Control Cities in California

[mrsman]

Hollywood is not famous enough to be a control city.  So says Caltrans...LOL! 

Rick

Or has a large enough population (77,000). But Ventura (110,000) apparently does.  While in the process of “updating” signs and control cities, D7 also ignores that Oxnard is now the biggest city in Ventura County with 210,000.

No one's going to bring up the little detail that Hollywood is not a city?

Doesn't this also apply to control destinations that were formerly but aren't separate cities now, i.e. Brooklyn/Staten Island?  Granted, both districts geographically are WAY more substantial than Hollywood, though Hollywood is of equal or higher renown nationally.

Hollywood isn't the only LA neighborhood that is used as a freeway control city.  San Pedro and Echo Park are also within city limits.  The Echo Park control once said Hollywood (as the control for 2 south at I-5) but was changed to Echo Park when plans to build the Beverly Hills Fwy were cancelled.

[mrsman]

D7 still refers to this 1982 map, with reference to 1964, when working on sign projects in 2019. Go figure.

When discussing the new signs along the Hollywood and Santa Ana (US-101) freeways in downtown they decided to remove Hollywood and put Ventura.

Not a fan of the way this map lays out control cities.  For one, it seems to indicate that the control for the Hollywood-101 Fwy is Sacramento (not Ventura or Hollywood).  The pull through signs on US 101 never say Sacramento, nor should they.

This led to this error.  Both on the control city and the spelling of Alvarado.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0725133,-118.2666872,3a,75y,235.25h,86.53t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1s_10fFGtebF3-FbNb36Wb_g!2e0!7i13312!8i6656

Fortunately, the control has since been corrected to Ventura on more recent updates to the sign.


Also, noteworthy about the map (and about the highways in general) is how many freeways have LA as a control.  This begs the qn, which freeways in So Cal are radial (emanating from LA) and which ones are tangential?  The radial freeways should all have LA as an inbound control.

Radial freeways:

101 Hollywood
(freeways that emanate from that like 170 Hollywood and 101 Ventura)

101 Santa Ana and 5 Santa Ana
(freeways that emanate from that like 710 Long Beach (S of I-5), 91 Riverside (E of I-5))
(It would be a stretch to include any fwy going south or east of the diagonal, like I-605 S of I-5, although quite a bit of I-5 traffic uses the 605, since that is where the I-5 narrows.  I-605 is almost always viewed as a tangential fwy.)

110 Pasadena

110 Harbor

5 Golden State (except S of 110)
(freeways that emanate from that north or west of the diagonal like:
(2 Glendale, 118 Simi Valley, 14 Palmdale, and 126 Ventura, although not a freeway in LA Co)

60 Pomona

10 San Bernardino
(freeways that emanate from that like 71 from Corona and I-15 from Las Vegas)

10 Santa Monica
(1 from Oxnard, La Cienega "freeway" that is signed as a 405 to 10 east connector)

210 E of 605 behaves like a radial freeway.  It connects to LA via 605 and 10.  Yer, it should not get an LA control under any circumstances.

[TheStranger]

5 Golden State (except S of 110)
(freeways that emanate from that north or west of the diagonal like:
(2 Glendale, 118 Simi Valley, 14 Palmdale, and 126 Ventura, although not a freeway in LA Co)

I'm actually of the mind that signing 5 south of 110 for LA has some use because trucks cannot use 110 from there to reach downtown.  Maybe something like one advance saying informing trucks to use either Route 2 or I-10.

210 E of 605 behaves like a radial freeway.  It connects to LA via 605 and 10.  Yer, it should not get an LA control under any circumstances.

Couldn't an LA control city at least help in encouraging drivers to avoid 10 west and 60 west unless necessary?  (Kinda like how I-20 east near Fort Worth has Dallas as a control city even though it does not directly reach the latter city's downtown in its current iteration as a southern bypass)  Like say signing 210 between 15 and 605 as Pasadena/Los Angeles and then directing people to use 605 then 10 to reach LA. 

