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[pianocello]

Chicago for I-88 and I-57 (65 and 80 were mentioned upthread). Also, depending on how you define Downtown Chicago, I-55 could apply here too.

It's not all that uncommon for cities to be big enough to warrant control city status yet still have the Interstate skirt around the outside of the city. Off the top of my head, this includes Lake City, Daytona Beach, Naples, Tallahassee, and Pensacola (for I-10, at least). And those are just the Florida examples.

[roadman65]

I-20 for Dallas and Fort Worth

[tdindy88]

I-69 was mentioned earlier for Michigan. In Indiana I-69 misses Downtown Fort Wayne by several miles (from personal experience it's at least 15 minutes from the interstate to the city center.) It also misses Downtown Indianapolis, which will remain true even when the interstate is officially routed around the city. The interstate also comes a mile short of Downtown Evansville, but has pretty close direct access via a parkway. When the I-69 bridge over the Ohio River is complete it the interstate will miss Evansville by an even larger distance.

[jp the roadgeek]

Couple more:

I-395 in CT.  Ends 40 miles before New Haven (the control from Norwich south). Have to continue on I-95.  Also from CT 2A west: Boston and N.Y. City (for the casino goers, obviously).  Boston requires a 40-mile jog east on I-90 once you reach Auburn, MA.  NYC requires a 100+ mile trip on I-95. 

I-290 West for Norwich, CT.  Used to be Auburn, but Norwich requires continuing onto I-395 for about 50 miles. 

CT 15 and I-91 for N.Y. City (though newer signs are eliminating NYC for I-91).  I-91 ends in New Haven and requires almost 70 miles of I-95.  The CT 15 number does not continue across the NY border (though the roadway does as The Hutch.  CT 15 north uses New Haven and Hartford.  It barely scrapes the northwest corner of New Haven in a more suburban area (and more direct access to downtown is achieved by exiting in Orange on CT 34 northbound and in Hamden southbound), and barely scrapes the southwest corner of Hartford (getting to downtown requires the use of I-91). 

I-691 West for Waterbury.  Ends at I-84 on the Southington/Cheshire line and requires about 7 additional miles on 84.

I-384 West for Hartford.  Although not as egregious as the opposite direction's control, it ends 6 miles short at its parent in East Hartford.

New York on I-295 in RI.  Requires almost an additional 150 miles on I-95.  The northbound (sometimes) control of Woonsocket requires exiting onto RI 146, then exiting 146 onto RI 99.  As for the other control (Boston), it requires 35 miles of I-95 and I-93.

Eastern LI for the Cross Island Parkway.  Unless you exit on the LIE or Northern/Southern State, you'll be on the Belt Parkway headed for Brooklyn. 

I-278 East for New Haven: See I-91 for NYC. 

Taconic Parkway: For Albany, ends in Chatham and requires 25 miles of I-90 or the Berkshire Spur to the mainline Thruway to I-787.  NYC requires another parkway south of Hawthorne depending on which part of the city you're going to.

Brewster for the Saw Mill Parkway.  Ends in Katonah and requires 10 additional miles on I-684. 

[TheStranger]

If "direct access" means "as soon as you exit the route you are in the downtown", then here are California examples that come to mind, besides the I-40 Los Angeles one from earlier:

I-5: Los Angeles (requires I-10 or US 101 from the south, or Route 170/US 101 or Route 110 from the north, Redding (requires either Route 273, Route 299 or Route 44)
I-80: Oakland (requires I-880 or I-580), Sacramento due to the 1982 route changes (requires using US 50 (former I-80) from the west, or I-5/Route 99 from the east)

I-8: San Diego (requires using Route 163 or I-5 to get to downtown)

I-10: San Bernardino (requires I-215 to get to downtown)

I-15: San Diego (requires Route 163 or Route 94 to get to downtown), Riverside (requires I-215/former I-15 (former I-15E later on), Los Angeles (requires using Route 60 or I-10)

