Gribblenation

09/03/2026

This view is facing northbound on Washington State Road 14 along Hood Canal in Mason County. This photo was featured in the 1910 Third Biennial Report of the State Highway Commissioner.

The survey for what became Washington State Road 14 was ordered by the legislature in 1907. The highway was formally commissioned in 1909 following receipt of a favorable survey. As originally defined the state highway corridor only consisted of 22.6 miles of road between Jefferson County and Mason County. The Mason County segment only comprised 2.6 miles of roadway whereas the remaining 20 miles were located in Jefferson County.

Washington State Road 14 would later become a component piece of US Route 101 when the US Route System was established in November 1926. This portion of roadway still exists near what is now Triton Cove State Park.

09/03/2026

Go around Berlin, Germany and you'll find distinct pictograms on pedestrian crossing signals, or the Ampelmann. The first Ampelmännchen were created in a variety of versions worldwide. But no other symbol was preceded by such extensive, well-founded development on the basis of traffic psychology as the famous East German Ampelmännchen.

The developer of the Ampelmännchen, Karl Peglau, was a traffic psychologist, technical draftsman and functional designer all at the same time. His wife Hildegard supported his work and was frequently the first person to test his new developments. His secretary Anneliese Wegner had a gift for drawing; she added a few details at Karl Peglau’s request, making her contribution to the personality of the Ampelmännchen. As an example, according to Karl Peglau, the shape of the hat goes back to her input.

No other traffic light symbol in the world was as carefully developed, from both technical and psychological aspects, as the East German Ampelmännchen. On October 13, 1961, the traffic psychologist Karl Peglau submitted his suggestions in Berlin for new traffic light symbols, including specific symbols for pedestrians. The Ampelmännchen remains an enduring symbol along the streets of Berlin today.

09/03/2026

Don't lie, Interstate 238 is the consensus favorite freeway in California. This 2.23-mile conversation starter freeway connects Interstate 580 (MacArthur Freeway) in Castro Valley directly Interstate 880 (Nimitz Freeway) in San Leandro.

Before "ascending" to an Interstate the segment comprising what is now Interstate 238 was a humble portion of California State Route 238. The corridor was rejected for chargeable Interstate mileage as part of the system additions borne from the 1968 Federal Aid Highway.

The purpose for the conversion of the freeway portion of California State Route 238 to Interstate status was to provide an Interstate-to-Interstate freight traffic connection between Interstate 580 and Interstate 880. Freight traffic is not permitted on Interstate 580 west of Castro Valley to downtown Oakland and is required to follow northbound Interstate 880. The Federal Highway Administration approved Interstate 238 being added a non-chargeable corridor during May 1983 which was followed by AASHTO about a month later. It is important to keep in mind that the 1980s was still an era when state highway freeways was still not a generally common phenomenon.

Generally, the highway would be renumbered to something in the X80 range denoting it as part of the Interstate 80 family of highways. All the available X80 numbers were already in use as state highway corridors during thr 1980s. Caltrans would not permit the renumbering of California State Route 180 which would have required numerous legislative hoops to jump through. Thusly, the designation of Interstate 238 was pushed through Federally and remains on the books as Interstate system numbering violation.

09/02/2026

This view is along Carmel Valley Road approaching what is known as "Scarlett Curve." This segment of roadway was constructed in 1950 and replaced an earlier alignment which is now Scarlett Road. Carmel Valley Road is a component piece of the larger Monterey County Route G16.

Monterey County Route G16 is an approximately 56.19-mile-long rural highway. This County Route corridor begins at California State Route 1 near Carmel-by-the-Sea and extends eastward to Metz Road (Monterey County Route G15) near Greenfield.

Much of Monterey County Route G16 follows the approximately 40-mile course of Carmel Valley Road. The Carmel Valley Road corridor is one of the oldest in Monterey County as much of it was developed following the granting of the Ranchos in Mexican Alta California. Near the start of the twentieth century Carmel Valley Road (originally called Jamesburg-Arroyo Seco Road) was extended through the Santa Lucia Mountains to the Salinas River Valley. In 1943 the current Arroyo Seco Bridge (the Green Bridge) would be constructed at the junction of Arroyo Seco Road and Elm Avenue.

