State welcome centers not near state borders

Started by Zzonkmiles, May 29, 2016, 10:46:23 AM

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amroad17

I am not sure if the rest areas on I-75 and I-71 north of Cincinnati are considered Welcome Centers anymore.  I know the one on I-71 is closed because of the bridge project over the Little Miami River but if they are still considered Welcome Centers, then the one on I-75 is 27 miles north of the KY/OH border and the one on I-71 is 34 miles north of the same border.

If the rest area on I-75 south of Bowling Green, OH (and US 6) is considered a Welcome Center, then this would be 33 miles south of the MI/OH border.
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cl94

Quote from: amroad17 on July 03, 2016, 07:19:20 PM
I am not sure if the rest areas on I-75 and I-71 north of Cincinnati are considered Welcome Centers anymore.  I know the one on I-71 is closed because of the bridge project over the Little Miami River but if they are still considered Welcome Centers, then the one on I-75 is 27 miles north of the KY/OH border and the one on I-71 is 34 miles north of the same border.

If the rest area on I-75 south of Bowling Green, OH (and US 6) is considered a Welcome Center, then this would be 33 miles south of the MI/OH border.

Last time I was through there, it was. Being as it is the first rest area, this is unsurprising.
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bassoon1986

Louisiana has 2. I-49 Welcome Center right smack in the middle of the state at exit 94. And the Atchafalaya Welcome Center where I-10 crosses the Atchafalaya River at exit 121 (Butte La Rose). Both are considered and labeled as Welcome Centers although they aren't a welcome center exit. They both are just off the exit accessible from the state highways.

US71

Arkansas will have two in about a year around MM 75-ish on I-40.

Missouri has "Welcome Centers" around MM 110 on I-44, though technically they are "Route 66 Welcome Centers"
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Brian556

In TN, there is one on I-24 WB at Nickajack Lake/Tennessee River. It is several miles from the state line. It is for traffic coming off I-59, which intersects I-24 where it dips down into Georgia for a few miles

inkyatari

Quote from: Brandon on May 29, 2016, 11:03:29 AM

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.

Are those actual welcome centers, ot just rest areas with maps? To me a welcome certer is staffed with state tourism officals (for lack of a better word,) huge walls of brochures, and more.  I don't recall any of these types of things in Illinois.

When I was a kid on vacation, we always looked forward to visiting Florida because of the welcome centers. Staffed with knowledgable people, and FREE SAMPLES of orange juice.  Those were welcome centers.
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kalvado

Quote from: inkyatari on July 07, 2016, 08:56:14 AM
Quote from: Brandon on May 29, 2016, 11:03:29 AM

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.

Are those actual welcome centers, ot just rest areas with maps? To me a welcome certer is staffed with state tourism officals (for lack of a better word,) huge walls of brochures, and more.  I don't recall any of these types of things in Illinois.

When I was a kid on vacation, we always looked forward to visiting Florida because of the welcome centers. Staffed with knowledgable people, and FREE SAMPLES of orange juice.  Those were welcome centers.

Thing is, such centers location are better defined by region/landmark, not by administrative subdivisions. And usually people are either passing by, or heading to a region. Very few travelers would take southbound highway instead of westbound because there is something cool south of their location.
NYC is located at the edge of the state (I don't know how to say that correctly, but you know what I mean). It makes perfect sense to have welcome center in NJ to provide information about NYC (and I don't know how things are actually done).
Opposite situation is with finger lakes, which is a tourist region in the center of NYS, good 100 driving miles from any border. It makes perfect sense to have a welcome center nearby - and there are actually staffed information centers on Thruway service areas.

Yes, there are different names - "state welcome", "tourist information" etc - idea is still the same.

I have seen a few dedicated buildings at state borders. Which makes sense as a first point of contact... But my personal impression is that these centers are pretty empty compared to nearby service plazas. I assume idea of dedicated welcome center is going to fade as more and more roads are tolled with on-highway service areas with lots of people.

thenetwork

Quote from: inkyatari on July 07, 2016, 08:56:14 AM
When I was a kid on vacation, we always looked forward to visiting Florida because of the welcome centers. Staffed with knowledgable people, and FREE SAMPLES of orange juice.  Those were welcome centers.

I remember on a vacation in the summer of 1977, the SB I-71/I-75 Welcome Center in Northern KY was giving away free samples of "Kentucky Coca-Cola".  Not sure what was so special about Kentucky Coke, but I did indulge in multiple samples!!!

jbnati27

Quote from: exit322 on June 29, 2016, 04:54:56 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on June 16, 2016, 08:42:15 PM
I was told today that the facility on southbound I-71/I-75 in northern Kentucky is no longer considered to be a welcome center, but just a rest area. I don't know if signage has been changed to reflect that or not.

Was just by there last month, and I believe the signage has been changed.
I was able to verify this last Friday.

GaryV

Quote from: inkyatari on July 07, 2016, 08:56:14 AM
When I was a kid on vacation, we always looked forward to visiting Florida because of the welcome centers. Staffed with knowledgable people, and FREE SAMPLES of orange juice.  Those were welcome centers.
I recall them having a car wash to get rid of the road salt too.  (Although after a couple days at the beach, the car now had a sea-salt coating.)

tdindy88

I know from my recent trip to Canada that the Ontario information centre coming in from Windsor is a good 60 kilometers to the east on Highway 401 at a service center off the highway. I recall that there were two in Windsor just south of the Ambassador Bridge and Detroit-Windsor Tunnel. According to the Ontario road map the one in Windsor appears to still be there.