This is assuming of course that control city LA only refers to the downtown core; one continuing on the direct west trajectory from 210 to 134 would reach the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood in short order.

[mrsman]

5 Golden State (except S of 110)
(freeways that emanate from that north or west of the diagonal like:
(2 Glendale, 118 Simi Valley, 14 Palmdale, and 126 Ventura, although not a freeway in LA Co)

I'm actually of the mind that signing 5 south of 110 for LA has some use because trucks cannot use 110 from there to reach downtown.  Maybe something like one advance saying informing trucks to use either Route 2 or I-10.

This is one of many reasons why I beleive there should be some signage at 5/170 directing some Downtown LA traffic to use the 170.  If trucks don't use 170, they would have to backtrack to head Downtown.  (I recommend that both 5 and 170 have Los Angeles controls with Burbank/LA for 5 and Hollywood/LA for 101.)  Of course, most trucks over 3 tons aren't headed for Bunker Hill skyscrapers or City Hall, so I-5 leads them pretty close to the wherehouses.  I don't think anyone will be happy encouraging trucks to take the 2 and then surface streets like Glendale Blvd.

There really isn't good truck signage.  There are signs on 110 north telling trucks that they can't use 110 north of 101, and that they should transfer to 101, but no directive how to get to Pasadena from that point.  What is the best way for trucks?  Nobody really knows.

210 E of 605 behaves like a radial freeway.  It connects to LA via 605 and 10.  Yer, it should not get an LA control under any circumstances.

Couldn't an LA control city at least help in encouraging drivers to avoid 10 west and 60 west unless necessary?  (Kinda like how I-20 east near Fort Worth has Dallas as a control city even though it does not directly reach the latter city's downtown in its current iteration as a southern bypass)  Like say signing 210 between 15 and 605 as Pasadena/Los Angeles and then directing people to use 605 then 10 to reach LA. 

This is assuming of course that control city LA only refers to the downtown core; one continuing on the direct west trajectory from 210 to 134 would reach the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood in short order.

The convention in California is to use the downtown as the control city.  There are many areas well within the city of Los Angeles, some within 3 miles of Downtown, that still point you to Los Angeles by taking the freeway.  See my post earlier regarding Alvarado/101.  You are within walking distance of Downtown, yet you are still directed to take the freeway to get to Los Angeles.

A Pasadena control is very good for 210 (all the way from Redlands).  It is clear by using Pasadena that the 210 is the key route to get you to the northern SGV and SFV (and by extension, a decent shot at even the northern parts of the LA basin).

210's radial nature is of course due to it taking over the US 66 corridor.  US 66, of course used to go to Downtown LA.  Nowadays, there is a missing freeway connection from 210 to 110, so signing LA isn't appropriate - although many people will happily drive a few blocks on surface streets in Pasadena to avoid worse congestion on the 10 and 60.

The 91 has a similar problem.  The 91's control is Los Angeles, except at 15 and 215 where Beach Cities is used.  I recommend that Anaheim be used instead since Beach Cities is ambiguous.

EDIT: Fixed a quote. –Roadfro

[mrsman]

In my view, there are three main indications of what is the control city along a highway.

a) The main one is the pull-through signage on BGS.  The mainline BGS as well as the control that may be seen from the intersecting highway.  In some rare cases, the control city is not the same at different panels, even at the same interchange. 

b) The next indication is the city used on signage at the street near an on-ramp.

c) The final indication is on mileage signs on the highway.  The control city is usually the last of 3 cities displayed.

WIth that being said, while I know that LA is not used as a control based on criteria a or c, LA is a control based on criteria b at certain signs.

Take a look at this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.145963,-117.2805405,3a,75y,274.17h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKkBCrnFRZMYhczZ1yZI43A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

(On-ramp from CA-18 to 210 in San Bernardino uses Los Angeles and Riverside as controls.  Presumably, this sign existed before the completion of 210 and directed travelers on the then-30 freeway to use 215 to 10 to reach LA._)

IMO Pasadena works better for most signage on the rest of the corridor.