US 101: San Jose (requires I-280 from the south or Route 87 from the north to get to downtown)

I-205: San Francisco (requires I-580 and I-80 to get there), Stockton (requires I-5 to get there)

I-405: Sacramento (must take I-5 north), Santa Monica (requires I-10 to get there), Long Beach (requires I-710 to get downtown), San Diego (must take I-5 to get there)

I-805: Los Angeles (requires I-5 to get there)

I-710: Pasadena (LOL)

I-215: San Diego (must use I-15 to get there), Barstow (must use I-15 to get there)

I-238: Stockton (requires I-580, I-205, and I-5 to get there)

I-380: San Bruno (need to drive a mile or two on El Camino Real to get towards the downtown area, which is along San Mateo Avenue and not directly on El Camino itself)

I-580: Oakland (downtown requires using either I-880 or I-980)

I-680: San Jose (downtown requires continuing onto I-280), Sacramento (requires using I-80 for approximately 40 miles east then US 50)

I-880: San Francisco at north terminus (requires using I-80), San Jose (requires using Coleman Avenue into other city streets, or I-280), Santa Cruz (requires continuing on Route 17)

Route 1: Los Angeles (need to use I-10 to reach downtown), Monterey (need to reach via Fremont Street exit), San Francisco (need to use I-280 from the south or US 101 from the north to reach downtown)

Route 2: Los Angeles (need to use US 101 to reach downtown)

Route 4: Concord (need to use Route 242 to reach downtown)

Route 13: Hayward (requires I-580 to Route 238)

Route 14: Los Angeles (requires I-5 to Route 170/US 101 or Route 110), Palmdale (requires Route 138 eastbound), Lancaster (have to go east on Avenue J)

Route 17: San Jose (have to take I-280 to reach downtown)

Route 24: Oakland (have to continue onto I-980 west)

Route 26: Stockton (downtown reached via Route 4)

Route 33: Ventura (must take Main Street exit towards Business US 101 then go east)

Route 37: San Rafael (requires switching to US 101), Vallejo (requires Route 29 southbound), Sacramento (must switch to I-80)

Route 46: Bakersfield (must switch over to Route 99 southbound)

US 50: San Francisco (must switch to I-80 westbound in West Sacramento)

Route 55: Riverside (requires going onto Route 91 eastbound)

Route 58: Bakersfield (requires using Route 204)

Route 60: Los Angeles (requires I-10 west), Pomona (requires Route 71 north from westbound 60)

Route 65: Roseville (must take Galleria Boulevard exit then go west)

Route 68: Monterey (see note on Route 1)

Route 70: Chico (reached via Route 149 and Route 99), Sacramento (reached via Route 99)

Route 73: San Diego (reached via I-5), Long Beach (reached via I-405 and Route 22)

Route 85: Gilroy (reached via US 101 south), Santa Cruz (reached via Route 17 south), Mountain View (downtown accessed by Evelyn Avenue), San Francisco (reached via US 101)

Route 87: San Francisco (reached via US 101)

Route 88: Stockton (downtown reached via Route 99 and Route 4)

Route 91: Los Angeles (requires going onto I-5 north to US 101 north, from Anaheim)

Route 92: San Mateo (downtown accessed via Route 82/El Camino Real), Stockton (reached via I-880, I-238, I-580, I-205 and I-5)

Route 99: Bakersfield (requires Route 178), Stockton (requires going west on Route 4), Lodi (requires using Lockeford Street west of business 99),  Yuba City (requires Route 20), Chico (must go west on Route 32)

Route 113: Davis (downtown accessed via I-80 or via a mile drive along Covell Boulevard/former US 40/99W)

Route 116: Petaluma (downtown reached via the old highway routing along Lakeville into town, past current US 101)

Route 118: Ventura (downtown accessed via Route 126)

Route 120: San Francisco (accessed via I-5, I-205, I-580 and I-80)

