Biggest claim to fame: control city.

[english si]

Scotch Corner, population pretty much 0, is a primary destination signed from quite far away (eg Wetherby (40 miles away), Penrith, (50 miles away)[/url]). It's where the 'High Road' and 'Low Road' (from the Scottish song Loch Lomond) split heading north.

There's a few Welsh (and one Scottish*) villages that are also primary destinations with a couple of hundred people and little else other than a road junction (Llandovery, Landeilo, Betws-y-coed, Crianlarich)

*Given Scotland goes for the bigger-place far-away method of primary destinations rather than the Anglo-welsh junction between two primary routes/large town approach, Crianlarich being signed is odd, but I guess it would need three destinations on signs heading south/east (Perth, Stirling, Glasgow) and two heading north/west (Oban, Fort William).

[Pete from Boston]

I-95 south in Maine: Kittery. It's as if they were determined not to put a non-Maine destination.

??? Most (but not all) of the I-95 South signage north of Kittery do list Boston as well.  The reasoning for using Kittery, at least early on (prior to the outlet stores coming on the scene), were due to:

1.  It's the southernmost town in Maine prior to the state line; similar applies towards why Salisbury & Attleboro are signed I-95 destinations in MA.

2.  The southern terminus of the tolled Maine Turnpike is located in Kittery.

Kittery's biggest claim to fame is a massive naval shipyard.  It doesn't make good on that claim much, though, since the shipyard is named for Portsmouth on the other side of the river and state line.

[roadman65]

Maybe there should be two control cities listed in some instances. Like I-79 NB in Charleston, WV could have Clarksburg and Pittsburgh as its control cities, and Morgantown could have Washington PA and Pittsburgh as its.

I-70 in Kansas could have Salina/Denver, Hays/Denver, etc. heading westbound, and Hays/Kansas City, Topeka/Kansas City, etc. heading eastbound. I-80 in Pennsylvania could have State College/New York, Williamsport/New York, etc. heading eastbound, and State College/Cleveland, Sharon/Cleveland, etc. heading westbound.

Basically, I think there should be at least one major city as a control city.

One control city is enough.  As it is, many signs try to squeeze in what are arguably too many destinations.  And a control city can't be a major city until the term "major city" is defined.

I suppose one might argue that the use of Hays, Kansas as a control city is of little help to most motorists, but it's ultimately the driver's responsibility to have a sense of geography, even if it requires looking at a map of Kansas.

I noticed too that in New Jersey along I-80 NJDOT added control cities to the existing New York and Del. Water Gap on pull through signs.  Now Stroudsburg, Netcong, and even Paterson join the two major control cities along overheads on the route.

Speaking of claim to fame, what about the Delaware Water Gap on I-80?  It is only used as a point of interest on signing because its where I-80 crosses the Delaware River between PA and NJ, not even a city.  Although one may argue that it refers to the small town located on the west bank of the Delaware River where I-80 crosses the waterway, it actually refers to the notch in the Kittatinney Mountain where the rivers cuts through the mountain range.

[Pete from Boston]

At least Netcong and probably Stroudsburg have been there since at least the 1970s.

[roadman65]

At least Netcong and probably Stroudsburg have been there since at least the 1970s.

On some signs alone they were used mostly on ramps and a few stand alone pull through signs.  However the main pull through signs always used "Del. Water Gap" going westbound from as far east as Paterson, and "New York" from Exit 4 all the way east as far back as I can remember.

[The Nature Boy]

I'll add a couple of places that are control cities because there's nothing else going on in that part of their state:

Clare, Michigan (US 127)
St. Johnsbury, Vermont (I-91)

[roadman65]

I'll add a couple of places that are control cities because there's nothing else going on in that part of their state:

Clare, Michigan (US 127)
St. Johnsbury, Vermont (I-91)

Just like in KS for I-70 and in PA for I-80 where nothing happens for hundreds of miles so in the mean time small cities and large towns end up as control points.

[Roadrunner75]

Upon reading the title of this thread, my immediate thought was "Clinton" for I-78, but I see I was already beaten to it.  This BGS gets me every time I go under it...
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=40.703517,-74.152155&spn=0.000004,0.00327&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.703423,-74.152771&panoid=e1TsSuIEYSAXiiP06_GcCw&cbp=12,32.07,,0,1.63

[Zeffy]

Upon reading the title of this thread, my immediate thought was "Clinton" for I-78, but I see I was already beaten to it.  This BGS gets me every time I go under it...
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=40.703517,-74.152155&spn=0.000004,0.00327&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.703423,-74.152771&panoid=e1TsSuIEYSAXiiP06_GcCw&cbp=12,32.07,,0,1.63

I really want to know NJTA's logic on that one. Personally, I would've rather used either Springfield (decently large town), Bridgewater, or Somerville (note that it requires using I-287 to access that one).

[kphoger]

Iowa.

[pianocello]

Iowa.

God, I hope Chicagoans aren't thick enough to know Iowa exists only because of a few signs on the Tri-State Tollway.

