What state posts the worst control cities? The best?

[MattHanson939]

As much as I like how Arizona signs interstate control cities, there is one bad control city in that state; and that is I-8 east signing Phoenix as one of the control cities going from Yuma to Gila Bend.

I-8 doesn't even run close to Phoenix, and to get there you'd have to exit at Gila Bend, go north on AZ-85, and then east on I-10.  The use of Phoenix is a holdover from the days when it was US 80 (that route turned north from Gila Bend to go to Phoenix and then turned south to go to Tucson before resuming its east-west direction).  But since US 80 west of Dallas was decommissioned, AZDOT ought give up signing Phoenix, except at Exit 115; only Tucson should be the control city on I-8 east within Arizona.

[hobsini2]

As much as I like how Arizona signs interstate control cities, there is one bad control city in that state; and that is I-8 east signing Phoenix as one of the control cities going from Yuma to Gila Bend.

I-8 doesn't even run close to Phoenix, and to get there you'd have to exit at Gila Bend, go north on AZ-85, and then east on I-10.  The use of Phoenix is a holdover from the days when it was US 80 (that route turned north from Gila Bend to go to Phoenix and then turned south to go to Tucson before resuming its east-west direction).  But since US 80 west of Dallas was decommissioned, AZDOT ought give up signing Phoenix, except at Exit 115; only Tucson should be the control city on I-8 east within Arizona.

That's a tough one. I get what you are saying but at the same time, if Phoenix was signed in San Diego, I-8/AZ 85 would be the quickest way to Phoenix vs I-15/I-215/CA 60/I-10. Leaving off the 5th largest city in the country for only the 34th largest is tough to justify.

[Scott5114]

Seems weird to diss the second largest city in the state by skipping over it, especially since it's an interstate junction.

I get that Las Cruces is the second biggest city in New Mexico and has an interstate junction.  But the reason for El Paso being the most logical choice to use as the primary control city on I-25 south from Albuquerque is that El Paso is MUCH bigger and more well-known (especially to out-of-state drivers) than Las Cruces, and it's only 45 miles from LC.  What I mean about Las Cruces being the secondary control city on I-25 south is having it signed at smaller interchanges or dual signing Las Cruces / El Paso on some overheads in Albuquerque.  But I would definitely sign El Paso at the Big-I.  Using a smaller city as a secondary doesn't mean skipping over it completely.  As far as secondary controls, I would not sign Belen or Socorro (those can go on distance signs only).

It is also the reason I-10 in Arizona signs El Paso instead of Las Cruces going east out of Tucson; and Tucson is at a farther distance from El Paso than Albuquerque is.  Arizona doesn't even sign secondary controls; only the big cities are mentioned, even at smaller interchanges.

I-25 doesn't actually go to El Paso, though. And someone may use I-25 south to reach I-10 west. If someone is going to Tucson, having "El Paso" as the control city as they leave Albuquerque is going to confuse the hell out of them.

[MattHanson939]

Seems weird to diss the second largest city in the state by skipping over it, especially since it's an interstate junction.

I get that Las Cruces is the second biggest city in New Mexico and has an interstate junction.  But the reason for El Paso being the most logical choice to use as the primary control city on I-25 south from Albuquerque is that El Paso is MUCH bigger and more well-known (especially to out-of-state drivers) than Las Cruces, and it's only 45 miles from LC.  What I mean about Las Cruces being the secondary control city on I-25 south is having it signed at smaller interchanges or dual signing Las Cruces / El Paso on some overheads in Albuquerque.  But I would definitely sign El Paso at the Big-I.  Using a smaller city as a secondary doesn't mean skipping over it completely.  As far as secondary controls, I would not sign Belen or Socorro (those can go on distance signs only).

It is also the reason I-10 in Arizona signs El Paso instead of Las Cruces going east out of Tucson; and Tucson is at a farther distance from El Paso than Albuquerque is.  Arizona doesn't even sign secondary controls; only the big cities are mentioned, even at smaller interchanges.