Route 134: Ventura (accessed via US 101 north)

Route 138: Lancaster (see note on Route 14)

Route 149: Oroville and Marysville (both require using Route 70 to access), Chico and Red Bluff (requires Route 99 to access)

Route 152: San Jose (requires US 101 to get there)

Route 156: Monterey (requires Route 1 to get there), Los Banos (requires Route 152 to get there)

Route 163: Escondido (requires I-15 to get there)

Route 170: Hollywood (requires continuing on US 101 to get there), Sacramento (requires I-5 to get there)

Route 237: Oakland (requires I-880 to get there)

Route 241: Riverside (requires Route 91 to get there)

Route 242: Oakland (requires I-680 and Route 24 to get there - note that 242 is former Route 24)

[roadman65]

Elizabeth, NJ on both I-278 and NJ Turnpike. You have to take NJ 439 to South Broad Street.  Even then Elizabeth’s Downtown is not called Downtown, but Midtown instead. Downtown Elizabeth is not a traditional Downtown but the neighborhood  east of I-95 and to that extent I-95 flies over it with no access to the streets below it.

[Dirt Roads]

Control cities that don't have direct access to downtown
Eau Claire Wisconsin (have to exit and use either US 12 or US 53 to get to a road that leads to downtown) since I-94 don't have an exit that leads to downtown without using US 12 or US 53

If "direct access" means "as soon as you exit the route you are in the downtown", then here are California examples that come to mind, besides the I-40 Los Angeles one from earlier:

Using the OP as a guide, it seems like this thread has gone down the wrong tracks.  I was assuming that the intent of this thread was to identify cities where the main highway doesn't have any exits or interchanges that lead directly into the central business district (downtown), but rather that you have use a separate route to gain access.  One of the cities that came to mind was I-20 and I-77 for Columbia, South Carolina.  But SC-277 does connect I-20 directly into downtown, albeit not the best route from the west.

[TheHighwayMan394]

I-35 and I-90, Albert Lea
I-90, La Crosse
I-90, Sioux Falls
I-94, St. Cloud

US 53, Duluth and Superior

MN 36, Stillwater and Minneapolis

[hbelkins]

Pretty much all interstates here in NOrth Carolina have no access to downtown except for I-77 and I-277 in Charlotte. As well as I-240 in Asheville.

Until North Carolina went on its bypass-building spree, I-40 traditionally went through downtown W-S and I-85 went through downtown Greensboro.

Even to this day, If I'm making the connection between US 52 and I-40 in W-S, I use Business 40 US 421 instead of I-40 on the south side of town, and will go through Death Valley on whatever that route is numbered now instead of taking the southern route to the new I-85.

[Dirt Roads]

Pretty much all interstates here in NOrth Carolina have no access to downtown except for I-77 and I-277 in Charlotte. As well as I-240 in Asheville.

Until North Carolina went on its bypass-building spree, I-40 traditionally went through downtown W-S and I-85 went through downtown Greensboro.

Even to this day, If I'm making the connection between US 52 and I-40 in W-S, I use Business 40 US 421 instead of I-40 on the south side of town, and will go through Death Valley on whatever that route is numbered now instead of taking the southern route to the new I-85.

Death Valley has indeed had a bunch of number changes.  But I-40 was flipped back onto the Death Valley section of Greensboro just a little more than half-year after being routed onto the southern half of the Greensboro Urban Loop, with all the signage returned to [normal] in July 2009.  I do use the southern half of Greensboro Urban Loop to bypass the city during rush hour, as the higher speeds make the trip only a few minutes longer than obeying the speed limits through Death Valley.  But I still use Death Valley most of the time.