[Bickendan]

Having said that, 210 is the route that actually gets into the heart of San Bernardino!

I'm not sure I buy that. The Crosstown Fwy segment is really through the residential areas north of the city centre and the only highway that goes by the downtown is the 215 (and the rump remainder routing of CA 66). Historically this makes sense anyway: modern I-215 had all the regional through routes on it at one point, i.e., CA 18/US 66/US 91/US 395, which is what you would expect rather than the relatively minor routing CA 30 was back then.

I saw a map at one point that even signed the San Bernardino Fwy designation from I-10 north into San Bernardino along US 395, and then switched to the Barstow Fwy designation after crossing CA 30. I don't think this was ever common public understanding, though.

I want to say that I've seen I-215 between I-10 and CA 259 labeled as the SBD Frwy in at least one Thomas Brothers atlas, and north(west) of CA 259 was the Barstow Frwy. CA 259 itself was just 'Frwy', though as far as I'm concerned, could have been the northernmost fringe of the SBD.

[Mark68]

In my view, there are three main indications of what is the control city along a highway.

a) The main one is the pull-through signage on BGS.  The mainline BGS as well as the control that may be seen from the intersecting highway.  In some rare cases, the control city is not the same at different panels, even at the same interchange. 

b) The next indication is the city used on signage at the street near an on-ramp.

c) The final indication is on mileage signs on the highway.  The control city is usually the last of 3 cities displayed.

WIth that being said, while I know that LA is not used as a control based on criteria a or c, LA is a control based on criteria b at certain signs.

Take a look at this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.145963,-117.2805405,3a,75y,274.17h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKkBCrnFRZMYhczZ1yZI43A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

(On-ramp from CA-18 to 210 in San Bernardino uses Los Angeles and Riverside as controls.  Presumably, this sign existed before the completion of 210 and directed travelers on the then-30 freeway to use 215 to 10 to reach LA._)

IMO Pasadena works better for most signage on the rest of the corridor.

As a kid, my family used to always take that route to visit my grandmother in Lake Arrowhead.

I wonder if that BGS on 30th St is showing LA/Riverside because that ramp leads to the old 30 Freeway that really only connected to 259 South to I-215? That interchange existed WELL before the 210 was completed to the Inland Empire (I believe that stretch of old CA 30 was built in the late 60s?), so Pasadena would never have been a control at that point. All roads led south.

Yes, the sign itself is new(er)--I remember the old button copy signs there at the Waterman/CA 18 interchange with CA 30--but maybe it would have been too much of a hassle (too expensive?) to change to Pasadena.

In fact, if you look at the overhead sign on 30th just east of Waterman, you'll see the button copy there still. The only difference is the addition of the newer 210 shield. Same with the BGS on Waterman north of 30th. It always has said "Los Angeles" & "Riverside".

But...if you look at the sign over NB Waterman just south of 30th, there's a new 210 shield AND a new Pasadena overlay (over Los Angeles).

[ClassicHasClass]

Take a look at this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.145963,-117.2805405,3a,75y,274.17h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKkBCrnFRZMYhczZ1yZI43A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

(On-ramp from CA-18 to 210 in San Bernardino uses Los Angeles and Riverside as controls.  Presumably, this sign existed before the completion of 210 and directed travelers on the then-30 freeway to use 215 to 10 to reach LA._)

IMO Pasadena works better for most signage on the rest of the corridor.

As a kid, my family used to always take that route to visit my grandmother in Lake Arrowhead.

I wonder if that BGS on 30th St is showing LA/Riverside because that ramp leads to the old 30 Freeway that really only connected to 259 South to I-215? That interchange existed WELL before the 210 was completed to the Inland Empire (I believe that stretch of old CA 30 was built in the late 60s?), so Pasadena would never have been a control at that point. All roads led south.

