What state posts the worst control cities? The best?

[ran4sh]

For the most part, Alabama does an acceptable job at control cities.

I-10 Eastbound: Mobile then Pensacola. That's acceptable.
I-10 Westbound: Mobile then Pascagoula. Not a fan at all of Pascagoula. Should be Biloxi or Gulfport with New Orleans as a secondary control city.

I-20 Eastbound: Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Atlanta. Nothing wrong with that.
I-20 Westbound: Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian.

I-22 Eastbound: Birmingham
I-22 Westbound: Jasper, Hamilton, Tupelo, or Memphis, depending on where you are. This should be Tupelo. Maybe Memphis as a secondary control city. No Jasper or Hamilton.

I-65 Northbound: Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville, Nashville. I have a minor quip with Huntsville since I-65 doesn't pass through the main part of Huntsville (even though I-65 passes through the city limits of Huntsville). Since there is I-565 that connects it with Huntsville, it makes it borderline acceptable.
I-65 Southbound: Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile.

I-85 Northbound: Atlanta
I-85 Southbound: Montgomery

You forgot I-59, which uses Birmingham, Gadsden, Chattanooga (Edit - This is just the section north of I-20, south of there it overlaps I-20 to the state line). In my opinion they should just skip Gadsden

[codyg1985]

For the most part, Alabama does an acceptable job at control cities.

I-10 Eastbound: Mobile then Pensacola. That's acceptable.
I-10 Westbound: Mobile then Pascagoula. Not a fan at all of Pascagoula. Should be Biloxi or Gulfport with New Orleans as a secondary control city.

I-20 Eastbound: Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Atlanta. Nothing wrong with that.
I-20 Westbound: Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian.

I-22 Eastbound: Birmingham
I-22 Westbound: Jasper, Hamilton, Tupelo, or Memphis, depending on where you are. This should be Tupelo. Maybe Memphis as a secondary control city. No Jasper or Hamilton.

I-65 Northbound: Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville, Nashville. I have a minor quip with Huntsville since I-65 doesn't pass through the main part of Huntsville (even though I-65 passes through the city limits of Huntsville). Since there is I-565 that connects it with Huntsville, it makes it borderline acceptable.
I-65 Southbound: Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile.

I-85 Northbound: Atlanta
I-85 Southbound: Montgomery

You forgot I-59, which uses Birmingham, Gadsden, Chattanooga. In my opinion they should just skip Gadsden

My bad, I did forget I-59. Gadsden is questionable. There is a I-759 spur for Gadsden, but it isn't that large of a city.

[ethanhopkin14]

For the most part, Alabama does an acceptable job at control cities.

I-10 Eastbound: Mobile then Pensacola. That's acceptable.
I-10 Westbound: Mobile then Pascagoula. Not a fan at all of Pascagoula. Should be Biloxi or Gulfport with New Orleans as a secondary control city.

I-20 Eastbound: Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, Atlanta. Nothing wrong with that.
I-20 Westbound: Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Meridian.

I-22 Eastbound: Birmingham
I-22 Westbound: Jasper, Hamilton, Tupelo, or Memphis, depending on where you are. This should be Tupelo. Maybe Memphis as a secondary control city. No Jasper or Hamilton.

I-65 Northbound: Montgomery, Birmingham, Huntsville, Nashville. I have a minor quip with Huntsville since I-65 doesn't pass through the main part of Huntsville (even though I-65 passes through the city limits of Huntsville). Since there is I-565 that connects it with Huntsville, it makes it borderline acceptable.
I-65 Southbound: Huntsville, Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile.

I-85 Northbound: Atlanta
I-85 Southbound: Montgomery

I like the control cities for I-459 skipping Birmingham and going to the next I-59,or I-20 control city.  This is how it should be done.  The Nashville area does this well too. 

[ran4sh]

Why would I-459 have a Birmingham control city anyway? Is something like that done in some other places?

[JayhawkCO]

Why would I-459 have a Birmingham control city anyway? Is something like that done in some other places?

Can't really think of one for a bypass.

[SkyPesos]

That being said, I don't mind the use of in-state control cities on US highways.  Most of them aren't freeways to begin with; and they do go right through many of these small towns, serving as their main streets.  That's why before the interstates were completed, it would've made sense to use towns like Santa Rosa, Belen, Grants, Gallup, Las Vegas (NM), Raton.

I start to have issues with that when they are freeways or expressways. Ohio have a lot of US route freeways or expressways that could afford maybe not using every county seat it passes by, and something more for longer-distance travelers. Like US 35 is a commonly used route to get between the Midwest and Southeast, and could be better off only using only Dayton, Chillicothe and Charleston WV as controls.

as a native westerner, I only know Dayton is someplace in Ohio and I have no idea where Chillicothe is, therefore they should absolutely never be used as control cities

Chillicothe is fine as a control city. First of all it was the first and third capital of Ohio, it's the junction of US-23, US-35 and US-50, it has a University and about 20,000 people. So just because you've never heard of Chillicothe it shouldn't be used as a control city? I'm pretty sure that a vast majority of Ohioans know where Chillicothe is so I'd have to say it's fine.

Chillicothe is bigger than Limon, CO and I know where Limon is.

The junction between US 35 and US 23 is more of a reason to post Chillicothe than it being a former state capital. US 35 traffic to/from Columbus and points north like Toledo and Detroit use US 23 north of there as a veer-off.

Jackson needs to be on that list. Major crossroads of US 35 and Corridor D (OH 32).

I preferably wouldn't add Jackson due to its small size and proximity to Chillicothe, but I'm fine with it as a control than Xenia, Washington CH and Gallipolis at least. Also, US 50/OH 32 WB skips Jackson in favor of using Cincinnati in Athens, another reason why I thought it was skippable.

[bassoon1986]

My home state Louisiana is a mixed bag. Most of the control cities are ones you would expect. Granted south Louisiana has much larger cities and nearly all of them on the I-10 and I-12 corridors are above 100k. Here are the ones I think should be skipped or changed.

It isn't shared by many on this forum, but I think Opelousas on I-49 can be skipped. It's not as large as other cities and is in such close proximity to Lafayette. Going southbound it is the cut off to hop onto US 190 to go to Baton Rouge, but BR is listed on the 190 exit. People know to exit there. Opelousas is not that important. I think it's mostly a leftover control city from when I-49 was first constructed and only stretched from I-10 to that point.

I-12- Hammond and Slidell. They're both junctions with other interstates but they're only moderately important. Although I like the idea of just the endpoints for 12 (Baton Rouge and Slidell) I think more long range cities are better here. Baton Rouge and Gulfport

I-10- has to get rid of the old Bay St Louis designation EB into MS. Gulfport.

Future I-49 south- right now south of Lafayette, US 90 uses Morgan City then New Orleans. I'm not really sure why I don't like Morgan City. New Iberia is very close to Lafayette but larger. For some reason I like Houma better but the city proper is further off of US 90.

Other than Bay St Louis, the other out of state control cities make sense to me: Texarkana, Dallas, Vicksburg, Beaumont, Hattiesburg, and Jackson (although it turns to McComb inside of Mississippi)


iPhone

[ethanhopkin14]

Why would I-459 have a Birmingham control city anyway? Is something like that done in some other places?

As opposed to some 3 digit interstates having no control city.  Or in the case of I-610 in Houston having Bellaire as a control city because it actually does go through Bellaire, but it's still the Houston area. 

[hobsini2]

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.

Absolutely agree. I was in Reno this last week. If you are on 580 at 80, the controls are Reno/Sacramento for WB and Sparks/Elko for EB. That should be Salt Lake City.

[JayhawkCO]

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.

Absolutely agree. I was in Reno this last week. If you are on 580 at 80, the controls are Reno/Sacramento for WB and Sparks/Elko for EB. That should be Salt Lake City.

I have no problem with Elko. Easily the largest city for a long ways.

[hobsini2]

You said a minimum of 100,000 people, and if it's greater than 400 miles, go the longer distance rather than going with a smaller city. Charleston WV is slightly under 50,000. Would you make an exception for Charleston?

There should always be exceptions to the rule. I think 400 miles is a bit much especially with places out east. And for places out west, 100k can be difficult. If we went by these rules, I-80 would go with Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Lincoln, Omaha, and Des Moines between I-5 and I-35.

[roadman65]

You said a minimum of 100,000 people, and if it's greater than 400 miles, go the longer distance rather than going with a smaller city. Charleston WV is slightly under 50,000. Would you make an exception for Charleston?

There should always be exceptions to the rule. I think 400 miles is a bit much especially with places out east. And for places out west, 100k can be difficult. If we went by these rules, I-80 would go with Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Lincoln, Omaha, and Des Moines between I-5 and I-35.

Do what Texas does in SA, just sign a city well over 500 mikes away on I-10 and avoid the smaller ones in between.

[hobsini2]

Is everyone here aware that there is a YouTube channel specifically dedicated to the topic of this thread?  It's by a man named Todd and the channel is called "Control City Freak" and he posts a new video every week.  He's going through all the Interstate highways, in numerical order, one-by-one, and this week's new video was about the eastern I-76.

They're a member of this forum.

Thread for the channel: https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=30194.0

Yep, that's me!

All this time I did not know that this was you Todd. You probably don't realize who I am either but I do comment on your videos a lot. You would know me by Dan Hobson.  And yes I am still working on that listing I made mention of a few weeks ago. But when it is done, I will direct message you here with it.

[hbelkins]

Jackson needs to be on that list. Major crossroads of US 35 and Corridor D (OH 32).

I preferably wouldn't add Jackson due to its small size and proximity to Chillicothe, but I'm fine with it as a control than Xenia, Washington CH and Gallipolis at least. Also, US 50/OH 32 WB skips Jackson in favor of using Cincinnati in Athens, another reason why I thought it was skippable.

If I'm not mistaken, Jackson and Cincinnati are posted on US 23 at the OH 32 interchange.

[SkyPesos]

There should always be exceptions to the rule. I think 400 miles is a bit much especially with places out east.

An exception to that is OhioDOT signing NYC on I-80 EB in Youngstown. I think that's a perfect control city at that point.

[hobsini2]

I still believe that their should be a hierarchy for control cities. This would be my criteria for primary control cities eligibility. There would be exceptions to the rules:

1. Largest City or Metro Area in the state.
2. Capital City
3. City over 100k that is more than 50 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 50k that has a Division 1 Football University or College AND is more than 50 miles from the previous rules.
5. Tourist destinations that get over 500k visitors a year. that are 25 miles from a previous rule. So this would be places like Wisconsin Dells and Pigeon Forge.
6. City over 20k that is more than 150 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
7. City over 10k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

Secondary Control Cities:
1. City over 50k
2. Suburban satellite cities that are 25 miles or more from the Downtown of a metro area. This would include places like Waukegan, Elgin, Aurora and Joliet for Chicago.
3. City over 25k that is more than 50 miles from previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 10k that is more than 100 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
5. City over 5k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

[SEWIGuy]

I still believe that their should be a hierarchy for control cities. This would be my criteria for primary control cities eligibility. There would be exceptions to the rules:

1. Largest City or Metro Area in the state.
2. Capital City
3. City over 100k that is more than 50 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 50k that has a Division 1 Football University or College AND is more than 50 miles from the previous rules.
5. Tourist destinations that get over 500k visitors a year. that are 25 miles from a previous rule. So this would be places like Wisconsin Dells and Pigeon Forge.
6. City over 20k that is more than 150 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
7. City over 10k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

Secondary Control Cities:
1. City over 50k
2. Suburban satellite cities that are 25 miles or more from the Downtown of a metro area. This would include places like Waukegan, Elgin, Aurora and Joliet for Chicago.
3. City over 25k that is more than 50 miles from previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 10k that is more than 100 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
5. City over 5k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

This seems like a lot of work instead of just leaving it up to DOT discretion instead.