With respect to this thread, downtown Greensboro is indeed way off of the Interstate system, but downtown can be directly accessed from I-40 from Exit 218 (US-220 south/Freeman Mill Road) and also Exit 221 (South Elm-Eugene Street).  On I-85, there is also the new Exit 124 (South Elm-Eugene Street), albeit so far out that nobody would ever use it to access downtown.  Plus, I-73 continues into downtown Greensboro from the north as Joseph M. Bryan Boulevard, after I-73 dumps onto the western side of the Greensboro Urban Loop.

[HighwayStar]

Baltimore on I-70 

I didn't even have to be the bearer of the bad news this time! 

[paulthemapguy]

It always bothered me that Joliet is a control city along I-55 in northeast Illinois, since I-55 only passes through the western arm of Joliet nowhere near the city center.  Same with I-255 passing through the outer eastern arm of East St. Louis, though I-255 is signed as a way to reach East St. Louis.

[Road Hog]

New York City on I-80 in NJ. Exit 53 connects to US 46, NJ 3, and NJ 495 for Midtown NYC, but not Downtown. I-80 connects to I-95 for Uptown NYC, but not Downtown either.

I-49 whenever AR completes it won’t have a direct route to Downtown Fort Smith.

I-49 will be MILES from downtown.

Nobody yet has mentioned I-40, which uses Little Rock coming from either direction but only connects to the city using I-30.

For that matter, I-40 West uses Fort Smith as a control city but doesn't directly connect either.

[sprjus4]

I-64 Norfolk (connected via I-264)

Williamsburg, Newport News, and Virginia Beach (either Town Center or the Oceanfront) can also be added to this list.

Surface roads are needed to connect to Williamsburg, then I-664 and I-264 provide access to the other two.

[SEWIGuy]

It always bothered me that Joliet is a control city along I-55 in northeast Illinois, since I-55 only passes through the western arm of Joliet nowhere near the city center.  Same with I-255 passing through the outer eastern arm of East St. Louis, though I-255 is signed as a way to reach East St. Louis.

But that's pretty common.  I-41 barely touches the fringes of the City of Milwaukee, but it would be foolish to have any city but Milwaukee as the control city for I-41 north of the city. 

[epzik8]

I-97 nor 50/301/595 actually enter Annapolis' corporate limits. Going in either direction on US 50, downtown Annapolis is most directly accessible via MD 450.

[US20IL64]

It always bothered me that Joliet is a control city along I-55 in northeast Illinois, since I-55 only passes through the western arm of Joliet nowhere near the city center.  Same with I-255 passing through the outer eastern arm of East St. Louis, though I-255 is signed as a way to reach East St. Louis.

Doesn't "bother" me at all, being from IL.  Since there are exits to US 52 and 30, which lead to the main parts. SO what? This whole thread is kind of nit picking, I think. Idea is that road leads to the general area of a city per that 'control'. "In the direction of..."

And, I-55, just breezes past Springfield so what?   

[roadman65]

Chattanooga on I-75.  You need I-24 to get there as I-75 is several miles away.

[SkyPesos]

Some more in my region:

- I-70 Dayton (sort of surprised this one isn't mentioned yet, considering that it doesn't even enter city limits)
- I-74 Cincinnati
- I-74 Indianapolis
- I-69 Indianapolis
- I-70 St Louis (used to go through downtown before the Stan Span)
- All 3 2di in the Pittsburgh area (I-70, 76, 79)
- I-71 Louisville (ends just east of downtown)

[Mark68]

If "direct access" means "as soon as you exit the route you are in the downtown", then here are California examples that come to mind, besides the I-40 Los Angeles one from earlier:

I-5: Los Angeles (requires I-10 or US 101 from the south, or Route 170/US 101 or Route 110 from the north, Redding (requires either Route 273, Route 299 or Route 44)
I-80: Oakland (requires I-880 or I-580), Sacramento due to the 1982 route changes (requires using US 50 (former I-80) from the west, or I-5/Route 99 from the east)

I-8: San Diego (requires using Route 163 or I-5 to get to downtown)

I-10: San Bernardino (requires I-215 to get to downtown)

