somerville being 50% complete. Both contractors are still pouring the foundations for the new overhead sign supports. The project south of Boston, as seen above, shows little, if any work so far. But, it's only been an 'active' contract for about 6 months. The contractors have until March 2014 to complete the work and it appears they are taking their time. More posts as new signs warrant.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

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.   ...

May 2023 Ontario Trip (Part 3 of 3)

  Over the years, I have made plenty of trips to Ontario, crisscrossing the southern, central and eastern parts of the province. Living in Upstate New York, it's pretty easy to visit our neighbor to the north, or is that our neighbor to the west? Ottawa is one of my favorite cities to visit anywhere in the world, plus I've discovered the charm of Kingston, the waterfalls of Hamilton (which is on the same Niagara Escarpment that brings us Niagara Falls), the sheer beauty of the Bruce Peninsula, and more. But I hadn't explored much of Cottage Country. So I decided to change that, and what better time to go than over Memorial Day weekend, when the daylight is long and I have an extra day to explore. On the third and final day of my trip, I started in Huntsville and made my way through Muskoka District and Haliburton County, passing by many lakes along the way. I stopped in towns such as Dorset, Haliburton and Bancroft before making a beeline down to Belleville and then over th...

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...