09/02/2026

Nevada State Route 88 is a 7.868-mile corridor located in Carson Valley of Douglas County. Nevada State Route 88 is part of the Carson Pass Highway and a continuation of California State Route 88.

Carson Pass was a known crossing of the Sierra Nevada by the Washoe and was surveyed in an 1844 expedition led by John C. Fremont. The Carson Pass Highway was plotted as a wagon road by the Mormon Battalion in 1848 and was once the primary crossing of the Sierra Nevada. The Nevada portion of Carson Pass Highway was originally known as Woodfords Road and was part of Forest Route 4.

After Woodfords Road was improved via Federal funds in 1934 it became part of Nevada State Route 37. The corridor came to be known as part of the Carson Pass Highway and was renumbered to Nevada State Route 88 in 1956 to provide continuity with California State Route 88. Nevada State Route 88 is one of only three highways which still carries a pre-1976 Nevada State Highway numbering designations.

Nevada State Route 88 is a 7.868-mile corridor located in Carson Valley of Douglas County. Nevada State Route 88 is part of the Carson Pass...

09/01/2026

During the 1920s, Berlin, Germany saw a rapid rise in road traffic. Potsdamer Platz was a crossroad with more traffic than any other in Europe. The traffic jams were growing longer all the time and there was a significant number of accidents involving pedestrians, as this was a popular spot for over 83,000 people daily to board a train, tram, or bus as well. The police (carrying trumpets) was struggling to keep this chaos under control. In 1924, the first traffic lights in Berlin were put into service on Potsdamer Platz.

The signals in the eight-meter-high signal tower were controlled by a policeman sitting in the booth. The five-sided green signal tower on Potsdamer Platz remained in operation until 1936. In September 2000 a replica of the first Berlin signal tower at Potsdamer Platz was put in place. With its clocks on all five sides, which were also important at the time, it points in all directions.

09/01/2026

This view is facing southward on the Roosevelt Coast Highway at a covered bridge along Siletz Bay near Taft (now part of Lincoln City). This photo was featured in the 1925-1926 Biennial Report of the Oregon Highway Commissioner.

Roosevelt Coast Military Highway #9 was approved for construction in 1919 and broke ground during 1921. As the name implies the highway was mostly aligned along the Pacific Coast of Oregon. In November 1926 this corridor would be designated as part of US Route 101 when the US Route System was commissioned by AASHO. The corridor was renamed as Oregon Coast Highway in 1931.

The covered bridge was replaced in 1945. The same rock formation seen in this photo is still present and can be seen at the following coordinates:

44°55'33.0"N 124°00'50.4"W

09/01/2026

Clinton Road is an approximately 9-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Amador County. As presently configured Clinton Road begins at California State Route 49 in Jackson and extends east to California State Route 88 near Pine Grove.

Clinton Road was developed in 1849 as the primary stage route between Jackson and Volcano. The corridor is named after the mining supply town of Clinton which was located on South Fork Jackson Creek. Clinton Road would become a public highway in 1854 after Amador County was created. For several decades the corridor of Clinton Road would serve as the primary highway east of Jackson towards Volcano and Carson Pass. The modern terminus points of the Clinton Road corridor would develop in the 1940s to better align with the then modernizing State Highways.

Clinton Road is an approximately 9-mile rural highway located in the Sierra Nevada foothills of Amador County. As presently configured Clin...

09/01/2026

Conzelman Road in Marin Headlands is one of the most scenic drives in the San Francisco Bay Area. The segment of road between Hawk Hill westward to Battery Rathbone McIndoe frequently makes appearances in commercials and popular media. The segment is carried one-way westbound via an 18% downhill grade which overlooks Point Bonita.

Conzelman Road was part of the construction United States Army Fort Barry. The initial purpose of this roadway was to connect the coastal batteries which were constructed along the Marin County side of the Golden Gate. Initial construction of Fort Barry would commence in 1898 and would be completed by 1908. In 1921 a tethered balloon station would be placed atop Hawk Hill. During World War II modernized coastal batteries were installed in preparation for a potential Japanese attack.

Fort Barry would be decommissioned in September 1974. In 1975 Marin Headlands would be annexed into the great Golden Gate National Recreation Area. In modern times Conzelman Road is mostly known for being the location of numerous vistas of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco. Most of the coastal defense batteries at Fort Barry are largely intact and easily accessible from the roadway.