Local Sign Find - Clearview in North Carolina

Clearview can be a sore subject within the roadgeeking community. Some people absolutely hate it. Personally, I don't mind it.

Unlike our neighbors Virginia or South Carolina, North Carolina never really caught onto the Clearview craze, but it does appear that it was tested somewhat in the Lexington / Davidson County Area. This specific sign is located off of Interstate 85 at Exit 91 for NC 8. There is also another clearview sign for High Rock Lake located on this off ramp.

For a typeface font, Clearview has had quite the turbulent history since its formal introduction in 2004. The font was developed in the 1990s at Penn State University and would slowly roll out to various levels of usage in over 30 states by 2014. It was then when the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) did an about face on its 2004 interim approval for use.

In 2014, the FHWA hinted that they would rescind the approval for use of the font; and in 2016, they did exactly that. However, this wasn't the end of Clearview. With the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2018, Congress mandated that the FHWA reinstate the interim approval for use of Clearview. In late March, the FHWA issued a memorandum officially reinstating the font. Will states like Texas, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Virginia go back to Clearview? Only time will tell.

Comments

Bleriot Ferry - Alberta

Alberta operates six ferries scattered throughout the province. Roughly twenty to twenty-five kilometers up the Red Deer River from the town of Drumheller is one of the most scenic ferry crossings in all of Wild Rose Country, the Bleriot Ferry. Using the North Dinosaur Trail (Alberta Highway 838, or AB 838), the Bleriot Ferry provides a scenic river cruise of sorts in the Canadian Badlands. The Bleriot Ferry started operating in 1913 as the Munson Ferry when a few bridges crossed the Red Deer River. The ferry was started by Andre Bleriot, the brother of famed early aviator Louis Bleriot, who became famous for being the first person to fly over the English Channel. At the time, the Alberta provincial government commissioned local residents to run the ferries. There were several ferries along the Red Deer River, and not only did they serve as vital transportation links, but they also served as local social hubs, since everyone had to take the ferries to go places. Over time, as the...

The Pollasky Bridge

The Pollasky Bridge near modern day Friant is a ruined highway bridge which was completed during early 1906 as part of the Fresno-Fresno Flats Road. The structure is one of the oldest known arch concrete spans to have been constructed in California. The bridge briefly carried California State Route 41 following the destruction of the Lanes Bridge in 1940. The Pollasky Bridge itself was destroyed by flooding during 1951, but the ruins can still be found on the Madera County side of the San Joaquin River. Pictured as the blog cover is the Pollasky Bridge as it was featured in the 1913 book "The Concrete Bridge." The structure can be seen crossing the San Joaquin River near Friant below on the 1922 United States Geological Survey Map. Part 1; the history of the Pollasky Bridge The Pollasky Bridge site is near modern day Friant of Fresno County. The community of Friant was established as Converse Ferry during 1852 on the San Joaquin Rive...

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog