Mile markers matching control city distances

[bassoon1986]

Heading west on I-30 from Little Rock, signs showing miles to Texarkana are exactly the same as the nearest mile marker post. So leaving Hope, AR, Texarkana is 29 miles away and you're passing by mile marker 29.

Where else does this happen? I'd imagine on interstates going westbound or southbound where the next control city sits at a state line or where the interstate terminates.


iPhone

[NWI_Irish96]

Close: just past MM 18.5 on I-65 SB in Indiana is a sign showing 19 miles to Jeffersonville.

[webny99]

The entire NY Thruway mainline westbound and southbound from the Pennsylvania line to NYC. The mileage to NYC appears on every post-interchange distance sign and counts down with the mileposts all the way from 496 to 0.

[Rothman]

Well...not the Mass Pike.  At least when I was a kid, they claimed the distance to Boston was to the gold dome of the State House.

[ilpt4u]

I-55 South, I-70 West, and I-64 West in Illinois, all approaching Saint Louis, tho the number variance may be 1 mile

[SkyPesos]

SB I-71 between Columbus and Cincinnati and SB I-75 between Dayton and Cincinnati are full of examples, though the mileage signs are about half a mile ahead of the mile markers because you enter Downtown Cincinnati before crossing the river into KY.

[roadman65]

I-4 for Tampa.  The mileposts countdown from I-95 at MM 132 to Tampa, but the control city use of Tampa begins now at SR 414 in Maitland.   I-4 ends at I-275 in Downtown Tampa.

[hotdogPi]

Anyone have an opposite-direction example?

[SkyPesos]

Anyone have an opposite-direction example?

Hypothetical example: Both KC-STL on I-70 and Cincy-Cleveland on I-71 are around 248 miles, so if there is a distance sign that would match in the NB/EB direction, it would be somewhere between MM 123-125. It's very unlikely there would be one, since I-70 is in Columbia and I-71 just north of Columbus at that mile marker.

[kphoger]

All over Mexico, as mile kilometer markers count down to cities, not state lines, in general.

example

[KCRoadFan]

Here's one I know of: southbound I-35 and westbound I-70 in Missouri approaching KC.

Also, some other possible examples:

I-5 in Washington state approaching Portland
I-16 in Georgia approaching Macon
I-20 in Mississippi approaching Vicksburg
I-25 in New Mexico approaching Las Cruces
I-35 in Texas approaching Laredo
I-40 in Tennessee approaching Memphis
I-43 in Wisconsin, southwest of Milwaukee, approaching Beloit
I-64 in Kentucky approaching Louisville
I-64 in West Virginia approaching Huntington
I-65 in Alabama approaching Mobile
I-69 in Indiana approaching Indianapolis (before the exits were renumbered, that is)
I-75 in Tennessee approaching Chattanooga
I-76 in Colorado approaching Denver
I-77 in Ohio approaching Marietta
I-80 in Iowa approaching Council Bluffs/Omaha
I-80/90 (the Toll Road) in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-81 in New York state approaching Binghamton
I-84 in Oregon approaching Portland
I-85 in Alabama approaching Montgomery
I-90 in Minnesota approaching Sioux Falls
I-90 in Washington state approaching Seattle
I-90 in Wisconsin approaching La Crosse
I-94 in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-94 in Minnesota approaching Fargo/Moorhead
I-94 in Montana approaching Billings
I-95 in Florida approaching Miami
I-95 in Maryland approaching Washington, DC

Do those examples all seem right?

[bassoon1986]

Here's one I know of: southbound I-35 and westbound I-70 in Missouri approaching KC.