Yes, the sign itself is new(er)--I remember the old button copy signs there at the Waterman/CA 18 interchange with CA 30--but maybe it would have been too much of a hassle (too expensive?) to change to Pasadena.

In fact, if you look at the overhead sign on 30th just east of Waterman, you'll see the button copy there still. The only difference is the addition of the newer 210 shield. Same with the BGS on Waterman north of 30th. It always has said "Los Angeles" & "Riverside".

But...if you look at the sign over NB Waterman just south of 30th, there's a new 210 shield AND a new Pasadena overlay (over Los Angeles).

Is this the sign you're referring to? http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/30-18-259/1/#img_54

As far as the on-ramp on 30th Street, it's pretty much a straight replacement of what was there before, and it did indeed say Los Angeles-Riverside then as well (but signed for CA 30).

[mrsman]

Take a look at this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.145963,-117.2805405,3a,75y,274.17h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKkBCrnFRZMYhczZ1yZI43A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

(On-ramp from CA-18 to 210 in San Bernardino uses Los Angeles and Riverside as controls.  Presumably, this sign existed before the completion of 210 and directed travelers on the then-30 freeway to use 215 to 10 to reach LA._)

IMO Pasadena works better for most signage on the rest of the corridor.

As a kid, my family used to always take that route to visit my grandmother in Lake Arrowhead.

I wonder if that BGS on 30th St is showing LA/Riverside because that ramp leads to the old 30 Freeway that really only connected to 259 South to I-215? That interchange existed WELL before the 210 was completed to the Inland Empire (I believe that stretch of old CA 30 was built in the late 60s?), so Pasadena would never have been a control at that point. All roads led south.

Yes, the sign itself is new(er)--I remember the old button copy signs there at the Waterman/CA 18 interchange with CA 30--but maybe it would have been too much of a hassle (too expensive?) to change to Pasadena.

In fact, if you look at the overhead sign on 30th just east of Waterman, you'll see the button copy there still. The only difference is the addition of the newer 210 shield. Same with the BGS on Waterman north of 30th. It always has said "Los Angeles" & "Riverside".

But...if you look at the sign over NB Waterman just south of 30th, there's a new 210 shield AND a new Pasadena overlay (over Los Angeles).

Is this the sign you're referring to? http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/30-18-259/1/#img_54

As far as the on-ramp on 30th Street, it's pretty much a straight replacement of what was there before, and it did indeed say Los Angeles-Riverside then as well (but signed for CA 30).

The Floodgap website is very interesting about this topic.  It has photo proof that the controls for southbound 259 from the old 30 freeway (now 210) were Riverside/Los Angeles as that was the way to get to 215 and eventually to 10.  Just like the SB Fwy name went from the 10 to the 215 to reach into SB, the control city on the opposite side seems to do the same thing, in order to guide people from the mountains back to Los Angeles.

I don't believe any part of I-215 itself ever had a Los Angles control though.

I-15 does have an LA control at the two I-215 interchanges (Devore, Murietta) but only as a way to guide traffic away from SB and Riverside.  IMO, the SB I-15 should have an LA control all the way from Las Vegas to I-10/I-15.  At 15/210, the Los Angeles control should only be seen on the mainline I-15, not the exits from 210.  (The existing control of San Diego should also be displayed on all the signs beginning at Devore.

I also believe that given current routing, the 259 freeways should be renumbered as an extension of CA 18.  This means removing signage and decommissioning any CA-18 signs on surface streets in SB south of the 210 freeway.  The 18 should be signed from Waterman to the 210 freeway to the 259 freeway and end at the 259/215 interchange.  Then, the 259 number can be removed for good and replaced with 18.  NB signed as CA 18 to 210 East: Highland, Mtn Resorts.  SB signed as CA 18 to 215 south Riverside.  I like when freeways are signed with their correct number, and that freeways be part of longer highways to the extent possible, and not just some forgettable random number like 259.

