Use of control cities on Mileage or BGS for roads that do not travel there.

[mapman1071]

Use of control cities on Mileage or BGS for roads that do not travel there.

These cities should not be on signs.
Los Angeles I-15, I-40
Tucson I-8 I-17
San Diego, Yuma (BGS Exit 112 I-10) AZ 85

Are there other examples?

[RoadWarrior56]

I don't necessarily agree that the above roadways should not have those control cities, but I have two more similar examples..............

St. Louis - I-24, which is an extreme case, since you have to take two other interstates after I-24 to get there.

Memphis - I-57, that control city starts all the way up in Chicago

Chattanooga - I-59

[huskeroadgeek]

I don't see anything wrong with it because in most cases where it is done, much of the traffic heading that direction is heading for that city, even though a change of routes may be required. If such cases were not allowed, then many control cities on 3dis, especialy on loop routes would have to be something different that wouldn't be as helpful.

[roadfro]

The use of a control city has never necessarily meant that particular highway serves the control city. The control city is used as a supplementary guide to aid motorists in reaching a destination by using that highway.


I think Las Vegas valley is actually an interesting example of this topic.  Mainline freeway signage in the valley uses more control cities not served by the highways exiting the valley than the other way around.

I-15 north - Salt Lake City
I-15 south - Los Angeles (connection made via either I-10 or CA 60)
US 95 north - Reno (connection made via either US 50/US 50 Alt/I-80 or US 95 Alt/I-80)
US 95 south - Needles*
US 93 south - Phoenix (connection made via US 60)

*Needles is not consistently signed anymore, as Phoenix is the more dominant destination on the US 93/95 overlap.

[TheStranger]

In some of the case mentioned, the control cities are vestiges of predecessor routes that DID serve the cities in question (and have kept the route the primary corridor there) -

US 93 south to Phoenix - AZ 93 used to continue the number all the way into town
I-15 south to Los Angeles - US 91 used to continue the number into city limits
I-40 west for Los Angeles - US 66 used to go to Downtown Los Angeles
AZ 85 for San Diego/Yuma - US 80 once took this pathway to connect between Phoenix and the I-8 corridor


In Northern California, the primary examples of this include...

Route 120/I-205, as well as I-5 towards Lathrop: San Francisco (via I-580 and I-80, which is former US 50 that did connect Lathrop with San Francisco via Dublin)

I-580: San Francisco (as noted, via former US 50 which continued west across I-80 into SF)

I-680: Sacramento (via I-80)

I-238: Stockton (via I-580)

US 50/Business 80 west in Sacramento: San Francisco (via I-80 west)

I-505: Redding (via I-5), San Francisco (via I-80)

Route 85: Santa Cruz (via Route 17), Gilroy (via US 101)

[tdindy88]

I-65 north of Indianapolis uses Chicago even though the highway ends in Gary. But since no one is really interested in visiting Gary, they usage of Chicago is acceptable, 65 DOES get you into the Chicago Metro area at least.

[Mr_Northside]

I-70 has plenty of references to Washington D.C. on mileage signs once you get past Breezewood, and in the infamous town the BGS also references both D.C. & Baltimore, even though I-70 only goes to Baltimore.

I think both should be there. 

[TheStranger]

I-70 has plenty of references to Washington D.C. on mileage signs once you get past Breezewood, and in the infamous town the BGS also references both D.C. & Baltimore, even though I-70 only goes to Baltimore.

I think both should be there. 

I agree - it probably also dates back to when I-70S was the designation for today's I-270 heading out towards the Beltway.

[RustyK]

I-5 North of Seattle references Vancouver, B.C, even though Vancouver is a good distance from the border (I-5 replacing former US 99; I-5 meets BC 99 at the border, which continues into Vancouver).  If I remember correctly, I-78 West uses Harrisburg before it's end with I-81; I-80 uses Cleveland, but only gets there via I-480.

Doesn't I-295 around Richmond use Rocky Mount, NC and Miami? 

[Brandon]

Heh.  Got more than a few in Illinois.

I-294: Milwaukee, Indiana, and Wisconsin.  Never makes it to any of the three.
I-355: St. Louis and Joliet.  Actually makes it to New Lenox, just east of Joliet, but never anywhere near St. Louis.
I-255: Memphis and Chicago.  Never gets anywhere near either.
I-57: Memphis.  Stops short in Sikeston, MO.
I-80: Chicago.  Never gets near the city limits.
I-88: Chicago.  Ends at I-290 well before the city limits.
I-290: Rockford.  Nowhere near Rockford.
IL-394: Danville and Chicago.  Why, oh why is Danville used when it ends in Crete?  Also ends at I-80/94/294 well south of Chicago.
I-155: Peoria.  Stops short on the wrong side of the Illinois River and I-474.

Then there's the infamous Elgin-O'Hare Expressway which makes it to neither Elgin nor O'Hare.

[hbelkins]

I disagree with the OP. The route should be signed for where most of the through traffic is actually headed, not where the road ends or if it actually passes through the city. The subject of whether I-70 should have Dayton as a control city has been beaten to death in various forums.

[deathtopumpkins]

Doesn't I-295 around Richmond use Rocky Mount, NC and Miami? 

The only sign referencing Miami is actually on I-95 south at the I-85 split in Petersburg. I-295 does, however, reference Washington, Rocky Mount, Norfolk, and other control cities that are reached VIA I-95 and I-64.

[Brandon]

I disagree with the OP. The route should be signed for where most of the through traffic is actually headed, not where the road ends or if it actually passes through the city. The subject of whether I-70 should have Dayton as a control city has been beaten to death in various forums.

I agree (see some of the ones I put up for Illinois); however, some controls make no sense for the road what-so-ever.  Danville for IL-394, Rockford for I-290?  Traffic almost never uses either road for either destination.

