State welcome centers not near state borders

[Zzonkmiles]

I was driving on I-95 northbound in Maryland yesterday and saw an exit for the state welcome center at mile marker 35. I thought welcome centers (at least on interstates) tended to be located within the first 5 or 10 miles after crossing the state line. How many other welcome centers are not located near their state's borders?

[Brandon]

Michigan has the following not near a state border:

Clare (US-127 & US-10)
Marquette (US-41 & M-28)
Mackinaw City (off I-75)
Saint Igance (I-75 northbound)

Illinois has the following not within 5-10 miles of a state border:

Peotone/Monee (I-57)
I-57 northbound (milepost 33)
The others on I-55, I-64, and I-70 are all near Saint Louis and are just at the edges of the metro area.

[Max Rockatansky]

California has too many of them to count way out in the middle of the state.  I remember there was one just off I-75 between Sarasota and Naples that was way deeper into the state than it needed to be...I think it mostly functioned as a restroom.

[1995hoo]

Virginia has one on westbound I-66 just over the Prince William County line close to 30 miles west of the DC line (somewhat closer to the Maryland line via I-495). In fairness, there isn't really any good place to put one near either the DC or Maryland line, though in the days when Fairfax County was largely rural they probably could have put one somewhere closer in on I-66. That wouldn't necessarily mean it'd still be there today, of course; the old weigh station eastbound is long gone in favor of the interchange with the Fairfax County Parkway.

[CobaltYoshi27]

I-95 Southbound in Maine has one around mile marker 179. I-95 is 303 miles long in Maine.

[Mapmikey]

I-95 SB into Virginia has its Welcome Center at MM 131 in Fredericksburg, nearly 50 miles from 95's entry into Virginia...

[roadman65]

In urban areas its hard to keep them near a border entry.  In some cases, like NJ, they do not even build them anymore! 

The one on I-95 in Fredericksburg is as far out from the Northern VA metro area you can get without having to disturb prime real estate near the interstate for a tourist center.

[Ian]

I-95 Southbound in Maine has one around mile marker 179. I-95 is 303 miles long in Maine.

There is one, however, just off of exit 302 along US 1 in Houlton.

[NJRoadfan]

The Molly Pitcher Rest area on the NJ Turnpike south has a state welcome center in it, right smack in the middle of the state. Northbound traffic coming from the Delaware Memorial Bridge only gets one on I-295, Turnpike drivers get nothing, just like travelers entering the state via I-78 and I-287.

[roadman65]

There used to be some that were not part of rest areas.  NJ did experiment with one on US 22 years ago, when they rented a room at the Holiday Inn that was at the former US 22 and US 22 Alternate junction that was used for PA travelers entering the Garden State at the time back in the early 80's.

Also Kansas had one for I-35 southbound from Missouri that was miles into the state in Olathe.  It was signed at an interchange and off not only the interstate but the adjacent roadway in a stand alone building.  It, also, had no rest area accompaning it, and nor was it referred to in any manner of a rest stop either on its signage.

[jeffandnicole]

Delaware has one that most people never know about: At the Del. Mem. Bridge toll plaza admin building. It's mostly unsigned.

The Molly Pitcher Rest area on the NJ Turnpike south has a state welcome center in it, right smack in the middle of the state. Northbound traffic coming from the Delaware Memorial Bridge only gets one on I-295, Turnpike drivers get nothing, just like travelers entering the state via I-78 and I-287.

You mean NB Turnpike travelers get none, since you already mentioned the one on the Turnpike South.

[Mapmikey]

In urban areas its hard to keep them near a border entry.  In some cases, like NJ, they do not even build them anymore! 

The one on I-95 in Fredericksburg is as far out from the Northern VA metro area you can get without having to disturb prime real estate near the interstate for a tourist center.

This wasn't particularly true when I-95 was built and there are currently separate car and truck rest areas in both directions 23-25 miles north of Fredericksburg

[US 81]

I remember signage for some sort of welcome center in Austin, TX - nowhere near any border - when I was growing up. I was certain there would be free maps but I could never persuade my father to stop. It may or may not have been state-run but IIRC the signage was identical to the welcome centers at the borders.

[roadman65]

Back in 2001, I remember clinching I-25 between US 84 in NM and US 18/20 in WY, and when I entered CO, I do remember its state welcome center being in Trinidad a few miles and over the mountains into the state.  It too was off the interstate where you had to exit and drive the local streets of town to access it.

[wxfree]

I remember signage for some sort of welcome center in Austin, TX - nowhere near any border - when I was growing up. I was certain there would be free maps but I could never persuade my father to stop. It may or may not have been state-run but IIRC the signage was identical to the welcome centers at the borders.

Those, these days, at least, are called Travel Information Centers, and they function as welcome centers.  There's one along every Interstate where it enters the state except for I-40, where there's a single Travel Information Center in Amarillo, instead of one at each state line.  That puts it roughly 70 miles from New Mexico and 100 miles from Oklahoma.  It's a reasonable place to catch traffic in both direction, some of which isn't going all the way across the Panhandle, at a single location.  There's also one near the state line on US 75.  The one in Austin is on the capitol grounds and is, of course, far from the state line.  There's another oddball location at Langtry.  It isn't exactly near a border crossing, but it's along US 90 northwest of Del Rio.  This location is at the Judge Roy Bean visitor's center and functions as a welcome center and an enhanced rest stop for in-state travelers.  It has the usual travel information plus a cactus garden and a historical location.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I-94's western Wisconsin welcome center is in Menomonie, 41 miles from the Minnesota border. It used to be on the border in Hudson, but moved to Menomonie sometime in the 2000s.