(There are quite a few other similar small freeway stubs that are unsigned.  The stub at teh I-80/Biz-80 interchange to Auburn Way in NE Sacramento and whatever number is assinged to the Tower Bridge in Sacramento also come to mind.)

[TheStranger]

(There are quite a few other similar small freeway stubs that are unsigned.  The stub at teh I-80/Biz-80 interchange to Auburn Way in NE Sacramento and whatever number is assinged to the Tower Bridge in Sacramento also come to mind.)

The former is Route 244 and has zero exits between 80/Business 80 and Auburn Boulevard.  Essentially an offramp, though a pretty useful one.

The Tower Bridge numbering, Route 275, now only applies to the bridge itself (for years it also covered the short former US 99W/US 40 freeway west to I-80 in West Sacramento, and Capitol Mall east to the state capitol itself in downtown Sacramento, where 40/99W and at one point Route 16 all used to turn off to other surface streets).  The portion of road between the Jefferson Boulevard interchange and the bridge is no longer freeway though, due to a late-2000s conversion project to surface boulevard.

[ClassicHasClass]

I don't believe any part of I-215 itself ever had a Los Angles control though.

Never seen one, no. It was always I-15 even in the I-15E/CA 215 days that was signed "to LA."

[Mark68]

Take a look at this:

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.145963,-117.2805405,3a,75y,274.17h,80.83t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKkBCrnFRZMYhczZ1yZI43A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

(On-ramp from CA-18 to 210 in San Bernardino uses Los Angeles and Riverside as controls.  Presumably, this sign existed before the completion of 210 and directed travelers on the then-30 freeway to use 215 to 10 to reach LA._)

IMO Pasadena works better for most signage on the rest of the corridor.

As a kid, my family used to always take that route to visit my grandmother in Lake Arrowhead.

I wonder if that BGS on 30th St is showing LA/Riverside because that ramp leads to the old 30 Freeway that really only connected to 259 South to I-215? That interchange existed WELL before the 210 was completed to the Inland Empire (I believe that stretch of old CA 30 was built in the late 60s?), so Pasadena would never have been a control at that point. All roads led south.

Yes, the sign itself is new(er)--I remember the old button copy signs there at the Waterman/CA 18 interchange with CA 30--but maybe it would have been too much of a hassle (too expensive?) to change to Pasadena.

In fact, if you look at the overhead sign on 30th just east of Waterman, you'll see the button copy there still. The only difference is the addition of the newer 210 shield. Same with the BGS on Waterman north of 30th. It always has said "Los Angeles" & "Riverside".

But...if you look at the sign over NB Waterman just south of 30th, there's a new 210 shield AND a new Pasadena overlay (over Los Angeles).

Is this the sign you're referring to? http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/30-18-259/1/#img_54

As far as the on-ramp on 30th Street, it's pretty much a straight replacement of what was there before, and it did indeed say Los Angeles-Riverside then as well (but signed for CA 30).

That's the one. Current GSV (April 2018) shows a 210 overlaying the previous 30 and Pasadena overlaying the previous LA. But that's the only sign at that interchange that shows Pasadena.

https://goo.gl/maps/FtZe6XMWgtP2

[mrsman]

The one over here appears to be quite new (i.e. they didn't simply replace the 30 shield with a 210 shield)

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.145963,-117.2805405,3a,75y,287.09h,93.77t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKkBCrnFRZMYhczZ1yZI43A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

[mrsman]

Here is another example of questionable use of control city.

https://www.google.com/maps/@34.0426449,-118.2162849,3a,75y,309.56h,87.32t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1se4cDrsLBS6HjWEPritYr9A!2e0!7i16384!8i8192

This shot was taken on E. 4th Street in Boyle Heights at the I-5 onramps.  Signage indicates going straight for I-5 south to Santa Ana and turning right for I-5 north to Los Angeles.