[hobsini2]

I still believe that their should be a hierarchy for control cities. This would be my criteria for primary control cities eligibility. There would be exceptions to the rules:

1. Largest City or Metro Area in the state.
2. Capital City
3. City over 100k that is more than 50 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 50k that has a Division 1 Football University or College AND is more than 50 miles from the previous rules.
5. Tourist destinations that get over 500k visitors a year. that are 25 miles from a previous rule. So this would be places like Wisconsin Dells and Pigeon Forge.
6. City over 20k that is more than 150 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
7. City over 10k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

Secondary Control Cities:
1. City over 50k
2. Suburban satellite cities that are 25 miles or more from the Downtown of a metro area. This would include places like Waukegan, Elgin, Aurora and Joliet for Chicago.
3. City over 25k that is more than 50 miles from previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 10k that is more than 100 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
5. City over 5k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

This seems like a lot of work instead of just leaving it up to DOT discretion instead.

It really isn't when you take the 1 and 2 as automatics.

[JayhawkCO]

I still believe that their should be a hierarchy for control cities. This would be my criteria for primary control cities eligibility. There would be exceptions to the rules:

1. Largest City or Metro Area in the state.
2. Capital City
3. City over 100k that is more than 50 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 50k that has a Division 1 Football University or College AND is more than 50 miles from the previous rules.
5. Tourist destinations that get over 500k visitors a year. that are 25 miles from a previous rule. So this would be places like Wisconsin Dells and Pigeon Forge.
6. City over 20k that is more than 150 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
7. City over 10k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

Secondary Control Cities:
1. City over 50k
2. Suburban satellite cities that are 25 miles or more from the Downtown of a metro area. This would include places like Waukegan, Elgin, Aurora and Joliet for Chicago.
3. City over 25k that is more than 50 miles from previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
4. City over 10k that is more than 100 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.
5. City over 5k that is more than 200 miles from the previous rules or is at the terminus of the interstate.

So, just curious, are you signing:
Zion National Park west of Grand Junction?
Theodore Roosevelt National Park east of Billings?
Hays east out of Denver?

[hotdogPi]

Seriously, what does college football have to with control cities? What if there's a basketball school instead, or god forbid, a school that actually focuses on academics? Or a retirement community, which wouldn't have a university at all?

[JayhawkCO]

Seriously, what does college football have to with control cities? What if there's a basketball school instead, or god forbid, a school that actually focuses on academics? Or a retirement community, which wouldn't have a university at all?

Also, why not NASCAR? I know places like Talladega get huge crowds. Signing that on I-20?

[hobsini2]

Seriously, what does college football have to with control cities? What if there's a basketball school instead, or god forbid, a school that actually focuses on academics? Or a retirement community, which wouldn't have a university at all?

Actually, major universities with large student populations usually are Division 1 Football schools. Your not naming the school itself but the city it is in. How many cities can you come up with that has a major university but not much (under 10k) population for the city? The reason for this is now you get to add cities like Tuscaloosa and South Bend that normally may get passed up as control cities.

[JayhawkCO]

Seriously, what does college football have to with control cities? What if there's a basketball school instead, or god forbid, a school that actually focuses on academics? Or a retirement community, which wouldn't have a university at all?

Actually, major universities with large student populations usually are Division 1 Football schools. Your not naming the school itself but the city it is in. How many cities can you come up with that has a major university but not much (under 10k) population for the city? The reason for this is now you get to add cities like Tuscaloosa and South Bend that normally may get passed up as control cities.

I mean, by definition if you have a major university (say, over 10K students), the city's population is going to be over 10K people.

[hobsini2]

Seriously, what does college football have to with control cities? What if there's a basketball school instead, or god forbid, a school that actually focuses on academics? Or a retirement community, which wouldn't have a university at all?

Also, why not NASCAR? I know places like Talladega get huge crowds. Signing that on I-20?

As for NASCAR, those venues, while big, are not used year round. A university is used year round.  If you want Talladega on 20 as a secondary, no problem.

[hobsini2]

Seriously, what does college football have to with control cities? What if there's a basketball school instead, or god forbid, a school that actually focuses on academics? Or a retirement community, which wouldn't have a university at all?

Actually, major universities with large student populations usually are Division 1 Football schools. Your not naming the school itself but the city it is in. How many cities can you come up with that has a major university but not much (under 10k) population for the city? The reason for this is now you get to add cities like Tuscaloosa and South Bend that normally may get passed up as control cities.

I mean, by definition if you have a major university (say, over 10K students), the city's population is going to be over 10K people.

Census data for populations as far as I recall do not account for student population in the city population. I could be wrong.