Some snaps taken on yet another weekend junket.

Text signs at the US 7-Mass 102 junction in Stockbridge. No wonder easterners call all classes of highway "Routes". 
This sort of thing aids and abets that sort of thinking. Note the sign numbers and dates in the corners of the signs. 
Also starring is a new Massachussetts Turnpike Trailblazer. There was also a Thruway Trailblazer at the western US 7-Mass 102 junction(no, I didn't snap that! You've seen it by now).

A mast-arm light at US 7/MA 23/MA 183 north of Great Barrington, along with a variety of signs you can find at that junction. Mass signals are good. Most of the ones in the area are mast arms, with about 2 in 10 being wire span-the opposite proportion of my area of NY. Many have LED lenses. Signage tends to be a bit weird. It's a mix-and-match propsition for sure. Just as an aside-MA 183 is very poorly posted. At this junction facing west(center panel), there SHOULD be a MA 183 north sign. There's not. The next MA 183 north sign is about a mile north standing by itself, without a corresponding US 7 sign. On the left is a lit "Signal Ahead" text sign. Above the main text, in the dark panel is the word "RED" which flashes when the red light is lit.
 I tried about 5 times to get a decent picture of that, to no avail.

A Buncha interesting stuff from along US 7. For those who wondered whatever happened to old "School " signs, well, here's one, just below it is a detail shot showing the Mass DPW credit, with the State Seal, even. Two newer signs: one near a nursing home, one near a school. And in the top right panel, an old Massachussets Tpk trailblazer. These are about the size of a bug.  In the lower 3 panels: Both sides of a State Hwy limit sign-at the US 7/MA 23/MA 41 junction, and a neon Conneticut State Police Sign just south of the CT-MA state line. I'd like to see that all lit up.

US 7/MA 23/MA 41 Junction in Great Barrington.

US 7 South of Stockbridge. US 7 has a speed limit of 55 along most of it's length south of  Stockbridge-The state speed limit in Mass is 50, usually.
That statement got some attention on misc.transport.road, and John Carr relates this:
Before the national 55 MPH speed limit in 1974, US 7 was posted 60 on parts of the Sheffield and Lenox bypasses, and the 55 zones were longer. Also, while many rural state highways are posted 50, 45 is at least as
popular and the statutory unposted speed limit is 40 on undivided roads.
He has a map of speed limits on Mass highways-available here

According To Rand Mc Nally, This is a freeway. This is the Ashley Falls MA bypass, just north of the CT line.

US 7 at the Connetticut-Massachussets line looking north.

US 7 Looking south into Conneticut.