This is incorrect for multiple reasons.  First, you can reach Downtown directly by just keep driving on 4th street (which leads to 3rd street) for 1.5 miles.  Second, if you want to take a freeway to the heart of Downtown, you need to take US 101, not I-5.  You can't reach Us 101 by going on this ramp at this point.  You will need to take 4th to Boyle to 1st to the 101 north.  Third, as an alternate to Downtown you can also use the I-10 Santa Monica Freeway*, but to reach I-10 from this point, you will need to take I-5 south, not I-5 north.

Of course, as most on here know, the proper control for this section of I-5 Golden State Fwy is Sacramento, not L.A. 


* By convention, the Santa Monica Freeway does not have a westbound control of Los Angeles from the E LA interchange through the wherehouse districts.  This is because at the time of construction, I-10 was built through the industrial southern edge of Downtown and US 101 already reached the Civic Center and the heart of the business district.  But now, the popular parts of Downtown have expanded to reach I-10 and beyond, so it is not out of the question to use I-10 to reach the southern parts of Downtown like Staples Center.  Upthread, it was mentioned that some trucks coming down I-5 from Burbank would need guidance in this area to take I-5 south to I-10 west to Downtown, because they are not allowed to use CA-110.

[bing101]

I remember I-80 in San Francisco at the James Lick freeway had at one time had the control city of "US-101 Civic Center" for the northbound direction but that was when a double Decker section of the Central Freeway was there.

[roadman65]

What I find most interesting is that on my visit to Southern California in 1988 I-10 had several control cities going EB from LA.  San Bernardino, Riverside, Palm Springs, and Indio.  In San Diego I-5 going SB had none, and coming from Tijuana at the I-5 and I-805 split that I-805 gets no control city at all! 

Then I-405 uses local places but heading north out of LA it uses a far away city such as Sacramento.  Then I-5 also uses Sacramento going NB but uses Santa Ana going SB instead of San Diego.

They are alot like NC using different points along the way with no consistency.

[roadfro]

^ I think you can attribute the lack of consistency to a couple different Caltrans district offices overseeing projects on the various highways, without having a agency-wide standard for determining control cities.

[Mark68]

What I find most interesting is that on my visit to Southern California in 1988 I-10 had several control cities going EB from LA.  San Bernardino, Riverside, Palm Springs, and Indio.  In San Diego I-5 going SB had none, and coming from Tijuana at the I-5 and I-805 split that I-805 gets no control city at all! 

Then I-405 uses local places but heading north out of LA it uses a far away city such as Sacramento.  Then I-5 also uses Sacramento going NB but uses Santa Ana going SB instead of San Diego.

They are alot like NC using different points along the way with no consistency.

I believe there is no control city on I-805 because it spends the entirety of its existence within the city limits of San Diego.

[TheStranger]

I remember I-80 in San Francisco at the James Lick freeway had at one time had the control city of "US-101 Civic Center" for the northbound direction but that was when a double Decker section of the Central Freeway was there.

80 west has 8th Street marked as the "Civic Center" exit and US 101 north/Central Freeway with a control of "Golden Gate Bridge."

I believe there is no control city on I-805 because it spends the entirety of its existence within the city limits of San Diego.

805 does pass through a significant portion of the suburb of Chula Vista, as well as the eastern half of National City.

[Mark68]

I believe there is no control city on I-805 because it spends the entirety of its existence within the city limits of San Diego.

805 does pass through a significant portion of the suburb of Chula Vista, as well as the eastern half of National City.

Yeah, you're right about that. I had completely forgotten/wasn't looking at a map at the time. One thing they *could* do is sign control cities on I-805 (or routes like it) like CDOT does here--in other words, as a short cut to another freeway that gets you somewhere (like both ends of 805 could be signed to El Cajon, since it is a shorter route from points north and south to get to 54/94/I-8/52, or 805 Northbound could be signed to Riverside at least until I-15).

Fixed quote. –Roadfro

[TheStranger]

Yeah, you're right about that. I had completely forgotten/wasn't looking at a map at the time. One thing they *could* do is sign control cities on I-805 (or routes like it) like CDOT does here--in other words, as a short cut to another freeway that gets you somewhere (like both ends of 805 could be signed to El Cajon, since it is a shorter route from points north and south to get to 54/94/I-8/52, or 805 Northbound could be signed to Riverside at least until I-15).

