The rogue G28-1 California State Highway Spades

In this short blog we look at the somewhat rare but not unheard-of rogue G28-1 California State Highway Spades.

Part 1; what is the G28-1 California State Highway Spade?

The Caltrans Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices Sign Chart from 2014 ("Caltrans MUTCD") dictates the types of signs and highway shields permitted for traffic control use in California. California is known for the more ornate cut-out shields which are used for, US Routes, Interstate Highways, and State Routes. The common shields which are typically found through California are:

US Route: G26-2

Interstate: G27-2

State Highway: G28-2

The Caltrans MUTCD provides alternative shields for, US Routes, Interstate Highways, and State Routes. These alternative shields are intended for guide sign usage but aren't explicitly limited to said function. These alternative shields are:

US Route: G26-1

Interstate: G27-1

State Highway: G28-1

The primary reassurance shields for; US Routes, Interstate Highways, and State Highways can be seen depicted below.

Part 2; the rogue G28-1 California State Highway Spades

While in theory the G26-1 US Route Shield and G27-1 Interstate Shield could be possible see a non-guide sign reassurance shield use I personally haven't encountered any on the road. Conversely, I have encountered numerous G28-1 State Highway Spades in use as reassurance shields. I have also acquired several G28-1 California State Highway Spades in my signage collection.

The cover to this blog is an unused G28-1 California State Route 14 ("CA 14") shield I have in my sign collection. This CA 14 is tiny as it measures only 18x18 inches.

I also have a G28-1 style CA 135 shield which can be identified as intended for assurance use given it has two mounting holes. This shield is an older variant which is comprised from reflective paint with vinyl numerals.

In terms of field signage this G28-1 CA 227 shield can be found near Arroyo Grande.

This G28-1 CA 180 shield was found on Whites Bridge Avenue (former CA 180) west of downtown Fresno.

This G28-1 CA 270 shield once served as the first westbound reassurance shield as Bodie Road transitions from State Park maintenance to Caltrans maintenance. Unfortunately this shield was missing upon my last visit to Bodie State Historic Park.

G28-1 shields can be found in use in Yosemite National Park on El Portal Road and the Big Oak Flat Road. CA 140 is marked on El Portal Road whereas CA 120 is marked on the Big Oak Flat Road and Tioga Pass Road.

This G28-1 shield can be found on Brawley Avenue at the Fresno city limit approaching CA 180.

Know of any other G28-1 State Highway Shields in use around California for reassurance purposes? Know of any G26-1 US Route Shields or G27-1 Interstate Highway Shields in use for reassurance purposes? If so, please feel free to share in the comments, we would love to hear from you.

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...