Oddly Designated Control Cities

[hobsini2]

As a native of central Pennsylvania, I must say that I felt insulted the first time I returned east from Ohio and saw "New York" as the control city. As if there wasn't anything of importance between Youngstown and New York!

I thought it was kind of odd too. Personally, I'd use Sharon, State College, Hazleton and Stroudsburg as the control cities in Pennsylvania.

If you want a real slap in the face, the control city on I-95 northbound in Baltimore is New York. Apparently Philadelphia doesn't exist.

Illinois uses a lot of small towns as control cities as well. I've seen Effingham, East St. Louis and Jacksonville used.

In Illinois, a lot of the control cities that seem too small but those are secondary control cities usually near a major junction or the border. If you look at the mileage signs, 90% of the time, the primary control city on the bottom would be a major city or metro over 200,000.

So for example, on I-57, the control cities at interstate junctions are just Chicago and Memphis. The secondary cities would be Kankakee (small city that has its own suburbs ~75000 city+suburbs), Champaign (I-72,74 jct), Effingham (I-70 jct), Mt Vernon (I-64), Cairo (last IL city before Mississppi River).

[agentsteel53]

is there any freeway that's named after someone in common use in CA?   no one calls 94 the MLK freeway down here - it's just the 94.

is the Nimitz referred to by name up in the bay area?

[TheStranger]

is there any freeway that's named after someone in common use in CA?   no one calls 94 the MLK freeway down here - it's just the 94.

is the Nimitz referred to by name up in the bay area?

The Nimitz name is pretty well known, as is the MacArthur.  The latter existed as street names for what was US 50 for about a decade before that freeway was built, while the Nimitz name was given to then-Route 17 in 1958, long before numbers started taking precedence.

I do wonder when the interchange east of the Bay Bridge became the "MacArthur Maze" in common usage though - it existed in the 1930s, years before MacArthur Boulevard was given its name.

[getemngo]

Hey everyone, this isn't the thread about freeway names! 

[thenetwork]

 

As a native of central Pennsylvania, I must say that I felt insulted the first time I returned east from Ohio and saw "New York" as the control city. As if there wasn't anything of importance between Youngstown and New York!

I thought it was kind of odd too. Personally, I'd use Sharon, State College, Hazleton and Stroudsburg as the control cities in Pennsylvania.

Is it only Ohio that does this and not Pennsylvania? AASHTO's book with the list of approved control cities is $30, so screw that, but a 2004 list says Sharon, Clarion, Du Bois, Clearfield, Bellefonte, Williamsport, Bloomsburg, Hazleton, Stroudsburg, and Delaware Water Gap should be there. It's been many years since I've driven I-80 in Pennsylvania, but do I remember seeing Clarion, Williamsport, Bloomsburg, Hazleton, and Del Water Gap on pull-thrus. The m.t.r. FAQ also lists Delaware Water Gap as a control city.

The only BGS mention of Ohio on I-80 West in PA is Youngstown -- and that is at the PA-18/I-376 Interchange, the last exit before Ohio. 

So if I-80 snubs Ohio in PA, then why can't Ohio snub Pennsylvania (and also take a swipe at the Garden State just because it's fun to do so)???   

[Buck87]

Several of the ones in West Virginia, which are only small towns or regionally important cities, and not of national significance or where a lot of through traffic would be headed.

Examples: Lewisburg on I-64, Parkersburg and Clarksburg on I-77 and I-79.

Should be Lexington, VA (if not Richmond) on I-64, Cambridge, OH on I-77 (intersection with I-70) and Morgantown (intersection with I-68) on I-79.

Yeah, I've always thought that the Clarksburg one should at least be Morgantown, if not just Pittsburgh. I don't know if I'd agree with using Cambridge as far as nationally relevant goes, even if it is where 77 crosses 70. IMO, if you're going to mention something that far into Ohio on signage starting in Charleston, might as well make it something recognizable like Canton (maybe even Akron or Cleveland)

One I find interesting is "Delaware" being used for US 23 south instead of Columbus (at least at the OH 4 interchange.) Maybe it's subtle warning that Delaware is all the further you're going to make it before the barrage of annoying traffic lights takes over.

[NE2]

is there any freeway that's named after someone in common use in CA?

This dude: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didacus_of_Alcal%C3%A1

[Occidental Tourist]

is there any freeway that's named after someone in common use in CA?