805 would work nicely signed for say like Santa Ana/Los Angeles as far south as the San Ysidro split, then for connecting suburbs like El Cajon.  Could even use I-15's control of Escondido too as 805 is the most direct way to reach 15 from the border.

I think some of the things that affected LA control city choices - freeways being built from the downtown core first towards other suburbs - also to an extent exist in San Diego, where local destinations are preferred over long-distance ones except for LA and El Centro.

[bing101]

I remember I-80 in San Francisco at the James Lick freeway had at one time had the control city of "US-101 Civic Center" for the northbound direction but that was when a double Decker section of the Central Freeway was there.

80 west has 8th Street marked as the "Civic Center" exit and US 101 north/Central Freeway with a control of "Golden Gate Bridge."

  If you Look at this 1992 video at :16 I-80 and US-101 used to have a control city of "Civic Center" in San Francisco once you reach the former CA-480 @ I-80 interchange on James Lick though.  Also 3:18 is where Civic Center is its control city along with Golden Gate Bridge on US-101 when Central Freeway was there.

[TheStranger]

If you Look at this 1992 video at :16 I-80 and US-101 used to have a control city of "Civic Center" in San Francisco once you reach the former CA-480 @ I-80 interchange on James Lick though.

Watching the video, the I-80/US 101 co-signage at what is now the Fremont Street exit doesn't specify anything about US 101 north or south.  (I have always suspected that that was a vestige of the brief 1960s period when 101 and 80 were planned to run concurrent on the Central Freeway up to Fell Street).  The offramp at 8th, as is still the case today, is signed Ninth Street/Civic Center.   However, the 101 San Jose/Civic Center JUNCTION 1 MILE sign approaching the offramp seems to be long gone - with 80 west generally signed past Fremont Street as "US 101 SOUTH San Jose" now.

[Occidental Tourist]

At least one of the new southbound BGSs at the northern 5-805 split has Chula Vista as a control city for 805 south.  Other BGSs along the same stretch have no control city listed.

Sort of like the new signage along the 10 and 60 for the 57.  Most list no control city for the 57.  One lists "to 210" . But one advance BGS on the 60 east lists San Dimas as a control city as does a BGS on the transition road from the 10 east.

[mrsman]

I believe there is no control city on I-805 because it spends the entirety of its existence within the city limits of San Diego.

805 does pass through a significant portion of the suburb of Chula Vista, as well as the eastern half of National City.

Yeah, you're right about that. I had completely forgotten/wasn't looking at a map at the time. One thing they *could* do is sign control cities on I-805 (or routes like it) like CDOT does here--in other words, as a short cut to another freeway that gets you somewhere (like both ends of 805 could be signed to El Cajon, since it is a shorter route from points north and south to get to 54/94/I-8/52, or 805 Northbound could be signed to Riverside at least until I-15).

I note that is the "Midwestern" approach to control cities for Beltways.  Take St. Louis for instance.  The 2di's in StL are all pointed to fairly large control cities like Chicago, Kansas City, Memphis, Tulsa, Indianapolis, and Louisville.  The beltway is also signed for some of these cities, depending upon where you get it, even though of course the beltway doesn't actually reach those cities - but gets you to a2di that does.  Atlanta is another good example of this type of control city designation.

In California, to an extent, the 405 does the same thing.  The 405's main controls of Sacramento, Santa Monica, Long Beach*, and San Diego are not reached by driving on the highway itself.  Rather, driving on the 405 will lead you to another freeway that will get you to that city (I-5 north, I-10 west, I-710 south or CA 22 west, and I-5 south).

* Yes, the 405 does go through Long Beach, but doesn't reach Downtown.  In current signing practice traffic to LB is directed to either 710 south or 22 west.

Fixed quote. –Roadfro