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Doesn't I-80 in Nebraska have Denver as a control city (mostly in the middle of the state)? 

[TheStranger]

I disagree with the OP. The route should be signed for where most of the through traffic is actually headed, not where the road ends or if it actually passes through the city. The subject of whether I-70 should have Dayton as a control city has been beaten to death in various forums.

I agree (see some of the ones I put up for Illinois); however, some controls make no sense for the road what-so-ever.  Danville for IL-394, Rockford for I-290?  Traffic almost never uses either road for either destination.

My guess as to why Danville is IL-394's control city is...that 394 used to be part of IL-1, which does go there.  Not sure what would be a better control destination though (Beecher?).

For I-290, Schaumburg or Palatine looks like a better option.  (The Rockford reference probably dates back to when 290 was I-90.)

[vdeane]

There are a few instances of this in the Rochester, NY area:
-I-490 west of downtown has Buffalo for its control city
-I-490 east of downtown had Victor as its control city
-I-390 south uses Corning as its control city

[huskeroadgeek]

Doesn't I-80 in Nebraska have Denver as a control city (mostly in the middle of the state)?  

Denver does appear on a few mileage signs in Nebraska-the first one doesn't appear until W. of Gothenburg(it appears the first time along with Cheyenne), but it doesn't appear on any BGS until the I-76 junction.

[codyg1985]

- I-65 north of Birmingham and south of Nashville has Huntsville as a control city, but you have to take I-565 into another county to reach Huntsville (although Huntsville's city limits actually extend to I-65, but that is another discussion altogether).
- I-59 has a control city of New Orleans for its southern terminus, but it only reaches Slidell. Same for I-55 south of Hammond, LA.
- I-20 uses El Paso, TX as a control city but comes up short.

[PAHighways]

Erie:  I-271 and I-279
Pittsburgh:  I-76 and I-79

[golden eagle]

- I-65 north of Birmingham and south of Nashville has Huntsville as a control city, but you have to take I-565 into another county to reach Huntsville (although Huntsville's city limits actually extend to I-65, but that is another discussion altogether).
- I-59 has a control city of New Orleans for its southern terminus, but it only reaches Slidell. Same for I-55 south of Hammond, LA.
- I-20 uses El Paso, TX as a control city but comes up short.

I remember I-65 used to have Nashville as a control city in Birmingham, but was later changed to Huntsville. I'm thinking late 90s or early 2000s when that happened.

[codyg1985]

- I-65 north of Birmingham and south of Nashville has Huntsville as a control city, but you have to take I-565 into another county to reach Huntsville (although Huntsville's city limits actually extend to I-65, but that is another discussion altogether).
- I-59 has a control city of New Orleans for its southern terminus, but it only reaches Slidell. Same for I-55 south of Hammond, LA.
- I-20 uses El Paso, TX as a control city but comes up short.

I remember I-65 used to have Nashville as a control city in Birmingham, but was later changed to Huntsville. I'm thinking late 90s or early 2000s when that happened.

After I-565 was completed through Huntsville, this change was made. They forgot to fix the signs in Morgan County, AL because the northern control city is still Nashville if you exit the interstate and look at the signs. Also, the mileage signs have Nashville as the control city instead of Huntsville.

[huskeroadgeek]

- I-65 north of Birmingham and south of Nashville has Huntsville as a control city, but you have to take I-565 into another county to reach Huntsville (although Huntsville's city limits actually extend to I-65, but that is another discussion altogether).
- I-59 has a control city of New Orleans for its southern terminus, but it only reaches Slidell. Same for I-55 south of Hammond, LA.
- I-20 uses El Paso, TX as a control city but comes up short.

I remember I-65 used to have Nashville as a control city in Birmingham, but was later changed to Huntsville. I'm thinking late 90s or early 2000s when that happened.

I believe that's about right, because around the same time I went to visit a friend of mine who lives in Nashville and I noticed that the signs for I-65 South had been changed from Birmingham to Huntsville. He said that the story there was that TDOT changed their signs in response to Alabama changing theirs.

[cu2010]

I-87 north of Albany uses Montreal as a control city.  I-87, of course, does not continue (at least as I-87) north of the Canadian border!

Also, south of Albany, I-87 north has mileage signs for Buffalo, when I-87 doesn't go there. Likewise, I-90 east of Buffalo has mileage signs to New York when it doesn't go there, either (nor Rochester, for that matter...but it at least gets close).

[Ian]

-On I-95 south at I-895 in Baltimore, it lists Annapolis as a control city (via I-97 and US 301/50)

-On I-95 north at I-295 in Delaware, it lists NY-NJ as a control city. I-295 reaches New Jersey, but not New York (via I-95/NJ Turnpike)

-Not really sure if this counts, but I-95 north and south of Washington, D.C. lists Washington as a control city, but doesn't really go into the district itself (besides that little south corner on the Woodrow Wilson Bridge)

-On I-76/PA Turnpike at exit 298 (I-176), it lists Reading, but doesn't really reach it (via US 422)

-NY 7 BGSs in the Albany-Troy area list Bennington (Vermont) as a control city, but of course, it ends at the NY/VT border (via VT 9)

-On NY 17 east of Binghamton (may appear more west of there, but not sure), signs list New York (via I-87/NY Thruway)

-On US 301 north of the Bay Bridge in Maryland, signs list Wilmington (Delaware) as a city (via DE 1 and I-95)

-I-476 BGSs south of I-276/PA Turnpike list Chester as a city (via I-95)

[golden eagle]

Speaking of Birmingham earlier, I-459 has Montgomery on a mileage sign, though 459 doesn't get anywhere close to the capitol city (though it does intersect with I-65, which does take you to Montgomery).