Longest consistently signed stretch for one control city?

Started by TheStranger, October 04, 2024, 11:21:11 PM

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TheStranger

Thought of this after looking up Google Maps as a reaction to the Breezewood news of late (in short: I-70 does have some signage for Washington DC and Baltimore as early as there, but those end up not being consistently used as control cities until past Hagerstown)

Some of my thinking is also based on the Philippines' usage of yellow distance markers throughout the island of Luzon to measure the distance back to Luneta Park in Manila - which isn't all that useful with no reference point in those far-off destinations as to how to get there.  (Also, I recall that coming from Manila's current international airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, the NAIAX eastbound ramps towards Skyway only mention Makati and not Manila itself!)

We know of the old I-95 Miami/I-85 Atlanta signage in Petersburg, VA - but neither Miami nor Atlanta remain the control cities for those roads for long, only reappearing way further south for each.

This makes me wonder (and it can be anywhere, not just in the United States) - what is the longest stretch of road that has consistent usage of a particular control city?

- Situations in which it is a secondary control for a bit, then becomes a primary later on are fine, as long as the city is mentioned.  Situations in which the city is first only noted on a destination-and-distance sign are honorable mentions for this but not quite the same.

- This is mostly focused on the route itself, as opposed to ramps leading to it - since some places focus on local controls on onramps.  But any usage of that particular control city is good

- As a corollary to this, the longest multi-road stretch is also worthwhile for measuring (i.e. I-40 west being signed for Los Angeles, which requires then to follow I-15 and I-10 west - but note that this actually is not a real example as I-40 only is signed for Needles/Barstow upon entering California)
Chris Sampang


GaryV

Maybe not the longest, but Michigan consistently signs Mackinac Bridge and Saginaw on I-75 for a distance of about 190 miles.

Jim

Also not suggesting that it's the longest, but I am confident that every NYS Thruway exit between Albany and Buffalo uses those two cities at the onramp directional splits.  That's not too far shy of 300 miles.  I-787 also mentions Buffalo (and Boston) but Buffalo is probably not mentioned again until I-87/I-90 at Exit 24.
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epzik8

Vegas becomes I-15 south's control city around Provo, Utah, more than 400 miles to the north.
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roadman65

I don't know about I-10 in Texas, but in SA, El Paso is used WB which exceeds 500 miles. Don't know if all the ramps in between have El Paso signed though, but in San Antonio it is definitely signed.

I say that cause I-95 in Florida starts using Miami in St. John's County nearly 300 miles away, but at Sebastian to West Palm, District 4 uses West Palm Beach instead of Miami.

Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

cl94

I-80 WB in Salt Lake City has a control city of Reno. That's over 500 miles. This is not replicated EB, as Nevada switched to using Elko for EB in the 80s or 90s, but Reno remains at least secondary WB.

Honorable mention to I-5, which uses Sacramento and Los Angeles, with Los Angeles first used about 390 miles north of downtown LA. US 395 also uses Los Angeles as a secondary control as far north as Topaz, about 400 miles.
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vdeane

Quote from: Jim on October 05, 2024, 11:38:09 AMAlso not suggesting that it's the longest, but I am confident that every NYS Thruway exit between Albany and Buffalo uses those two cities at the onramp directional splits.  That's not too far shy of 300 miles.  I-787 also mentions Buffalo (and Boston) but Buffalo is probably not mentioned again until I-87/I-90 at Exit 24.
There's a pull-through at exit 6 that uses it, and it's also used from US 9 and NY 85, so roughly 280 miles.

Meanwhile, the Thruway mileage signs continuously show New York City all the way from the PA border (496 miles away).  There used to be a blip in Erie County where it switched to Buffalo/Niagara Falls, but that seems to be largely gone now.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

TheCatalyst31

Southbound I-57 uses Memphis as a control city in Chicago, 520 miles away, and continuously uses it at junctions with other interstates. It ends before Memphis, so it's not one highway, but I-55 uses Memphis south of I-57 too.

TheStranger

#8
Mentioning the very obvious example that I have seen the most in my life:

US 101's usage of Los Angeles and San Francisco, which is pretty much never skipped (i.e. we do not have a situation like where I-5 north is Los Angeles control in San Diego area, then Santa Ana, then back to LA) in either direction.

First US 101 sign for SF northbound is around Exit 65 (Telephone Road/Business US 101) in Ventura, last one for purely San Francisco (as opposed to say Civic Center or Golden Gate Bridge) is at the I-380 interchange near SFO in San Bruno, exit 423A - 358 miles total.  (SF is also the northbound ramp signage for a few miles further north but don't recall any pullthroughs until one is already near I-280)

First US 101 sign for Los Angeles southbound is at Exit 398B (Route 85) in Mountain View.  Last pullthrough for Los Angeles is as far south as exit 9C (Highland Avenue/former Route 170) in Hollywood, very deep in LA city limits - total length is 389 miles of LA as a control!
Chris Sampang

michravera

Quote from: TheStranger on October 04, 2024, 11:21:11 PMThought of this after looking up Google Maps as a reaction to the Breezewood news of late (in short: I-70 does have some signage for Washington DC and Baltimore as early as there, but those end up not being consistently used as control cities until past Hagerstown)

Some of my thinking is also based on the Philippines' usage of yellow distance markers throughout the island of Luzon to measure the distance back to Luneta Park in Manila - which isn't all that useful with no reference point in those far-off destinations as to how to get there.  (Also, I recall that coming from Manila's current international airport, Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay, the NAIAX eastbound ramps towards Skyway only mention Makati and not Manila itself!)