Also, some other possible examples:

I-5 in Washington state approaching Portland
I-16 in Georgia approaching Macon
I-20 in Mississippi approaching Vicksburg
I-25 in New Mexico approaching Las Cruces
I-35 in Texas approaching Laredo
I-40 in Tennessee approaching Memphis
I-43 in Wisconsin, southwest of Milwaukee, approaching Beloit
I-64 in Kentucky approaching Louisville
I-64 in West Virginia approaching Huntington
I-65 in Alabama approaching Mobile
I-69 in Indiana approaching Indianapolis (before the exits were renumbered, that is)
I-75 in Tennessee approaching Chattanooga
I-76 in Colorado approaching Denver
I-77 in Ohio approaching Marietta
I-80 in Iowa approaching Council Bluffs/Omaha
I-80/90 (the Toll Road) in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-81 in New York state approaching Binghamton
I-84 in Oregon approaching Portland
I-85 in Alabama approaching Montgomery
I-90 in Minnesota approaching Sioux Falls
I-90 in Washington state approaching Seattle
I-90 in Wisconsin approaching La Crosse
I-94 in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-94 in Minnesota approaching Fargo/Moorhead
I-94 in Montana approaching Billings
I-95 in Florida approaching Miami
I-95 in Maryland approaching Washington, DC

Do those examples all seem right?

Yes those are all likely pretty spot on. Some I wonder if the mileage to that city is an exact match. My example with Texarkana has the mileage to the city marked right at the state line at the zero mark.

Does Portland, OR mileage coming south on I-5 put it further into Oregon than the state line? I would think ones for Chattanooga would be closer to the I-24 interchange or before. When you get to the GA state line on I-75 you're on your way out of the city.


iPhone

[tdindy88]

Here's one I know of: southbound I-35 and westbound I-70 in Missouri approaching KC.
Also, some other possible examples:
I-69 in Indiana approaching Indianapolis (before the exits were renumbered, that is)
I-80/90 (the Toll Road) in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-94 in Indiana approaching Chicago

Do those examples all seem right?

I can pretty much assure you that the Indiana ones wouldn't be exactly right. Starting with I-69, the mileage was to Downtown Indianapolis which was about ten miles away as the crow flies from the end of I-69 at I-465 so the mileage reflected that. And the examples with I-80/90 and I-94 with Chicago wouldn't work either. The mileage again was to the Chicago Loop, a good ten or more miles beyond the state border. As for I-94 for instance it seems like its more than ten miles before you can actually see Chicago (the skyline anyway)

[SkyPesos]

Anyone have an opposite-direction example?

Hypothetical example: Both KC-STL on I-70 and Cincy-Cleveland on I-71 are around 248 miles, so if there is a distance sign that would match in the NB/EB direction, it would be somewhere between MM 123-125. It's very unlikely there would be one, since I-70 is in Columbia and I-71 just north of Columbus at that mile marker.

Found one in the EB direction: I-70 EB 49 miles to Columbus between mile markers 48 and 49

[KCRoadFan]

All over Mexico, as mile kilometer markers count down to cities, not state lines, in general.

example

They do that in Italy too. On a 2008 visit to that country, I remember driving on the A1 freeway from Bologna to Milan, and I remember the zero-kilometer being where it meets the beltway outside of Milan. (Side note: I believe in most European cities, there tend not to be freeways inside the beltways for the most part, unlike in the States; there, the idea is to drive along the beltway to the exit closest to your destination and drive in on surface roads the rest of the way.)

[SkyPesos]

(Side note: I believe in most European cities, there tend not to be freeways inside the beltways for the most part, unlike in the States; there, the idea is to drive along the beltway to the exit closest to your destination and drive in on surface roads the rest of the way.)

Same with the majority of Chinese cities. For example, Beijing has no freeways inside the 2nd ring road.

[kphoger]

Here's one I know of: southbound I-35 and westbound I-70 in Missouri approaching KC.

Also, some other possible examples:

...
I-35 in Texas approaching Laredo
...

Do those examples all seem right?

I can confirm I-35 in south Texas.  Here is MM-131, and in the background is a distance sign for 'Laredo 131'.

However, Kansas City is not correct:
I-35 is off by 3 miles.
I-70 is off by 1 or 2 miles.

I suspect most of your others are inaccurate as well, but I don't have the time to look them up.

