Highway signs improved with the Interstate
Highway signs improved with the Interstate
By: Bill Mead
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Posted by editor Tue Nov 30, 1999 00:00:00 PST
Viewed 953 times
0 responses 1 comment My wife and I have been watching TV coverage of the removal of the John P. Grace Bridge across Charleston Harbor in South Carolina. Seeing this revives the tension we felt when we crossed that bridge in our motorhome several years ago.
You can't imagine how pleased I am to see the Grace Bridge being replaced by a modern one. The old bridge was built around 1927 when slender Model T Fords were the latest thing. Besides being narrow, the Grace Bridge was also steep because it started at sea level on both ends and, within a short distance, had to rise well above the height of the largest commercial vessels entering the harbor. Under the best of conditions, crossing it was a real stomach-churner.
We did fine crossing the bridge on our way to Sullivan's Island, which is on the Intercoastal Waterway, but when we came back to Charleston we were jabbering to each other and missed the sign that directed wide vehicles to a wider bridge lane. So there I was, herding a barn on wheels across a mile-high bridge on a strip of concrete barely wider than our sideview mirrors. If I drifted only inches to the left I risked a head-on with opposing traffic. Too far to the right and I would have scraped bridge girders. To make things worse, the speed of bridge traffic was enough to scare the pants off the most hardened San Diego Freeway commuter.
By the time we got back to the safety of the RV park it was definitely Miller time for both of us. I don't know what the other terrified drivers did to settle their nerves after a mid-span meeting with a maniac in a hulking motorhome.
I should have noticed the sign directing me to the wider bridge lane but it was small and much too close to the turnoff. I'll bet they had big rigs missing it every day. Perhaps that had something to do with tearing down the old bridge.
In our travels throughout the nation we have been confounded by the lack of good highway signs almost everywhere. That's not true of the Interstate system. But when you hit secondary roads you sorely need a navigator, especially when you are in a big recreational vehicle that can't stop suddenly or turn on a dime. I suspect the main reason is that secondary roads are under the purview of local officials who know exactly where they are going because they live in the neighborhood. I don't think it occurs to them to see things through the eyes of strangers.
When Ike Eisenhower pushed through the Interstate Highway Act one of the best features of the system was a new approach to signage. That's why I find that most RV drivers prefer to use the Interstates instead of more-scenic byways. Interstate signs keep you on top of where you are and how to get where you are going. The key, as far as I'm concerned, has been in numbering the exits. This tells you how many miles you have gone and how far you are from your destination. Exit numbers also are listed on road maps so that even a numbskull like me knows where to get off. I don't know why it has taken until almost recently for Caltrans to see the merit of numbered Interstate exits.
Getting back to the lack of good signage on secondary roads, perhaps the best solution would be to hire some schmuck whose IQ is equal to his shoe size and let him pick spots where signs are needed to keep him from getting hopelessly lost. There's no doubt I am exactly that kind of schmuck and I'm available. I'll even work for nothing more than gas, food and a smidgen of mad money. Call me.
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Sun Jun 4, 2006 19:15:04 PDT
Mr. Mead: I've known and respected you 23 years, so I cannot call you schmuck. When I envision the size of that bridge you traversed, ascending a mile into the air before descending, all I can say is: your wife loves you -- to death. She's truly a "keeper". You are blessed to have her. She's the "one in a million". She took her vows very seriously. Don't ever leave your wife. She will be very hard to replace if you ever think about going over another one of those bridges!
