I saw this in eastbound I-20 in East Texas this past weekend:
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.4690087,-95.4407821,3a,19.9y,115.09h,88.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSIFrtccNEaj9_5IoIbbObA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (https://www.google.com/maps/@32.4690087,-95.4407821,3a,19.9y,115.09h,88.95t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sSIFrtccNEaj9_5IoIbbObA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)
This is a huge anomaly in Texas on an interstate. There may be a few distances to exits for highway, but they are all alone. It is very weird to see a distance to an exit on the same sign as the distance to the next city in Texas. US and State Highways in Texas will use intersections with bigger roads as "control cities" rarely, but for the most part the state sticks to cities and towns. That leads me to the states where this is the norm. I remember I-40 in Albuquerque had the usual urban set up for the next few exits and had a distance to Grants, NM on the same sign. It was somewhere around here:
https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1055172,-106.6798698,3a,75y,271.99h,87.85t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sk3UY2W876r-5HMgyL04S2A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656 (https://www.google.com/maps/@35.1055172,-106.6798698,3a,75y,271.99h,87.85t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sk3UY2W876r-5HMgyL04S2A!2e0!7i13312!8i6656)
but the last line was for Grants.
What are other examples of upcoming exits and a far away city on the same sign?
To use the technical terms, this is a hybrid of an interchange sequence sign and a post-interchange distance sign.
There's some relevant discussion here:
https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=27032.msg2506873#msg2506873
Minnesota does this a lot on their freeways. The first line shows the distance to the next exit, and the second line is the next major intersection (typically a town that serves as a regional commercial hub, or a junction with a major state highway), with the control city on the third line.
Here's a good example on I-35 northbound, just past the I-90 interchange north of Albert Lea:
https://www.google.com/maps/@43.6946802,-93.3195296,3a,75y,9.09h,91.64t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s0smUJSA99TWBa1Nejfov8w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
5 miles to the next exit (in this case, Exit 18 for MN 251 at Clarks Grove)
26 miles to Owatonna (a mid-sized city at the junction of two important highways in southern Minnesota - I-35 and US 14 - which is a major economic base for the surrounding region)
91 miles to Minneapolis (the control city)
This is common practice on Missouri freeways. Pictured below is a good example.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200918/0c67e3085f00828f640af12910ca442d.jpg)
SM-G965U
This is standard on any Illinois freeway, after most exits in rural areas. Following a freeway onramp, within the next mile you'll see a 3-tiered mileage sign, where the top entry is the next upcoming exit, the second entry is a smaller upcoming city, and the last entry is a larger city farther down the line. The second entry might be a local control city whereas the third entry will be a big-name control city like Chicago, Indianapolis, or Memphis.
I guess I just thought this was completely normal based on my driving experience in Missouri.
Row 1 – Next exit, whether a town, a highway, a local/county road, or a city street
Row 2 – Next control city
Row 3 – Optional farther-away control city
This is standard practice in Maryland as well, here's examples from I-270 (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3701039,-77.403142,3a,75y,176.89h,88.23t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sHWmtZ0auDaRAenphHEkUrA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en), I-70 (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.3054291,-76.88489,3a,43.1y,113.82h,87.82t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s-JgGiH5QrE7g_sK1AVeB2w!2e0!7i16384!8i8192!5m1!1e1?hl=en), & I-83 (https://www.google.com/maps/@39.5085392,-76.6644754,3a,75y,32.97h,85.96t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swPrZz-j9uBZjLYBwK5dUBg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!5m1!1e1?hl=en).
Common in Virginia too, though the sign is more likely to list the location at the next exit rather than a route number. Example here from I-66 (https://goo.gl/maps/LS5XfaSzxs2ycbGU9)–Linden is at the next exit, which is for VA-79, but Route 79 is a whole 0.23 miles long (connecting I-66 to VA-55) and thus clearly does not merit mention on this sign.
Very common on Indiana freeways with the next interchange "city" on top, next large or major city in the middle with the "control" city on the bottom...
Example: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.6580569,-86.8805621,3a,15y,137.55h,88.97t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1srZAjxRdo1i2J5MoV8-1dWw!2e0!7i16384!8i8192
Another example: https://www.google.com/maps/@41.5917671,-87.2528171,3a,15y,280.49h,91.41t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s2Tsh8TfzdQpZ-TPPEdBaNQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192