Actually, Tony, General Electric did release the M-250R2 in 400 watt HPS, but they weren't in production for long though.....not sure when the 400 watt versions were available but I think early 90s....
The underpass in this pic is a ramp. I believe they're not replacing it since they basically leveled the place where the ramp was. Jsut a flat dirt strip now. The have plans to re-do everything you see here in this picture so It'll all be gone. That lonely tapered e with the M-250R2 is still there on the right but the jersey barrier was removed right up to the overhead billboard type signs.
UPDATE: the lonely tapered eliptical on the right is gone and the ramp underneath this overpass is gone. the lane of traffic all the way to the left (which is the right lane) is all dirt now. The row of tapered ellipticals on the left is still all up but none work though a couple cycle on for a few seconds and stay blueish (they didn't work before the contruction began either).
The plan is to elimiante the overpass from which this pic was taken (since the ramp under it is gone) and keep the freeway together via jersey barrier instead of having it split apart like this. Back in the mid-2000s the section of the freeway a quarter mile to the left/behind the pix was redone with a jersey barrier and Cooper OVFs. The old M-250R2s on truss poles never worked back then either. I had always wondered why they left this section all dumpy; now i know, they were planning to redevelop it in-depth rather than a simple relight, repave, and replace the steel guardrail with a jersey barrier. Here's a stretview where the redone portion of Rte 6 ends and the "old" part picks up.
And here's a different angle of the pic above. You can see the freeway splits and comes together at the left and the ramp stays together and exits to the right. The Eastbound side of Rte 6 is lifted up and carried over the ramp and then rejoins the Westbound side and the ramp. The plan is to have a ground-level curve with a jersey barrier and no more exit ramp.
UPDATE: This project is completed and Google Streetview conveniently redid the streetview. Here's a streetview shot of the completed project. You'd never know it was the same spot if not for the remaining bridge in the background!
What a difference! The davits and LED's are interesting together. I think im getting used to LED fixtures now because they don't really bother me anymore lol
What a difference! The davits and LED's are interesting together. I think im getting used to LED fixtures now because they don't really bother me anymore lol
Yeah, sadly enough, I'm kinda OK with them on the freeway lol. They don't look that much different than the M-400 FCOs and OVFs at a quick glance while driving at high speed so I'm OK with them lol.
BTW, the interchage that was converted to LED and was half LED half HPS before is now totally LED. Turns out they used many different brands: GE, LeoTek, and some rectangular ones among others. A total mixing pot of LED fixtures. I don't mind them using a variety of fixtures but I'd prefer them sticking to one brand per interchange, or at least one brand per ramp or something, not a totally random mix.
I agree, I don't think it wont be too much longer that our Highways become LED since there are already some LED high masts!
Im guessing those other M250R2's are now LED now too? Are most of the different LED fixtures at least around the same size as one another? Iv'e seen a few before where they have a giant round LED then the next pole has a short square LED fixture lol
What other M-250R2s? You mean the ones on the tapered ellipticals in the background on the bridge? Those are still there (but do not work). They will stay HPS, as they're NGrid owned. All 6ft tapered elliptical and 10ft truss poles are NGrid-owned and leased to the state just like wood poles lights. Originally, almost all the freeway lighting was owned by the electric companies but RIDOT has slowly been replacing all the NGrid-owned lights with their own RIDOT systems so that they can have a lighting curfew via the relays shutting the lights off at 2AM and turning them back on at 5AM. With HPS they probably chew through lamps faster but with LEDs, turning them on twice a night won't affect them.
As for the other interchange, they're all different sizes, which is annoying. Even the same brand/style are different sizes! They must have ordered a certain wattage to repalce 250w HPS on ramps and another to replace 400W HPS on the freeway but then mixed them up, as there are no NEMA tags on the new LEDs, so I can't see what wattage they are.
BTW, regarding the M-250R2s on tapered ellipticals in the background: RIDOT has long-term plans to replace that whole interchange, as the bridges are in DESPERATE need of replacing (the concrete columns are all reinforced with steel I-beam jacks, as it turns out the bridge deck had lowered nearly 2 inches! (doesn't sound like a lot, but it was one helluva bump at 50MPH). They have since jacked the bridge back to the correct height and vertical steel beams have been put in place on the whole thing. Here's a shot of the underside of the bridge.
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The plan is to elimiante the overpass from which this pic was taken (since the ramp under it is gone) and keep the freeway together via jersey barrier instead of having it split apart like this. Back in the mid-2000s the section of the freeway a quarter mile to the left/behind the pix was redone with a jersey barrier and Cooper OVFs. The old M-250R2s on truss poles never worked back then either. I had always wondered why they left this section all dumpy; now i know, they were planning to redevelop it in-depth rather than a simple relight, repave, and replace the steel guardrail with a jersey barrier. Here's a stretview where the redone portion of Rte 6 ends and the "old" part picks up.
And here's a different angle of the pic above. You can see the freeway splits and comes together at the left and the ramp stays together and exits to the right. The Eastbound side of Rte 6 is lifted up and carried over the ramp and then rejoins the Westbound side and the ramp. The plan is to have a ground-level curve with a jersey barrier and no more exit ramp.
BTW, the interchage that was converted to LED and was half LED half HPS before is now totally LED. Turns out they used many different brands: GE, LeoTek, and some rectangular ones among others. A total mixing pot of LED fixtures. I don't mind them using a variety of fixtures but I'd prefer them sticking to one brand per interchange, or at least one brand per ramp or something, not a totally random mix.
Im guessing those other M250R2's are now LED now too?
As for the other interchange, they're all different sizes, which is annoying. Even the same brand/style are different sizes! They must have ordered a certain wattage to repalce 250w HPS on ramps and another to replace 400W HPS on the freeway but then mixed them up, as there are no NEMA tags on the new LEDs, so I can't see what wattage they are.
BTW, regarding the M-250R2s on tapered ellipticals in the background: RIDOT has long-term plans to replace that whole interchange, as the bridges are in DESPERATE need of replacing (the concrete columns are all reinforced with steel I-beam jacks, as it turns out the bridge deck had lowered nearly 2 inches! (doesn't sound like a lot, but it was one helluva bump at 50MPH). They have since jacked the bridge back to the correct height and vertical steel beams have been put in place on the whole thing. Here's a shot of the underside of the bridge.
If you change the time setting in this streetview from 2014 back to 2011, you'll see that they've had to add more steel supports! Very scarey to know the poor condition of this bridge. The bridge is from the late-50s or early 60s IIRC.
Clicking here, you'll notice that the bridge is in fact two separate bridges linked together, one for eastbound traffic and the other for westbound traffic. With this advantage, RIDOT can replace one direction of traffic at a time and not have to shut down the freeway. Seems to have been a common practice for RIDOT to built two separate bridges up against each other. Not sure what their plan is to replace this interchange, but (...) as you can see here, if you drive "up" the screen on the yellow freeway (RI Rte 10 North) there is no way to go left onto US Rte 6 West. I don't know why they never put a ramp in, but they didn't. Silly RIDOT. You can also see that the ariel shot is outdated, as to the left, where Rte 6 curves upward, the interchange above is still left. Now they got rid off the off-ramp there, eliminating the need for the bridge from which this pic above was taken.