Interstate control cities not at a major junction

[bluecountry]

Just what the thread title suggests: A discussion of control cities for Interstate highways that are not located at major intersections.

Most of West Virginia's qualify. I-64 has no major junctions in West Virginia, save for Charleston and Bluefield. Appropriate control cities would be Lexington, Ky. westbound at Charleston, and Lexington, Va., eastbound at Beckley.

Using this criteria, I-77 should be Cambridge, Ohio north from Charleston, and Wytheville, Va., south of Beckley. I-79 should be Morgantown and then Washington, Pa.. I-68 should be Hancock, Md.. I-70 should be Cambridge and Washington, and I-81 should be Hagerstown, Md., and either Strasburg or Front Royal, Va.

In Kentucky, the offenders are I-64's use of Ashland (should be Charleston under the above criteria) and Paducah on I-24 (St. Louis is probably the best choice).

This doesn't include routes like Kentucky's parkways, which generally don't serve locales with major intersections. They're often used not only for through traffic, but point-to-point travel (such as between Hyden and Hazard on the Hal Rogers, or Russell Springs and Somerset on the Cumberland.)

Thoughts? This is opposite to some of the reasoning that intersection points like Wytheville or Mt. Vernon shouldn't be used.

So what are the current junction cities, having never been there?

[bluecountry]

This sounds like, for example, York, Pennsylvania shouldn't be a control city for I-83, since it doesn't intersect any 2DIs (or 3DIs) there, save for its own business route.

What should it be, Harrisburg, PA?

I could say the same thing in NJ, I-78 W has 'Clinton' when it should be 'Allentown, PA' and I-80 has 'Delaware Water Gap' when it should be 'WBS.'

[hbelkins]

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

Counterpoint: 80 should have zero control cities in PA.

The state rule should be an exception to whatever other criteria exist, ie. a fallback to ensure that each state is recognized as being on the route.

The alternative probably should be signing smaller towns that are major decision points for travelers.

I've done the I-99/I-80/I-81 combo a few times. Bellefonte and Hazleton would be appropriate, as they are the nearest towns to those exits.

Similar to Front Royal or Strasburg (Front Royal is usually used, but Strasburg is closer) for I-66.

[Dirt Roads]

Just what the thread title suggests: A discussion of control cities for Interstate highways that are not located at major intersections.

Most of West Virginia's qualify. I-64 has no major junctions in West Virginia, save for Charleston and Bluefield. Appropriate control cities would be Lexington, Ky. westbound at Charleston, and Lexington, Va., eastbound at Beckley.

Using this criteria, I-77 should be Cambridge, Ohio north from Charleston, and Wytheville, Va., south of Beckley. I-79 should be Morgantown and then Washington, Pa.. I-68 should be Hancock, Md.. I-70 should be Cambridge and Washington, and I-81 should be Hagerstown, Md., and either Strasburg or Front Royal, Va.

In Kentucky, the offenders are I-64's use of Ashland (should be Charleston under the above criteria) and Paducah on I-24 (St. Louis is probably the best choice).

This doesn't include routes like Kentucky's parkways, which generally don't serve locales with major intersections. They're often used not only for through traffic, but point-to-point travel (such as between Hyden and Hazard on the Hal Rogers, or Russell Springs and Somerset on the Cumberland.)

Thoughts? This is opposite to some of the reasoning that intersection points like Wytheville or Mt. Vernon shouldn't be used.

So what are the current junction cities, having never been there?

Assuming you mean control cities (WVDOH calls them Control Destinations), here's the list (as best as I can recall, might need some corrections):

I-64 Eastbound:  Charleston, Beckley, Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs, Lexington
I-64 Westbound:  Lewisburg, (Sam Black Church*), Beckley, Charleston, Huntington, Ashland
I-77 Northbound:  Bluefield, Beckley, Charleston, Parkersburg, Marietta
I-77 Southbound:  Parkersburg, Charleston, Beckley, Charlotte (at the I-64 split), Bluefield, Wytheville
I-79 Northbound:  Clarksburg, Fairmont, Morgantown, Washington
I-79 Southbound:  Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Charleston
I-68 Eastbound:  Cumberland
I-68 Westbound:  Morgantown
I-70 Eastbound:  Wheeling, Washington
I-70 Westbound: Wheeling, Columbus
I-81 Northbound:  Martinsburg, Hagerstown
I-81 Southbound:  Martinsburg, Winchester

*Sam Black Church was the traditional control city for westbound I-64 coming out of Lewisburg representing the connection to US-60 prior to completion of the Interstate.  Distance to Charleston via US-60 was also listed along this stretch of I-64.  After completion, it took a while to get these corrected (but I'm pretty sure that the distance to Charleston was corrected).

Populations (2020 Estimates):
1. Charleston (45,879)
2. Huntington (44,934)
3. Morgantown (30,847)
4. Parkersburg (29,009)
5. Wheeling (26,283)
6. Fairmont (18,370)
7. Weirton (18,068)
8. Martinsburg (17,514)
9. Beckley (15,805)
10. Clarksburg (15,424)

33. Lewisburg (3,766)
52. White Sulphur Springs (2,325)

Out of State Control Destinations (2019 Estimates)
Ashland KY (20,146)
Cumberland MD (19,284)
Marietta OH (13,356)
Wytheville VA (7,921)
Lexington VA (7,446)

[Dirt Roads]

Just what the thread title suggests: A discussion of control cities for Interstate highways that are not located at major intersections.