[thenetwork]

- WB I-70 into Utah, the Welcome Center is near Thompson Springs, Exit 187 -- The CO/UT Border is at MM 231 = 43 Miles in.  I will cut some slack as that the Thompson Springs Exit is the first westbound exit in Utah with services and actual civilization, with a population of 39!

- EB I-70 into Colorado, the Welcome Center is at Exit 19 in Fruita -- the first town with a plurality in gas & food choices -- and lodging.

[CobaltYoshi27]

I-95 Southbound in Maine has one around mile marker 179. I-95 is 303 miles long in Maine.

There is one, however, just off of exit 302 along US 1 in Houlton.

Yes, but the point is there is one about 124 miles from the border.

[Ian]

I-95 Southbound in Maine has one around mile marker 179. I-95 is 303 miles long in Maine.

There is one, however, just off of exit 302 along US 1 in Houlton.

Yes, but the point is there is one about 124 miles from the border.

I guess I misread the purpose of this thread. I thought we were discussing roads that don't have any welcome centers (or as Maine calls them, "visitor information centers") at all until well into the given state.

Maine also has a few more of these info centers at other locations that aren't near the state lines. There's one off I-295 exit 17 along US 1 in Yarmouth and another inside the Gardiner service plaza off the Maine Turnpike, to name a few.

[roadman65]

Welcome centers are not just for state lines and the interstates.  Many states list them on their official map publications and have them scattered throughout a state to aid visitors who travel around the state.

I am surprised that they do not put them in Airports as travelers are coming from out of state there.  Then again when one arrives at a strange airport, the first thing you want to do is get your bag and leave and start enjoying your visit!

However, in Orlando we could have FDOT or the City of Orlando put one in the median of FL 436 at the north exit or along Airport Blvd heading out the south end install a Welcome Center.  Maybe it would help travelers as they could get info on lodging and other services and find ideas to do to make the best of their visit.  Also to maybe get the idiots who hate toll roads to not get on 528 or 417 and bitch at the toll collectors for extorting money from them due to the fact the whole world no longer researches their travel plans anymore before they go, and just listens to the GPSEs as they follow suit!

[tdindy88]

I remember the Portland International Airport having an Oregon welcome center inside when I traveled there and thought that it was always a good idea for other airports to have something similar.

As for this topic, I know that the I-65 welcome centers for both Indiana and Kentucky are both roughly 20 miles from the border on either side. Of course that is because the Louisville area making things very congested at the border crossing.

Likewise in Ohio, the I-75 welcome centers on both sides of the state are roughly 30 miles from the borders due to I-75 passing through Toledo and Cincinnati at their borders. I-71's welcome center is more than 30 miles into the state as well. That all said, I'm now not sure if the presence of a metropolitan area at the border makes this as unique as a situation like I-70 in Colorado and Utah, where the welcome center could be at the state line but they choose to have it elsewhere.

[wanderer2575]

Michigan has the following not near a state border:

Clare (US-127 & US-10)
Marquette (US-41 & M-28)
Mackinaw City (off I-75)
Saint Igance (I-75 northbound)

Plus, most recently, one in the Mexicantown area of downtown Detroit.  It's only open weekdays.  Never mind -- I suppose if you really want to get picky and technical, Canada counts as a border.   (*desperately trying to save some face*  )

Welcome centers are not just for state lines and the interstates.  Many states list them on their official map publications and have them scattered throughout a state to aid visitors who travel around the state.

Exactly.  The Michigan ones are all in tourism regions (you can debate that about the Detroit one).  The Clare welcome center is ideal as it is located in the center of the state and, sitting in the median of US-127/US-10, serves traffic in four directions (five, if you count the nearby M-115 running diagonally to the Traverse City area).

[1995hoo]

Welcome centers are not just for state lines and the interstates.  Many states list them on their official map publications and have them scattered throughout a state to aid visitors who travel around the state.

I am surprised that they do not put them in Airports as travelers are coming from out of state there.  Then again when one arrives at a strange airport, the first thing you want to do is get your bag and leave and start enjoying your visit!

....

Your comment prompts me to remember the extremely logical Nova Scotia welcome centre in Yarmouth, which is in far southwestern Nova Scotia well away from the New Brunswick line but is the location of the ferry terminal connecting to Maine. The welcome centre is directly across the street from the ferry terminal. I don't recall whether there was anything similar in Portland, but then, we wound up at the end of the line for Customs and we just wanted to get to our motel and couldn't have cared less about looking for a welcome center. I see Google Maps shows a city-run welcome center down the street, though.

[dvferyance]

The I-65 SB in Kentucky is at MM 114 that's 23 miles south of the state line.

[Brandon]

Michigan has the following not near a state border:

Clare (US-127 & US-10)
Marquette (US-41 & M-28)
Mackinaw City (off I-75)
Saint Igance (I-75 northbound)

Plus, most recently, one in the Mexicantown area of downtown Detroit.  It's only open weekdays.

Mexicantown's not all that far from the Ambassador Bridge or the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel, thus it is near a state (and national for that matter) border.