This dude: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Didacus_of_Alcal%C3%A1

I like that - here's another one.

[mrsman]

Agreed.  Maybe even make Alhambra the control city north of the 5.

I would even say "TO 60/10 EAST" might be a better control city than Alhambra, and SHOULD be there in the first place - I don't recall any signage on the Santa Ana Freeway northbound guiding to 60 east from my drive there Sunday night.  (And certainly using that to bypass the East Los Angeles Interchange is never a bad idea.)

That would work too.  I bypass the East LA Interchange quite often using the 710 to the 10.

I have seen old maps from the 1950's showing the Long Beach Parkway extending only south from the Santa Ana parkway towards the Long Beach area.  In the 1960's, the northern extension was built towards Valley Blvd. 

The 5/710 interchange is interesting.  Unlike most CA freeway interchanges, there is a left exit from 710 north to 5 north, 710 south to 5 south, and 5 north to 710 north.  These are all vestiges of the original configuration where the Long Beach Parkway ended at the Santa Ana Parkway in a Y interchange.  Until the segment north of I-5 was built, all of the Long Beach Parkway traffic landed on the left side of the Santa Ana Parkway headed towards Downtown LA.

Given that, I'm sure that until the northern extension was built, the control cities would indicate Los Angeles.  However, I've never seen a picture of old CA-7 or old CA-15 with an L.A. control city.

Of course, once the northern extension got planned, Caltrans expected the freeway to reach Pasadena and re-signed all the control cities accordingly.  The control cities north of I-5 got re-signed to Valley Blvd. (1970's) once it became clear that the project would be stalled due to litigation.

So, at this time, I agree that I-710 north should have a Los Angeles control city south of the I-5 and an Alhambra control city north of I-5.  I don't expect this freeway will ever reach Pasadena.

[jfs1988]

CA-15/I-15 (Escondido Freeway) northbound in San Diego County has Riverside as the control city. That control city doesn't disappear until it enters Riverside County & connects with I-215 (formerly I-15E), which does serve the city of Riverside.

Wouldn't it be better to have Escondido as the control city? Maybe after Escondido it could change to Riverside or maybe Temecula, since that city has grown in recent years. Escondido is one the most important cities in north San Diego County.

Interstate 5 should keep San Diego until reaching Downtown SD, then change to Oceanside & Los Angeles, with LA being the main one. In Oceanside it can change to Santa Ana & Los Angeles.

[roadman65]

Princeton on US 202/206 SB in Bedminster, NJ has "Princeton" as a control point at the I-287 SB ramp.  It is odd cause I-287 does not go there and the Exit 17 ramp sign had Princeton removed for it when new signs went up during the 90s widening project.

It was placed there to let through motorists on US 206 know they can bypass Pluckemin and Bridgewater on I-287 many years ago.  However, someone in DOT forgot that it was used there when assigning new control points at Exit 17 later on.

Now its odd for real considering that it is not followed up. Also New Brunswick was even used on a pull through sign at Exit 17 for a brief time back in the 80s and early 90s when I-287 goes no where near New Brunswick.   Now it has been replaced with Perth Amboy in which I-287 does not go to directly, but at least its continuing freeway (NJ 440) goes there.

Also, Ewing on all I-295 NB mileage signs is odd considering that Trenton is not at all used.  Trenton is the biggest city along I-295 in NJ and even used on some ramp signs to I-295 NB as well.  Ewing is a suburb of Trenton and is not at all on I-295 either.

[CapeCodder]

I-70 EB at the US 40/61(64) interchange in Wentzville used to have Lambert Airport as the control city going EB. 64 used to have Forest Park as a control city.

[Captain Jack]

I have several in the southeast:

- I-24 West control city from Nashville is Clarksville. IMO, it should be St. Louis. I believe at one time it used to be.

I think Clarksville is the appropriate control city for 24 from Nashville. The population is now over 100K, and it sits on 24. IMO, the control cities north of Nashville should be Clarksville, Paducah and Marion. While 24 points toward St. Louis, it ends over 100 miles to the SE and you have to take 2 additional interstates to reach it. Chicago would make more sense as 57 at least goes there.

[hbelkins]

Kentucky uses Nashville-Paducah and then St. Louis for I-24. No mention of Clarksville. Illinois, on the other hand, uses Nashville and lists Paducah as an auxiliary destination.