Most of West Virginia's qualify. I-64 has no major junctions in West Virginia, save for Charleston and Bluefield. Appropriate control cities would be Lexington, Ky. westbound at Charleston, and Lexington, Va., eastbound at Beckley.

Using this criteria, I-77 should be Cambridge, Ohio north from Charleston, and Wytheville, Va., south of Beckley. I-79 should be Morgantown and then Washington, Pa.. I-68 should be Hancock, Md.. I-70 should be Cambridge and Washington, and I-81 should be Hagerstown, Md., and either Strasburg or Front Royal, Va.

In Kentucky, the offenders are I-64's use of Ashland (should be Charleston under the above criteria) and Paducah on I-24 (St. Louis is probably the best choice).

This doesn't include routes like Kentucky's parkways, which generally don't serve locales with major intersections. They're often used not only for through traffic, but point-to-point travel (such as between Hyden and Hazard on the Hal Rogers, or Russell Springs and Somerset on the Cumberland.)

Thoughts? This is opposite to some of the reasoning that intersection points like Wytheville or Mt. Vernon shouldn't be used.

So what are the current junction cities, having never been there?

Assuming you mean control cities (WVDOH calls them Control Destinations), here's the list (as best as I can recall, might need some corrections):

I-64 Eastbound:  Charleston, Beckley, Lewisburg/White Sulphur Springs, Lexington
I-64 Westbound:  Lewisburg, (Sam Black Church*), Beckley, Charleston, Huntington, Ashland
I-77 Northbound:  Bluefield, Beckley, Charleston, Parkersburg, Marietta
I-77 Southbound:  Parkersburg, Charleston, Beckley, Charlotte (at the I-64 split), Bluefield, Wytheville
I-79 Northbound:  Clarksburg, Fairmont, Morgantown, Washington
I-79 Southbound:  Morgantown, Fairmont, Clarksburg, Charleston
I-68 Eastbound:  Cumberland
I-68 Westbound:  Morgantown
I-70 Eastbound:  Wheeling, Washington
I-70 Westbound: Wheeling, Columbus
I-81 Northbound:  Martinsburg, Hagerstown
I-81 Southbound:  Martinsburg, Winchester

*Sam Black Church was the traditional control city for westbound I-64 coming out of Lewisburg representing the connection to US-60 prior to completion of the Interstate.  Distance to Charleston via US-60 was also listed along this stretch of I-64.  After completion, it took a while to get these corrected (but I'm pretty sure that the distance to Charleston was corrected).

Populations (2020 Estimates):
1. Charleston (45,879)
2. Huntington (44,934)
3. Morgantown (30,847)
4. Parkersburg (29,009)
5. Wheeling (26,283)
6. Fairmont (18,370)
7. Weirton (18,068)
8. Martinsburg (17,514)
9. Beckley (15,805)
10. Clarksburg (15,424)

14. Bluefield (9,505), Combined WV/VA (14,466, 2019 Estimate)
33. Lewisburg (3,766)
52. White Sulphur Springs (2,325)

Out of State Control Destinations (2019 Estimates)
Hagerstown MD (40,100)
Winchester VA (28,078)
Ashland KY (20,146)
Cumberland MD (19,284)
Marietta OH (13,356)
Wytheville VA (7,921)
Lexington VA (7,446)

[paulthemapguy]

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

Counterpoint: 80 should have zero control cities in PA.

I could not agree more strongly.

[thspfc]

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

Why? What's the point of I-15 having an Arizonan control city?

[US 89]

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

I dare you to suggest a reasonable control city for I-24 in Georgia.

[hotdogPi]

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

I dare you to suggest a reasonable control city for I-24 in Georgia.

"To I-59"

[Flint1979]

Mackinac Bridge on I-75.

Sault Ste Marie as well, unless the "end/border" exception applies.

I would say the bridge connecting the Upper and Lower Peninsula's is a major junction in itself.

[ilpt4u]

Then there is the polar opposite of this thread: When the Interstate Junction IS the Control City!

Gotta hand it to IDOT, sometimes...

Image sourced from http://www.billburmaster.com/rmsandw/illinois/interstate/24.html

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

I dare you to suggest a reasonable control city for I-24 in Georgia.

"To I-59"

That would be very IDOT-esque for GDOT

[jp the roadgeek]

Can't believe I forgot this one: I-495 Riverhead

[TheHighwayMan3561]

I-94 in MN using St. Cloud. Most people's trips are going to end there or continue on I-94, since MN 24 southeast of town is the "popular" connection to US 10.

[achilles765]

This would mean Austin, El Paso, Corpus Christi, Galveston, Waco, Wichita Falls, and any city in the Rio grande valley would not be control cities.

[webny99]

At what point is a city big enough that the fact that it's not at a major junction doesn't matter?

100K? 250K?

[HighwayStar]

At what point is a city big enough that the fact that it's not at a major junction doesn't matter?

100K? 250K?

Well there are a number of factors that might make a city justified as a control city without it being a major junction that have nothing to do with population.
And even population I would say is relative. In the more desolate parts of the west a city of 30k or less might make a reasonable control city. In other areas a higher population is probably warranted.
In a few cases, such as I-80 in PA, if we were to implement a rule requiring a control city in every state the designation would simply have to go to the most significant city on the route.

[SkyPesos]

There should be at least 1 control city in every state that the route passes through.

I dare you to suggest a reasonable control city for I-24 in Georgia.

"To I-59"

Also "To I-695"  for I-70 EB in MD 

[TBKS1]

In the last few years or so, I've been seeing Conway used as a control city along I-40 here in central Arkansas, especially on newer signs. I don't think I have any photos but I could try to grab some the next time I go to Conway.