CtrlAltDel

Oklahoma has a welcome center in the northeast part of the city where I-35 meets I-44.
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Thing 342

The rest area off of I-64 EB near mile marker 214 (13 miles east of I-295) has been inexplicably signed as a 'Welcome Center' for a few years, despite being nearly 70+ miles from a state border.

roadman65

The Garden State Parkway used to have one in the Service Area in Cape May County.  It was only seasonal along with the Service Area itself due to low demand in the winter time.  Now it serves two purposes as it welcomes out of state people to the resort areas of Cape May County, as well as provides Delaware travelers exiting the Cape May Ferry a place to obtain information if their journey requires them to use The Parkway from the Ferry northward.

Now this facility was not exactly near the state border as it was over 25 miles away, the area it was in is just south of Exit 20 on The Parkway.
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cl94

Quote from: roadman65 on July 10, 2016, 04:43:49 PM
The Garden State Parkway used to have one in the Service Area in Cape May County.  It was only seasonal along with the Service Area itself due to low demand in the winter time.  Now it serves two purposes as it welcomes out of state people to the resort areas of Cape May County, as well as provides Delaware travelers exiting the Cape May Ferry a place to obtain information if their journey requires them to use The Parkway from the Ferry northward.

Now this facility was not exactly near the state border as it was over 25 miles away, the area it was in is just south of Exit 20 on The Parkway.

The GSP does still have one at the north end of the Parkway. Stop there to get gas when driving through the area on the Thruway, as it's not too far out of the way and, since it's in the median, I can get there and back without paying an extra toll.
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epzik8

The I-95 Fredericksburg one is more a Fredericksburg information center, but I agree that it also works as a general Virginia welcome center. There is however a set of rest areas in between exits 152 and 156 in Prince William County, which has a weird setup with the HOV lanes.

It's simply hard for Maryland to have their welcome centers near state borders. There are ones along U.S. 301 and U.S. 13 right at the Virginia border. But on the interstates there's no choice but to have them further up the road. The Howard County welcome center on I-95 is a good example.
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noelbotevera

Quote from: epzik8 on July 30, 2016, 06:53:34 AM
The I-95 Fredericksburg one is more a Fredericksburg information center, but I agree that it also works as a general Virginia welcome center. There is however a set of rest areas in between exits 152 and 156 in Prince William County, which has a weird setup with the HOV lanes.

It's simply hard for Maryland to have their welcome centers near state borders. There are ones along U.S. 301 and U.S. 13 right at the Virginia border. But on the interstates there's no choice but to have them further up the road. The Howard County welcome center on I-95 is a good example.
There's  another example, unless I'm missing one on I-83.

South Mountain welcome center at I-70, mile 39
Sideling Hill welcome center at I-68, mile 75 (though I think this was downgraded to a rest area)

cl94

There's one on I-95 NB in Connecticut a little south/west of I-395. By that point, you're almost to Rhode Island.
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noelbotevera

Quote from: cl94 on July 30, 2016, 05:18:25 PM
There's one on I-95 NB in Connecticut a little south/west of I-395. By that point, you're almost to Rhode Island.
I remember that one, but wasn't there another one near Bridgeport? My last trip through there was in 2010, but I might recall it being near CT 8.

TravelingBethelite

Quote from: noelbotevera on July 30, 2016, 05:23:56 PM
Quote from: cl94 on July 30, 2016, 05:18:25 PM
There's one on I-95 NB in Connecticut a little south/west of I-395. By that point, you're almost to Rhode Island.
I remember that one, but wasn't there another one near Bridgeport? My last trip through there was in 2010, but I might recall it being near CT 8.

The one you're thinking of is in Darien. It is a little more than 15 minutes to the southwest of Route 8. It is close to U.S. 7, though, another north-south expressway.  :nod:
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Quillz

Might of been mentioned, but California literally has them all over the state. There is one in Ventura near the 101. However, I would imagine the placement is relative to nearby airports.

dvferyance

Quote from: Mapmikey on May 29, 2016, 11:50:50 AM
I-95 SB into Virginia has its Welcome Center at MM 131 in Fredericksburg, nearly 50 miles from 95's entry into Virginia...
The one NB at MM 108 is also a welcome center although there is also one near the North Carolina state line. The explanation for that could be I-95 is a high tourism corridor being between Richmond and DC.

thenetwork

One that just popped into mind is the Utah Welcome Center on I-70 near Thompson Springs, located 40-some miles west of the Colorado border, mainly because there is literally no civilization in those first dozens of miles westbound.

TheHighwayMan3561

I don't feel like starting a new thread, it doesn't strictly qualify for the thread title but the I-35 welcome center in Duluth is on a road that isn't coming from another state. Are there other welcome centers not located on roads that enter/exit an adjoining state?
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wriddle082

Quote from: Brian556 on July 06, 2016, 08:26:32 PM
In TN, there is one on I-24 WB at Nickajack Lake/Tennessee River. It is several miles from the state line. It is for traffic coming off I-59, which intersects I-24 where it dips down into Georgia for a few miles

Could also be used for I-24 traffic coming from I-75 that could have missed the I-75 rest area near the GA state line because getting in and out of that one when you need to keep left for I-24 isn't the best course of action.

Also in TN is a rest area that doubles as a full blown visitors center on I-40 near the Smith/Putnam County line.

All TN welcome centers were originally built and maintained by the TN Dept of Commerce and Tourism, with all other regular rest areas maintained by TDOT.  A few years ago TDOT took over control of the welcome centers, and IMO maintenance seems to have taken a turn for the better because the rest rooms smell better!



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