Highway signs that give insight to the past

[roadman65]

We all have often complained here numerous times before about "Pascagoula" being used for I-10 west out of Mobile instead of NOLA or Biloxi as that said control city is not that big compared to the others along the way.  Furthermore, LADOTD uses "Bay St. Louis" at the I-12 and I-59 interchange for I-10 east instead of Mobile or Biloxi as well.   All of course are remnants of when I-10 was not fully completed in Mississippi, that those two cities were chosen.

I noticed that the same is for "Netcong" in New Jersey on I-80 which seems to give some of us here indigestion.  Why is it used over Dover or even the Delaware Water Gap in some places?  Well the same goes here if you read about I-80 being constructed in Morris County.  The section from US 206 (or US 46) in Netcong to US 46 in Denville was the first part of I-80 in NJ to be built as early as 1957 or circa.   The "Netcong" was most likely used because it ended there as the section from Netcong to Columbia was opened in the mid 70's to traffic.

Another scenario is the fact that "Los Angeles" is used in Arizona on I-40 west ramps and pull throughs west of Flagstaff and is also used in Nevada for I-15 Southbound ramp signs from Las Vegas southward.  Here is another situation that history plays a role in it, but not the same as both I-15 and I-40 do not go anywhere near LA.  It the fact that US 66 and US 91 both went to LA before they were decommissioned and both Arizona and Nevada respected the old US routes control cities very much and transferred over the same guide sign practices when the freeways were built.

Then you have the exit guides for US routes or even state routes that got replaced by freeways that the guide signs were not changed to reflect the new roads laid out.   Examples include the US 46 exit southbound on I-287 in Parsippany- Troy Hills, NJ which uses "Clifton" and "Dover" for the US highway that once was the main corridor that I-80 took over.  When I-80 opened for traffic in the early 70's there NJDOT never payed it any mind and just kept it like they did further south for US 22 when I-78 got finally completed through the infamous Watchung Reservation in 1986 after years of legal issues preventing it from being completed in 1972 as originally planned.  "New York" was signed for I-287 east to direct motorists to NYC from I-287 because I-78 was not a through route then, however at least somewhat NJDOT corrected it since by changing it over to "Newark" just recently (although I would choose Green Brook myself instead of Newark even).

Also "Easton" is still used on parts of I-78 going WB in some locations which is used because for several decades I-78 ended in Greenwich at present day Exit 3 and to continue west into PA one had to follow US 22 then.  Of course we all know US 22  actually goes there after crossing the Delaware River just four miles west of where I-78 used to end.  Of course now, I-78 does have an exit to Easton just west of the Delaware River Crossing, but given if the entire I-78 was completed from end to end in the early 1960's we might have the control city for "Allentown" instead of Easton back then.  I-78 is a few miles from Downtown Easton and you have much bigger Allentown nearby.

Any other instances where a control city is still used that is there because the current freeway was not yet completed someplace else, or where a control city is picked because of the road it replaced?

[hotdogPi]

I noticed that the same is for "Netcong" in New Jersey on I-80 which seems to give some of us here indigestion.  Why is it used over Dover or even the Delaware Water Gap in some places?

If they sign it for Dover, some people will think it's the way to Dover, DE.

[Pete from Boston]

Was "Delaware Water Gap" signed on 80 from the beginning?

[freebrickproductions]

I-565 still has several signs along it that have blank spots where AL 20 shields (and appropriate cardinal directions) were. There are also plenty of signs that have green-out over the cardinal directions where they changed the Interstate was changed from being signed as North/South to being signed as East/West. In fact, this sign on I-65 before the I-565 interchange still has some of the old cardinal direction visible due to the green-out not being centered properly:
https://www.google.com/maps/@34.6328525,-86.9023921,3a,18.7y,179.18h,97.48t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1seHgYhpSnb3O-Ny04ZhL07A!2e0

[busman_49]

I probably posted these somewhere else, but they fit here too:

I-75 approaching the Glendale-Milford Rd exit in both directions has signs with either a blank space at the top, or they have street names patched on where an OH 126 shield would have gone.  I found a 1996 Cincinnati map that showed that stretch of roadway labeled as such.

I-75 SB:
P1160502 by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

I-75 SB:
P1160504 by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

I-75 NB:
P1160507 by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

I-75 NB:
P1160510 by Ryan busman_49, on Flickr

(I have a couple of extra photos in my Flickr album, but these were the better ones)

[NE2]

I-80 was originally US 48, which went into New York City, hence the use of NYC as a control city. And US 91 used to go from Long Beach north along US 6 to Los Angeles (AASHTO denied a continuation to Provincetown), hence the use of LA.

Or not. Sometimes a control city is just a logical control city.

[noelbotevera]

There's a sign on this forum that at the I-15/I-40 interchange, there's actually patches and a blank space next to I-40 East. Under that patch could've been US 91 South San Diego and US 66 East Needles. Then it could have been I-40/US 66 East Needles. I believe there's three signs with the patch at the split on I-15 SB, and a patch on I-40 WB.

[jbnati27]

Northbound I-77 in North Carolina has a control city of Elkin. I understand this dates back to before I-77 was being built.

[jeffandnicole]

I noticed that the same is for "Netcong" in New Jersey on I-80 which seems to give some of us here indigestion.  Why is it used over Dover or even the Delaware Water Gap in some places?

If they sign it for Dover, some people will think it's the way to Dover, DE.

Doubtful. Dover, NJ isn't remotely close to Dover, DE.

If that was the case, then we can't sign Washington at all, because it could mean a random town, the DC city, or the state. Philadelphia, MS couldn't be signed. Georgia, NJ wouldn't be permitted either. And there's numerous Newarks, among other towns throughout the country.