I-25 doesn't actually go to El Paso, though. And someone may use I-25 south to reach I-10 west. If someone is going to Tucson, having "El Paso" as the control city as they leave Albuquerque is going to confuse the hell out of them.

1) But nonetheless, El Paso is basically a straight shot from Albuquerque despite I-25 not actually going there; that's the reason it appears on a lot of mileage signs on I-25 south between Albuquerque and Las Cruces.  And I-25 south defaults onto I-10, which does reach El Paso (I-10 actually runs north-south between LC and EP); that's why EP is a straight shot from ABQ.

2) The usual and most logical way for motorists who want to go to Tucson from Albuquerque is take I-25 south as if you're headed towards Las Cruces or El Paso; however, you exit I-25 at Hatch, and then use NM 26 to Deming, which is where you get onto I-10 west towards Tucson.  By taking this route, you completely avoid Las Cruces.

[kirbykart]

I can't say anything about New Hampshire as a whole, but it has a NB I-95 control city that I hate, and that is "All Maine Points". I'll give you some reasons I hate it:
1) Control cities should NEVER be this vague.
2) It may be good for reaching Portland, Augusta, and Bangor, but a lot of I-95 traffic to Maine is tourists, especially in the summer.
3) Tourists to Maine don't usually want to go to Augusta, or Bangor, they want to go to the beach. I-95 is not great for reaching one of the most popular beaches in Maine, York Beach.
4) But you say, "Kirbykart, many of these tourists want to go to York and York Beach, right?" And I would say "Yes, you are right."
5) So should New Hampshire be posting "All Maine Points" as a control on NB I-95? No, they should not.
By the way, the best way to reach York Beach from the south is to get off at Exit 5 (PORTSMOUTH CIRCLE), then take US 1 BY-PASS. This might seem like a bad idea to go through Portsmouth, but it gets you away from the horrendous I-95 traffic, and that's always a plus. This is also good for getting to Kittery.
While the I-95 Piscataqua River Bridge is a really cool bridge, the drawbridge on US 1 BY-PASS is a unique and interesting experience (I mean, a modern drawbridge) Overall, you get more bang for your buck by taking US 1 BY-PASS over I-95 to York Beach.

[kirbykart]

I can't say anything about New Hampshire as a whole, but it has a NB I-95 control city that I hate, and that is "All Maine Points". I'll give you some reasons I hate it:

I completely forgot to talk about reaching the lakes of Western Maine, which I-95 doesn't even come remotely close to reaching. The best way for that is to get off at Exit 4
(SPAULDING TURNPIKE
US 4
NH 16
WHITE MOUNTAINS
NH LAKES)
then continue along into Northern NH, then cut over to Maine (US 2 is good for this cross-over) Then you'll be much closer to the lakes of Western Maine than I-95 could ever get you.

[gonealookin]

I'd nominate Nevada for one of the best. 

I-15: Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City
I-80: Sacramento, Reno, Elko, Salt Lake City

I-11 won't always be Boulder City but it makes sense for now since it doesn't cross the border.

Chris

It's pretty hard for Nevada to mess this up.  What the heck else would you pick?  Sacramento seems better than San Francisco.

We do have South Lake Tahoe on I-580/US 395.  But that makes a lot of sense, because many people driving southbound on that freeway are tourists in rental cars coming out of the Reno airport and headed for the lake.  (Photo was taken right about the time the South Reno to Washoe Valley segment opened, before the I-580 shield was added.)

[ran4sh]

Illinois is the worst, not just for what it does in the Chicago area, but for actually posting East St Louis as a control city. Just post St Louis...

[JustDrive]

California is loath to posting out-of-state control cities. Portland, Reno, Las Vegas, Kingman, Phoenix, and Yuma aren't signed until there's absolutely no city of consequence to post. Same with the US routes, with the exception of 6 and 395

[Flint1979]

Illinois is the worst, not just for what it does in the Chicago area, but for actually posting East St Louis as a control city. Just post St Louis...

I'm confused on where they use East St. Louis.