We know of the old I-95 Miami/I-85 Atlanta signage in Petersburg, VA - but neither Miami nor Atlanta remain the control cities for those roads for long, only reappearing way further south for each.

This makes me wonder (and it can be anywhere, not just in the United States) - what is the longest stretch of road that has consistent usage of a particular control city?

- Situations in which it is a secondary control for a bit, then becomes a primary later on are fine, as long as the city is mentioned.  Situations in which the city is first only noted on a destination-and-distance sign are honorable mentions for this but not quite the same.

- This is mostly focused on the route itself, as opposed to ramps leading to it - since some places focus on local controls on onramps.  But any usage of that particular control city is good

- As a corollary to this, the longest multi-road stretch is also worthwhile for measuring (i.e. I-40 west being signed for Los Angeles, which requires then to follow I-15 and I-10 west)

Does it have be "constant" or just meet my "38% rule"?

TheStranger

Quote from: michravera on October 06, 2024, 02:21:10 AMDoes it have be "constant" or just meet my "38% rule"?


What is the 38% rule exactly?

Constant is my definition is just simply that the control city doesn't get skipped at all on a pullthrough (i.e. to use the I-5 example from earlier, Los Angeles is not a continuous control city from San Diego to east LA at all, because of the northbound usage of Santa Ana in Orange County).
Chris Sampang

Flint1979

Quote from: GaryV on October 05, 2024, 07:19:05 AMMaybe not the longest, but Michigan consistently signs Mackinac Bridge and Saginaw on I-75 for a distance of about 190 miles.

It used to have Flint-Detroit at the US-10 exit but that was corrected about 15 years ago. It includes Detroit at the US-127 interchange but other than that one. Off the top of my head I know it's one of the exits in Mackinaw City so about 338-339ish all the way to 155 where SB switches to Flint. I know I can't think of another longer one in Michigan but most of our Interstate's other than I-75 north of the Tri-Cities is are in more populated areas. I guess they did it right because I couldn't think of another control city they could use myself.

hotdogPi

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roadman65

I used to think Richmond was signed that way north of Rocky Mount, NC for I-95 NB, but discovered that some ramps use Roanoke Rapids and VDOT uses Petersburg on a few ramp entrances.

However, I do believe that Richmond is constantly used for I-395/95 from Washington, DC that is 105 miles.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

RobbieL2415

East of Baltimore, MD DOT appears to only sign New York as a control city on I-95, about 150 miles away.

Montreal is famously signed on the NYS Thruway for I-87 beginning just west of Albany, about 220 miles.

MATraveler128

Not a very long example but Massachusetts likes to use Albany, NY starting from I-95 in addition to Worcester and Springfield at 156 miles. But it's not often on mileage signs until around Springfield.
Formerly BlueOutback7

Lowest untraveled number: 96

Bickendan

Looks like Portland is signed for northbound I-5 starting at exit 677 in Redding, 420 miles south of Portland. Prior to that, the previous exit is 'Central Redding', then 'Redding'.

Taters

Salt Lake City is signed on mileage signs on I-15 NB starting coming out of Baker, CA, 510 miles away. While most, if not all signs at junctions still sign Vegas, Salt Lake is signed under Vegas on the mileage signs. It is consistently signed at all junctions from Vegas north, about 420 miles.

The length may not be the longest based on above post but it is noteworthy for being signed across multiple states lines (across NV and AZ if starting from Baker).

PNWRoadgeek

Quote from: Bickendan on October 19, 2024, 12:38:45 AMLooks like Portland is signed for northbound I-5 starting at exit 677 in Redding, 420 miles south of Portland. Prior to that, the previous exit is 'Central Redding', then 'Redding'.
There are mileage signs for Portland going back to south of Sacramento believe it or not.
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roadman65

Cheyenne is signed from Salt Lake City on I-80. Don't know how far that is, but Wyoming is pretty big across.

440.3 according to Google.
Every day is a winding road, you just got to get used to it.

Sheryl Crowe

PNWRoadgeek

Oregon signs San Francisco on one pull through sign near Klamath Falls, it's Weed on the other signs over there. Also, US 97 Business at that intersection is signed for Reno. San Francisco and Reno are around 375 and 260 miles away from Klamath Falls, respectively, and Oregon is quite provincial as seen on I-84. So these signs are more than shocking.
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Henry

Starting in San Jon, NM (some 1,000 miles away), you see Los Angeles a lot on I-40 WB, even though it never actually goes there. It's mainly on distance signs, but has also been known to show up on BGS's (like at the end of I-17 in Flagstaff, AZ).
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TheStranger

Quote from: Henry on October 21, 2024, 11:52:30 PMStarting in San Jon, NM (some 1,000 miles away), you see Los Angeles a lot on I-40 WB, even though it never actually goes there. It's mainly on distance signs, but has also been known to show up on BGS's (like at the end of I-17 in Flagstaff, AZ).

It is not continuous though - the first multi-city mileage sign on I-40 westbound after crossing the Colorado River only measures to Needles and Barstow.
Chris Sampang

PColumbus73

Billings and Bismarck are reciprocated along I-94 - approximately 415 miles

michravera




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