I-15: San Diego (requires Route 163 or Route 94 to get to downtown), Riverside (requires I-215/former I-15 (former I-15E later on), Los Angeles (requires using Route 60 or I-10)

US 101: San Jose (requires I-280 from the south or Route 87 from the north to get to downtown)

I-205: San Francisco (requires I-580 and I-80 to get there), Stockton (requires I-5 to get there)

I-405: Sacramento (must take I-5 north), Santa Monica (requires I-10 to get there), Long Beach (requires I-710 to get downtown), San Diego (must take I-5 to get there)

I-805: Los Angeles (requires I-5 to get there)

I-710: Pasadena (LOL)

I-215: San Diego (must use I-15 to get there), Barstow (must use I-15 to get there)

I-238: Stockton (requires I-580, I-205, and I-5 to get there)

I-380: San Bruno (need to drive a mile or two on El Camino Real to get towards the downtown area, which is along San Mateo Avenue and not directly on El Camino itself)

I-580: Oakland (downtown requires using either I-880 or I-980)

I-680: San Jose (downtown requires continuing onto I-280), Sacramento (requires using I-80 for approximately 40 miles east then US 50)

I-880: San Francisco at north terminus (requires using I-80), San Jose (requires using Coleman Avenue into other city streets, or I-280), Santa Cruz (requires continuing on Route 17)

Route 1: Los Angeles (need to use I-10 to reach downtown), Monterey (need to reach via Fremont Street exit), San Francisco (need to use I-280 from the south or US 101 from the north to reach downtown)

Route 2: Los Angeles (need to use US 101 to reach downtown)

Route 4: Concord (need to use Route 242 to reach downtown)

Route 13: Hayward (requires I-580 to Route 238)

Route 14: Los Angeles (requires I-5 to Route 170/US 101 or Route 110), Palmdale (requires Route 138 eastbound), Lancaster (have to go east on Avenue J)

Route 17: San Jose (have to take I-280 to reach downtown)

Route 24: Oakland (have to continue onto I-980 west)

Route 26: Stockton (downtown reached via Route 4)

Route 33: Ventura (must take Main Street exit towards Business US 101 then go east)

Route 37: San Rafael (requires switching to US 101), Vallejo (requires Route 29 southbound), Sacramento (must switch to I-80)

Route 46: Bakersfield (must switch over to Route 99 southbound)

US 50: San Francisco (must switch to I-80 westbound in West Sacramento)

Route 55: Riverside (requires going onto Route 91 eastbound)

Route 58: Bakersfield (requires using Route 204)

Route 60: Los Angeles (requires I-10 west), Pomona (requires Route 71 north from westbound 60)

Route 65: Roseville (must take Galleria Boulevard exit then go west)

Route 68: Monterey (see note on Route 1)

Route 70: Chico (reached via Route 149 and Route 99), Sacramento (reached via Route 99)

Route 73: San Diego (reached via I-5), Long Beach (reached via I-405 and Route 22)

Route 85: Gilroy (reached via US 101 south), Santa Cruz (reached via Route 17 south), Mountain View (downtown accessed by Evelyn Avenue), San Francisco (reached via US 101)

Route 87: San Francisco (reached via US 101)

Route 88: Stockton (downtown reached via Route 99 and Route 4)

Route 91: Los Angeles (requires going onto I-5 north to US 101 north, from Anaheim)

Route 92: San Mateo (downtown accessed via Route 82/El Camino Real), Stockton (reached via I-880, I-238, I-580, I-205 and I-5)

Route 99: Bakersfield (requires Route 178), Stockton (requires going west on Route 4), Lodi (requires using Lockeford Street west of business 99),  Yuba City (requires Route 20), Chico (must go west on Route 32)

Route 113: Davis (downtown accessed via I-80 or via a mile drive along Covell Boulevard/former US 40/99W)

Route 116: Petaluma (downtown reached via the old highway routing along Lakeville into town, past current US 101)