[Revive 755]

Illinois is the worst, not just for what it does in the Chicago area, but for actually posting East St Louis as a control city. Just post St Louis...

I'm confused on where they use East St. Louis.

East St. Louis is a secondary control city for I-55 south of Springfield, I-64 starting around Mount Vernon, and I-70 starting around Effingham.  To me East St. Louis is a bad choice due to how close it is to St. Louis (a one mile difference on this sign on I-70 and a 3 mile difference on this sign on I-55). 

[GaryA]

California is loath to posting out-of-state control cities. Portland, Reno, Las Vegas, Kingman, Phoenix, and Yuma aren't signed until there's absolutely no city of consequence to post. Same with the US routes, with the exception of 6 and 395

They've gotten much better about Reno -- now pretty consistently signed starting from Sacramento, where they once would use "Truckee" -- and a little better about Las Vegas (probably because of the sheer volume of LA drivers headed there).

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Illinois is the worst

Fixed.

[Henry]

Not to be biased, but WA is the best at signing control cities out of state. And bonus, you'll see Vancouver, BC for I-5 north of Seattle, since BC 99 links the two.

CA and TX get passes for being really big states.

[ethanhopkin14]

I think for interstates, control cities should be of at least 100,000 people and roughly at most 400 miles away from the last control city, unless in that 400 mile stretch there are no qualifying city, then you need to expand it.  I-10 between El Paso and San Antonio is an example being almost 600 miles apart.
There should be no other control cities between the two.  Mileage signs can show the secondary one, especially in the west when you are praying for a gas station and need to know exactly where you are going to have to start walking.  States should drop their pride of their in state cities and keep it to the big ones, even if that city is in another state.  Some states do it well, others, not so much.

So any state that adheres to this basic philosophy I like.  I would say Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, Florida and Arkansas do it good.  New Mexico, California, Louisiana, Mississippi (I-10 specifically), New York and Connecticut need some help.  No state control cities, regional control cities (New England) or vague control cities (Other Desert Cities).  I am kind of not a fan of westbound I-40 in the eastern part of Arizona having the Grand Canyon as a control city.  Granted a lot of people use I-40 to get to the Grand Canyon, but some just driving through might think the Grand Canyon is right off the edge of pavement of the main lanes of I-40. 

I always think its funny starting in downtown Oklahoma City, I-35 southbound has Dallas as a control city, ignoring the I-35E/I-35W split.  The inverse, starting in Waco, the control city is Dallas/Ft. Worth. 

To Illinois, doesn't I-70 eastbound have Indianapolis as the control city, then it switches to Tere Haute?  I can't remember, and it didn't bother me at the time because I was spending the night in Tere Haute so I was headed there anyway. 

Something that does aggravate me is control cities advancing to the next control city before you have actually made it to the previous one.  Examples are southbound I-35 before you reach downtown San Antonio switching to Laredo and westbound SH-71 just past the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport switches to Llano and you are still basically in the suburbs of Austin. 

All this being said, this is why I am such an interstate lover.  Besides the obvious faster and safer highway part, I love how they have very strict standards, yet the states still seem to find a way to put their own personal spin on them. 

[US 89]

I want to know why Nevada gets a free pass on using Elko but even the suggestion that Utah sign Provo or St George instead of Las Vegas seems to be so unpopular.

[MattHanson939]

That's a tough one. I get what you are saying but at the same time, if Phoenix was signed in San Diego, I-8/AZ 85 would be the quickest way to Phoenix vs I-15/I-215/CA 60/I-10. Leaving off the 5th largest city in the country for only the 34th largest is tough to justify.

Phoenix is neither signed in San Diego, nor is it even signed in LA.  And on I-8, only Tucson shows up on distance signs within California. 

El Centro is the first control city on I-8 east, then it changes to Yuma; and as soon as you cross from California into Arizona, you then get the Tucson/Phoenix dual control cities until Exit 115.  My only justification for not signing Phoenix on I-8 except at Exit 115 is that you have to backtrack to get there (first north on AZ-85 and then east on I-10); on the other hand, Tucson is just a straight shot from San Diego.