[hbelkins]

I-64 in Kentucky approaching Louisville
I-64 in West Virginia approaching Huntington

Do those examples all seem right?

No for both of these. Louisville's "countdown" distance is, best I can tell, to Spaghetti Junction. You still have six miles to go until you get to the state line.

And in West Virginia, Huntington ceases to be the control past Exit 11 (WV 10/Hal Greer Blvd./Downtown). At that point, Ashland takes over.

[roadman65]

I-35 south in Missouri.

[kphoger]

I-35 is off by 3 miles.

I-35 south in Missouri.

Nope.

[Occidental Tourist]

Are we talking city center or city limit?  I-10 in California and Arizona has examples of both.
I-10 westbound in California counts down to Exit 1/Lincoln Blvd., which is the exit to get to the Santa Monica Civic Center.
I-10 westbound in Arizona counts down to mile marker 0, which is the center of the Colorado River and the eastern city limit of Blythe, California

[dougI5]

Here's one I know of: southbound I-35 and westbound I-70 in Missouri approaching KC.

Also, some other possible examples:

I-5 in Washington state approaching Portland
I-16 in Georgia approaching Macon
I-20 in Mississippi approaching Vicksburg
I-25 in New Mexico approaching Las Cruces
I-35 in Texas approaching Laredo
I-40 in Tennessee approaching Memphis
I-43 in Wisconsin, southwest of Milwaukee, approaching Beloit
I-64 in Kentucky approaching Louisville
I-64 in West Virginia approaching Huntington
I-65 in Alabama approaching Mobile
I-69 in Indiana approaching Indianapolis (before the exits were renumbered, that is)
I-75 in Tennessee approaching Chattanooga
I-76 in Colorado approaching Denver
I-77 in Ohio approaching Marietta
I-80 in Iowa approaching Council Bluffs/Omaha
I-80/90 (the Toll Road) in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-81 in New York state approaching Binghamton
I-84 in Oregon approaching Portland
I-85 in Alabama approaching Montgomery
I-90 in Minnesota approaching Sioux Falls
I-90 in Washington state approaching Seattle
I-90 in Wisconsin approaching La Crosse
I-94 in Indiana approaching Chicago
I-94 in Minnesota approaching Fargo/Moorhead
I-94 in Montana approaching Billings
I-95 in Florida approaching Miami
I-95 in Maryland approaching Washington, DC

Do those examples all seem right?

Yes those are all likely pretty spot on. Some I wonder if the mileage to that city is an exact match. My example with Texarkana has the mileage to the city marked right at the state line at the zero mark.

Does Portland, OR mileage coming south on I-5 put it further into Oregon than the state line? 


iPhone

I believe it does. There is (or used to be) a destination sign on I5 south, north of Vancouver which gives the distance to Portland about 4 miles further than the state line. I can't remember what the actual distance on the sign is.

[kphoger]

Are we talking city center or city limit?

It doesn't matter.  We're talking about whatever the control city distance signs count down to–whether that is the city center, city limit, highway junction, or any other point.

[mrsman]

I would think the exit numbering on I-80 WB in CA would match the distance to SF, relatively closely.  It seems to be about 2 miles off.

Here is a mileage sign just west of Davis, stating 72 mi to SF:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.5177064,-121.7728461,3a,75y,233.71h,81.37t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYu0lBH6dwQznqb8gf9AVjQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

The next exit, for Kidwell Rd, about 1 mile away, is exit 69.

CA doesn't do mileposts like other states, they do postmiles.  It's not just semantics.  The postmiles are for mile system, per county, not for the whole state.  So the postmiles reset to zero at every county line. 

[Occidental Tourist]

Are we talking city center or city limit?

It doesn't matter.  We're talking about whatever the control city distance signs count down to–whether that is the city center, city limit, highway junction, or any other point.

Well then neither example I gave works. I'm not aware of a westbound mileage sign for either Santa Monica or Blythe.