[roadman65]

Upon reading the title of this thread, my immediate thought was "Clinton" for I-78, but I see I was already beaten to it.  This BGS gets me every time I go under it...
https://www.google.com/maps?ll=40.703517,-74.152155&spn=0.000004,0.00327&t=m&z=19&layer=c&cbll=40.703423,-74.152771&panoid=e1TsSuIEYSAXiiP06_GcCw&cbp=12,32.07,,0,1.63

Clinton is used on a lot of guide signs for I-78 not just the NJTA.  In fact the NJTA started using it later in the game long after NJDOT has been using it.

However, on I-287at I-78 all Clinton signs were replaced in the 1990's with "Easton, PA" or "Easton, Pa."

[The Nature Boy]

Iowa.

God, I hope Chicagoans aren't thick enough to know Iowa exists only because of a few signs on the Tri-State Tollway.

I don't know, I'm pretty sure Boston people wonder what "NH-Maine Points" means and how they can reach it.

[PHLBOS]

I don't know, I'm pretty sure Boston people wonder what "NH-Maine Points" means and how they can reach it.

Most if not all of the old-school signage in the Bay State listed only NH-Maine, no Points suffix.  Similar holds true for any remaining NH-Maine signs (I-95 & I-495 interchange signage for I-90 and one or two MA 128 South ramp signage) .

The closest to what you're describing is on one BGS that lists NH-Maine/Points North as destinations.

[kphoger]

Regarding Limon (CO):  it may seem insignificant, but it's very well known by anyone driving between Kansas and Colorado, especially westbound.

[v35322]

Regarding Limon (CO):  it may seem insignificant, but it's very well known by anyone driving between Kansas and Colorado, especially westbound.

Yep. After I-70 across western Kansas and eastern Colorado (brutal drive if there ever was one), Limon is the first sign that civilization is back - it's the start of metro Denver or Colorado Springs, depending on which way you're going.. Plus, it's where I-70 intersects with U.S. 24 and U.S. 287.

Granted, there are some bigger places on I-70 between Limon and Salina (Burlington, Goodland, Colby, Hays, Russell), but Limon does have some significance.

[Pete from Boston]

I don't know, I'm pretty sure Boston people wonder what "NH-Maine Points" means and how they can reach it.

Most if not all of the old-school signage in the Bay State listed only NH-Maine, no Points suffix.  Similar holds true for any remaining NH-Maine signs (I-95 & I-495 interchange signage for I-90 and one or two MA 128 South ramp signage) .

The closest to what you're describing is on one BGS that lists NH-Maine/Points North as destinations.

Could be conflating it with "All Maine Points" in Portsmouth.

[jp the roadgeek]

1. Metropark, NJ (GSP Exit 131)
2. Winsted, CT (on CT 8)
3. Danielson, CT (on I-395)
4. Auburn, MA (on I-290)
5. Salem, CT (on CT 11)

[PHLBOS]

Auburn, MA (on I-290)

That's largely because Auburn's I-290's western terminus.  Once upon a time (prior to 1977), I-395 (then known as MA 52) didn't extend all the way to I-90/290.  The highway just ended at US 20 just south of the I-290 exit ramp for I-90.

[theline]

Frankton, IN, (pop. 1837) exit 241 from I-69. SR-128 used to extend from Frankton for the entire 12 miles to the interstate, but it was truncated at SR-9 when SR-332 was built from 69 to Muncie. Now most of the connection is just sub-standard county roads. It's hard to understand why Frankton is still on the sign.

[tdindy88]

I remember a newspaper article from the Muncie Star Press about why Frankton was listed "first" on the signs over Muncie, from both directions on the interstate.

[Brandon]

Iowa.

God, I hope Chicagoans aren't thick enough to know Iowa exists only because of a few signs on the Tri-State Tollway.

No, it's also on the East-West Tollway, but this is of course, Chicago. 

[slorydn1]

Iowa.

God, I hope Chicagoans aren't thick enough to know Iowa exists only because of a few signs on the Tri-State Tollway.

I grew up in the Chicago area. We knew about Iowa, we even had or own term of endearment for Iowa: BFI 

[sbeaver44]

Breezewood.

And likewise, New Stanton.
I-70 East is signed for New Stanton in several places, specifically from PA 31.

[cpzilliacus]

Regarding Limon (CO):  it may seem insignificant, but it's very well known by anyone driving between Kansas and Colorado, especially westbound.

Yep. After I-70 across western Kansas and eastern Colorado (brutal drive if there ever was one), Limon is the first sign that civilization is back - it's the start of metro Denver or Colorado Springs, depending on which way you're going.. Plus, it's where I-70 intersects with U.S. 24 and U.S. 287.

I disagree with your characterization of that part of I-70 as "brutal." Brutal to me is crossing Missouri and even worse, "free" I-70 between I-79 and New Stanton in Pennsylvania.  I actually rather liked driving I-70 in Colorado and Kansas (all of both).

Also, there's not much between Limon and the eastern outskirts of Denver.