[Brandon]

Nine pages and no one has yet mentioned Wyoming.  I-80 there is as bad as in Pennsylvania.  Utah signs Cheyenne, but once in Wyoming, it's Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs, Rawlins (which makes Limon look good), Laramie, Cheyenne, and fucking Sydney, Nebraska, not Lincoln or Omaha.  Even as bad as Nebraska can be signing Sydney from I-76, they at least have Cheyenne on I-80 west.

[MattHanson939]

I think for interstates, control cities should be of at least 100,000 people and roughly at most 400 miles away from the last control city, unless in that 400 mile stretch there are no qualifying city, then you need to expand it.

If only New Mexico ditched in-state control cities (except its largest cities) in favor of the next big city, they would most likely sign Denver as the primary control city on I-25 north from Albuquerque (albeit using Santa Fe as a secondary), even though it's more than 400 miles away.  You've got the smaller cities of Pueblo and Colorado Springs before reaching Denver.  The only problem with signing either Pueblo or Colorado Springs is that neither city has an interstate junction, despite being reasonably sized.  Denver is not only the biggest city in Colorado and the state capital; it has multiple interstate junctions, the most notable being I-25 @ I-70.  That's why in Albuquerque, there are two mileage signs for Denver on NB I-25 once you're north of the Big-I.  The first one reads Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Denver; and just before leaving the city, the second mileage sign reads Bernalillo, Jct. US 550, Denver.  No mention of Pueblo or Colorado Springs.

Of course to make things consistent, I-25 would have to sign El Paso as the primary southbound control city from Albuquerque, whilst using Las Cruces as a secondary (especially since there are distance signs with Las Cruces on the second line and El Paso on the bottom).  I-40 east would then have be signed for Amarillo, and I-40 west for Flagstaff.
 

I would say Arizona, Tennessee, Nevada, Florida and Arkansas do it good.  New Mexico, California, Louisiana, Mississippi (I-10 specifically), New York and Connecticut need some help.  No state control cities, regional control cities (New England) or vague control cities (Other Desert Cities).

California, I would say is mixed considering it's a big state.  You'll have some interstates signing the next big city, but then there are others that will sign smaller towns. 

For instance, I-5 north from San Diego signs Los Angeles; then in LA, Sacramento becomes the control city on NB 5.  Within Sacramento, I-80 east is Reno, I-80 west is San Francisco; I-5 north is Redding (I think that makes sense because Portland is almost 600 miles from Sacramento), and I-5 south is Los Angeles.  Even CA-99 signs Fresno going south from Sacramento while skipping over Stockton.  But I-5 south from LA ought to sign San Diego as the primary control and Santa Ana as a secondary (i.e. dual signing both on overheads).

I think the control cities on I-8, I-10, and I-40 are particularly questionable.  Let's start with I-40.  Going west from Flagstaff, the control city is Los Angeles but changes to Barstow once you're in California.  I-40 east is Needles, then changes to Kingman; but Flagstaff immediately becomes the control city once you're in Arizona, even before you reach Kingman.  And I-10 is San Bernardino, Indio (and other cities), then changes to Blythe and Phoenix.

Oregon is another mixed bag.  I-5 signs Portland going north from Ashland or Medford, skipping over Eugene and Salem; and Seattle then becomes the control city within Portland.  But going south, Salem is the control city, then changes to Eugene, and then to Ashland.  I-84 signs The Dalles (eastbound only), Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City, Ontario; and finally Boise becomes the control city just before crossing into Idaho.

[MattHanson939]

Colorado is another state I think needs help.  Most of the control cities within Denver are fine, especially on I-25.  However, I-70 east ought to be Topeka or Kansas City; and I-76 ought to be signed for Omaha.  After Grand Junction, perhaps sign Las Vegas on WB I-70.  From Colorado Springs, dual sign Pueblo / Albuquerque on I-25 south; and from Pueblo, keep Albuquerque, and skip over Trinidad and Raton.

