It looks a lot like a chopped up Copperplate Gothic Condensed.

Although it looks like Font Bureau's Interstate, I think this is the face that actually used for interstate highway signs, Highway Gothic. I think they also added some weight to it by applying a stroke or something.

I knew te S and M were off.

Mark, Highway Gothic is based off of Goudy's design isn't it? Is that common for road signs or is there some further history or study I'm unaware of?

Thanks.

> Highway Gothic is based off of Goudy's design isn't it?

I hadn't heard that before, but I confess I don't know the history of Highway Gothic. I bet James Montalbano would know. He has spent the last ten years designing a replacement. More here.

According to this website, Highway Gothic is only the name of that particular digital version, not the official name of the standard US highway typeface. Presumably, Highway Gothic matches the official specification more closely than Interstate.

Thank you for the links.

It's only a guess, but I'll try to contact Mr. Montalbano to ask. If he says anything of interest I'll let everyone know.

> Presumably, Highway Gothic matches the official specification more closely than Interstate.

Interstate is an interpretation of the highway typeface, not an exact copy. It feels very similar, but Tobias Frere-Jones took many liberties with the design in order to make it a useful and attractive typeface.

Right, that's what I was getting at. I believe that the Interstate family also includes many extended characters not covered by the FHWA specification.