Route 118: Ventura (downtown accessed via Route 126)

Route 120: San Francisco (accessed via I-5, I-205, I-580 and I-80)

Route 134: Ventura (accessed via US 101 north)

Route 138: Lancaster (see note on Route 14)

Route 149: Oroville and Marysville (both require using Route 70 to access), Chico and Red Bluff (requires Route 99 to access)

Route 152: San Jose (requires US 101 to get there)

Route 156: Monterey (requires Route 1 to get there), Los Banos (requires Route 152 to get there)

Route 163: Escondido (requires I-15 to get there)

Route 170: Hollywood (requires continuing on US 101 to get there), Sacramento (requires I-5 to get there)

Route 237: Oakland (requires I-880 to get there)

Route 241: Riverside (requires Route 91 to get there)

Route 242: Oakland (requires I-680 and Route 24 to get there - note that 242 is former Route 24)

Doesn't I-40 also reference LA (I know it does in Flagstaff)? That would require I-15 & I-10 or SR 60 to get there (or continue west on SR 58 then south on SR 14 & I-5).

[Mark68]

I-270, I-225, E-470 all reference Limon. None of them goes anywhere near there. All of those access Limon via I-70 east.

The same is true of C-470 & Grand Junction. One would take I-70 westbound from C-470 to access Grand Junction (eventually).

Come to think of it, to get to downtown GJ from I-70, you have to take the business loop/US 6 (from the east) and US 6/50 (from the west). Downtown is a few miles south of mainline I-70.

And downtown Denver isn't on I-70 either. You have to take I-25 or Brighton Blvd south to access downtown.

[roadman65]

I30 and I-49 both have direct routes to Downtown despite not being on it.

US 71 (State Line Ave.) from I-30 and US 71 from the south goes directly to it. Coming from the north your on US 71 already from Van Buren, so to remain on that or use the exit for US 82 on the east side of the city.


Someone in this thread used it and modified it in an earlier post. Just want to that Texarkana is directly served by an interstate to Downtown.

[JayhawkCO]

And downtown Denver isn't on I-70 either. You have to take I-25 or Brighton Blvd south to access downtown.

But the thread is about needing only one road from the highway to get downtown, and Brighton Blvd turns into Broadway (no turns required) which is definitely downtown.

[Dirt Roads]

How about Bluefield, West Virginia?  Going southbound, Exit 9 (US-460/Princeton/Pearisburg VA) is the main exit for Bluefield but it is not important enough to even be listed on the main BGS.  But Exit 1 off of I-77 is for US-52, which if you follow it far enough you will end up in downtown Bluefield.  You could make an argument that this is one road, but you have to take a cloverleaf to hop onto US-460/US-19 and then jump off onto the East Cumberland Road frontage road and later turn right onto Bland Street to access downtown.

Even more questionable is northbound.  Is the control city on I-77 in Virginia for Bluefield, West Virginia or Bluefield, Virginia?  It is certainly not marked, whereas US-460 westbound does use "Bluefield W, Va." as the main control city leaving Blacksburg and Pearisburg.  Again, you take Exit 1 (on the West Virginia side, further compounding the issue).  But if you disregard that cloverleaf onto US-460/US-19, the route from I-77 along the side of East River Mountain eventually takes you into the "main" part of Bluefield, Virginia (which is not considered downtown).  But that's not even the same location as the Bluefield used as a control city leaving Richlands and Tazewell on US-19/US-460 (the intersection of Virginia Avenue and Graham Avenue, which are now flip-flopped in importance with US-19 bypassing most of the main drag).

[hbelkins]

Having driven through that area dozens of times, I will automatically take US 52 to I-77 to rejoin US 460 at the Princeton exit if I'm planning to continue east on 460, instead of staying on 460 the entire way. The higher speed limit on I-77 and the lack of traffic lights are my primary reasons. Corridor Q through that area can be a slog sometimes.