[ethanhopkin14]

I think the control cities on I-8, I-10, and I-40 are particularly questionable.  Let's start with I-40.  Going west from Flagstaff, the control city is Los Angeles but changes to Barstow once you're in California.  I-40 east is Needles, then changes to Kingman; but Flagstaff immediately becomes the control city once you're in Arizona, even before you reach Kingman.  And I-10 is San Bernardino, Indio (and other cities), then changes to Blythe and Phoenix.

I-8 with El Centro and even Winterhaven (ignoring Yuma).  I say there should be some distance signs in California to Tucson on I-8 eastbound when approaching Yuma. 

When I was thinking about California needing help, I was mainly thinking of it's east-west interstates, which are, interestingly enough, the routes that go in the shorter direction of the state (which I find odd given the qualifier of it having many in-state control cities due to it being a big state).  There should be no reason not to sign out of state control cities for I-10, I-40 and I-8's entire existence in California. 

[JustDrive]

I-8 with El Centro and even Winterhaven (ignoring Yuma).  I say there should be some distance signs in California to Tucson on I-8 eastbound when approaching Yuma. 

When I was thinking about California needing help, I was mainly thinking of it's east-west interstates, which are, interestingly enough, the routes that go in the shorter direction of the state (which I find odd given the qualifier of it having many in-state control cities due to it being a big state).  There should be no reason not to sign out of state control cities for I-10, I-40 and I-8's entire existence in California. 

I think a lot of it has to do with the old US highway junctions. I-40 (old 66) east of Barstow intersects its next US highway in Needles. I-10 (old 60/70/99) intersected US 91/395 in San Bernardino, and I-8 (old 80) used to intersect US 99 in El Centro.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

Nine pages and no one has yet mentioned Wyoming.  I-80 there is as bad as in Pennsylvania.  Utah signs Cheyenne, but once in Wyoming, it's Evanston, Green River, Rock Springs, Rawlins (which makes Limon look good), Laramie, Cheyenne, and fucking Sydney, Nebraska, not Lincoln or Omaha.  Even as bad as Nebraska can be signing Sydney from I-76, they at least have Cheyenne on I-80 west.

A couple years ago I was getting algorithm-based promotions for Sidney as a stopover destination appearing on my social media pages. It was one of the more laughable things I've ever seen.

[ilpt4u]

Illinois is the worst, not just for what it does in the Chicago area, but for actually posting East St Louis as a control city. Just post St Louis...

I'm confused on where they use East St. Louis.

East St. Louis is a secondary control city for I-55 south of Springfield, I-64 starting around Mount Vernon, and I-70 starting around Effingham.  To me East St. Louis is a bad choice due to how close it is to St. Louis (a one mile difference on this sign on I-70 and a 3 mile difference on this sign on I-55).

If Illinois really wants to sign Metro East Secondaries, I-55 and I-70 should use Troy or Edwardsville, and I-64 should use Fairview Heights (I would say O'Fallon, but that is a bit ambiguous since there is an O'Fallon, IL and an O'Fallon, MO in the St Louis Metro area). Belleville is another option, but it is a bit further off of I-64's direct path

East St Louis is a bad decision, just because it is so close/just across the river from St Louis. Kinda defeats the purpose of a Secondary when it is walking distance from the Primary (granted, a long walk across the Eads Bridge, but is still walking distance)

[Flint1979]

Illinois is the worst, not just for what it does in the Chicago area, but for actually posting East St Louis as a control city. Just post St Louis...

I'm confused on where they use East St. Louis.

East St. Louis is a secondary control city for I-55 south of Springfield, I-64 starting around Mount Vernon, and I-70 starting around Effingham.  To me East St. Louis is a bad choice due to how close it is to St. Louis (a one mile difference on this sign on I-70 and a 3 mile difference on this sign on I-55).

Wow that really is bad. It really makes no sense to use East St. Louis. I mean seriously it was a waste to add the East it should just be St. Louis.