[kendancy66]

Northbound I-77 in North Carolina has a control city of Elkin. I understand this dates back to before I-77 was being built.

Is Elkin not a control city from Statesville?   I also remember when I77 had a gap from Elkin to VA. You had to use US 21 instead

[Katavia]

Speaking of North Carolina, the Upper Connector

[Mergingtraffic]

I'd say these two from the Gilmore Bridge in Boston. They used to have I-95 shields on them when I-95 was routed east onto US-1.

[OracleUsr]

New signs for I-77 on I-40 in Statesville are showing Wytheville, VA, as a control city, rather than Elkin.

Northbound I-77 in North Carolina has a control city of Elkin. I understand this dates back to before I-77 was being built.

Is Elkin not a control city from Statesville?   I also remember when I77 had a gap from Elkin to VA. You had to use US 21 instead

When the new I-40/77 interchange goes up, the signs will say Wytheville instead of Elkin.

[PHLBOS]

I'd say these two from the Gilmore Bridge in Boston. They used to have I-95 shields on them when I-95 was routed east onto US-1.

Both of the above-pics are of the same sign(s); which date back to the early 70s... when I-95 was the Northeast Expressway & Tobin Bridge and was planned to be built east of US 1 (between current Exit 46 and the MA 60 interchanges in Saugus).  The shields were removed circa 1975.

[dgolub]

I-80 was originally US 48, which went into New York City, hence the use of NYC as a control city. And US 91 used to go from Long Beach north along US 6 to Los Angeles (AASHTO denied a continuation to Provincetown), hence the use of LA.

Or not. Sometimes a control city is just a logical control city.

US 48?  Or do you mean US 46?

[dgolub]

Until recently, there were old text-only button-copy signs on Merrick Road (Nassau CR 27) in Seaford that gave the northern terminus of NY 135 as Oyster Bay, since that's where it was originally supposed to go.  They have been replaced, though.

Also, Central Drive (Rockland CR 106) in Stony Point has street signs that read "Route 210," even though the NY 210 designation on there was decommissioned decades ago.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

This sign is at the eastern terminus of MN 97 north of Stillwater, MN. The age of the sign and the awkward placement of the I-35 shield make me wonder if there used to be another shield alongside the I-35 one, although I'm not sure what it could have been; US 8 maybe, before that route was decommissioned south of Forest Lake?

[roadman]

I'd say these two from the Gilmore Bridge in Boston. They used to have I-95 shields on them when I-95 was routed east onto US-1.

Both of the above-pics are of the same sign(s); which date back to the early 70s... when I-95 was the Northeast Expressway & Tobin Bridge and was planned to be built east of US 1 (between current Exit 46 and the MA 60 interchanges in Saugus).  The shields were removed circa 1975.

And the elevated Central Artery as well - which briefly sported I-95 confirmatory shields in the late 1960s.

[noelbotevera]

This sign is at the eastern terminus of MN 97 north of Stillwater, MN. The age of the sign and the awkward placement of the I-35 shield make me wonder if there used to be another shield alongside the I-35 one, although I'm not sure what it could have been; US 8 maybe, before that route was decommissioned south of Forest Lake?

Do you have a closeup of that sign? I can't make out anything.

[TheHighwayMan3561]

This sign is at the eastern terminus of MN 97 north of Stillwater, MN. The age of the sign and the awkward placement of the I-35 shield make me wonder if there used to be another shield alongside the I-35 one, although I'm not sure what it could have been; US 8 maybe, before that route was decommissioned south of Forest Lake?

(clipped)

Do you have a closeup of that sign? I can't make out anything.

Can you explain what you're looking for? I guess I don't understand what you're unable to make out.

[noelbotevera]

This sign is at the eastern terminus of MN 97 north of Stillwater, MN. The age of the sign and the awkward placement of the I-35 shield make me wonder if there used to be another shield alongside the I-35 one, although I'm not sure what it could have been; US 8 maybe, before that route was decommissioned south of Forest Lake?

(clipped)

Do you have a closeup of that sign? I can't make out anything.

Can you explain what you're looking for? I guess I don't understand what you're unable to make out.

What's under the I-35 shield. Usually there'd be a point if there would be a US shield under there (the point in the crown).

[NE2]

I-80 was originally US 48, which went into New York City, hence the use of NYC as a control city. And US 91 used to go from Long Beach north along US 6 to Los Angeles (AASHTO denied a continuation to Provincetown), hence the use of LA.

Or not. Sometimes a control city is just a logical control city.

US 48?  Or do you mean US 46?

I mean the premise of this thread is flawed.

[PHLBOS]

Both of the above-pics are of the same sign(s); which date back to the early 70s... when I-95 was the Northeast Expressway & Tobin Bridge and was planned to be built east of US 1 (between current Exit 46 and the MA 60 interchanges in Saugus).  The shields were removed circa 1975.

And the elevated Central Artery as well - which briefly sported I-95 confirmatory shields in the late 1960s.

I believe the OP's intent for this thread is list/show such signs that are still standing today.

The only confrimatory I-95 shields I recall seeing on the actual Central Artery south of the old I-93 split were composite TO SOUTH 95/white background trailblazers placed along the southbound side between the Storrow Drive & Callahan Tunnel interchanges.  Were those the ones you were referring to?  Note: I'm well aware about the early 70s vintage overhead BGS' at the I-93 interchange and the older wooden 95 SOUTH BGS at the old Charlestown interchange (that remained until the late 80s).

[Bruce]

This one is pretty obvious:


US 99 shield at 1st & Columbia by SounderBruce, on Flickr

[thefraze_1020]

This one is pretty obvious:


US 99 shield at 1st & Columbia by SounderBruce, on Flickr

How that sign has escaped replacement for the last 45 years is beyond me. That has to be the best of the best of the best of signs.