Longest "Continuously Posted" Distance Sign

[KEVIN_224]

Can we count New York City being posted on I-95 North outside of Baltimore?

[Roadgeekteen]

Can we count New York City being posted on I-95 North outside of Baltimore?

I know it's continuously a control city, not sure about distance signs.

[michravera]

Can we count New York City being posted on I-95 North outside of Baltimore?

I know it's continuously a control city, not sure about distance signs.

I suppose that you can count it, if it's true. But, at under 200 miles, it won't even get close to even Los Angeles from outside Sacramento on both CASR-99 and I-5 (and US-101) all of which show up at just under 400 miles. I don't even allege that the LA distance is even remarkable. Reno from near Salt Lake City (540-something miles) and Portland from near Sacramento (632 miles) both dwarf even the LA number. The question is one of how continuously posted the distances for Reno and Portland are. I suspect that there are longer distances even than Portland on I-5. Also, Salt Lake City is the Control City on I-15 in Las Vegas. I don't remember seeing distance signs or how far they indicated.

[US 89]

Can we count New York City being posted on I-95 North outside of Baltimore?

I know it's continuously a control city, not sure about distance signs.

I suppose that you can count it, if it's true. But, at under 200 miles, it won't even get close to even Los Angeles from outside Sacramento on both CASR-99 and I-5 (and US-101) all of which show up at just under 400 miles. I don't even allege that the LA distance is even remarkable. Reno from near Salt Lake City (540-something miles) and Portland from near Sacramento (632 miles) both dwarf even the LA number. The question is one of how continuously posted the distances for Reno and Portland are. I suspect that there are longer distances even than Portland on I-5. Also, Salt Lake City is the Control City on I-15 in Las Vegas. I don't remember seeing distance signs or how far they indicated.

Likewise, Las Vegas is the southbound control on I-15 in Salt Lake. I believe the longest distance to Vegas posted on a mileage sign is 402 miles on this sign in Draper.

[stevashe]

Can we count New York City being posted on I-95 North outside of Baltimore?

I know it's continuously a control city, not sure about distance signs.

I suppose that you can count it, if it's true. But, at under 200 miles, it won't even get close to even Los Angeles from outside Sacramento on both CASR-99 and I-5 (and US-101) all of which show up at just under 400 miles. I don't even allege that the LA distance is even remarkable. Reno from near Salt Lake City (540-something miles) and Portland from near Sacramento (632 miles) both dwarf even the LA number. The question is one of how continuously posted the distances for Reno and Portland are. I suspect that there are longer distances even than Portland on I-5. Also, Salt Lake City is the Control City on I-15 in Las Vegas. I don't remember seeing distance signs or how far they indicated.

Does look like anyone gave a definitive answer for whether the Portland or Reno distances qualify so here's what I found:

- Starting with the sign south of Sacramento, Portland is listed on 8 out of the next 25 signs, which leaves it one sign short of qualifying according to your rules. I based this off of the AARoads pages, so hopefully those didn't miss any signs. If you took the percentage for the whole distance from Sacramento I'm sure it'd come out to over 36%, so the "continuity" of the posting may be disputed (even the 26th and 27th signs show Portland, which I'm sure would be enough to bump it over).

- With Reno, US 89 already vouched for continuity in Utah, and looking at Nevada in Streetview, it appears that Reno is listed on distance signs through Nevada on I-80 WB, with only a few exception, so I'd say we have a new winner over El Paso for the US!



Also, the OP did ask for international examples as well, so I'd offer Adelaide on National Route 1 in Australia, listed at a distance of 1986 km (1234 mi) on this sign. I can't vouch for how continuously it is posted, however.

[machias]

For the non-troll members, here are the basic qualifications:

1.  Starting from the sign you post, at least 36% of all distance signs on that road must include the same destination city you post.  (This means it counts if only every other sign uses that city, but it doesn't count if only one out of every three does.)
2.  No entire state or other sub-national equivalent along the way can be completely devoid of such qualifying signage.
3.  Rule #2 does not apply if the route only passes through that state for less than 50 km.

NYC is posted on 100% of Thruway mileage signs starting 496 miles away. I think that makes it an automatic winner. I would say anything less than 50% or even 75%, is kind of lame. I could differ from the OP on this, but to me, "continuously posted" really does mean 100%, no exceptions.

Nope, there's a sign between Exits 57 and 56 when headed eastbound that includes only Buffalo and Niagara Falls, no mention of New York

[michravera]

Can we count New York City being posted on I-95 North outside of Baltimore?

I know it's continuously a control city, not sure about distance signs.

I suppose that you can count it, if it's true. But, at under 200 miles, it won't even get close to even Los Angeles from outside Sacramento on both CASR-99 and I-5 (and US-101) all of which show up at just under 400 miles. I don't even allege that the LA distance is even remarkable. Reno from near Salt Lake City (540-something miles) and Portland from near Sacramento (632 miles) both dwarf even the LA number. The question is one of how continuously posted the distances for Reno and Portland are. I suspect that there are longer distances even than Portland on I-5. Also, Salt Lake City is the Control City on I-15 in Las Vegas. I don't remember seeing distance signs or how far they indicated.

Does look like anyone gave a definitive answer for whether the Portland or Reno distances qualify so here's what I found:

- Starting with the sign south of Sacramento, Portland is listed on 8 out of the next 25 signs, which leaves it one sign short of qualifying according to your rules. I based this off of the AARoads pages, so hopefully those didn't miss any signs. If you took the percentage for the whole distance from Sacramento I'm sure it'd come out to over 36%, so the "continuity" of the posting may be disputed (even the 26th and 27th signs show Portland, which I'm sure would be enough to bump it over).

- With Reno, US 89 already vouched for continuity in Utah, and looking at Nevada in Streetview, it appears that Reno is listed on distance signs through Nevada on I-80 WB, with only a few exception, so I'd say we have a new winner over El Paso for the US!



Also, the OP did ask for international examples as well, so I'd offer Adelaide on National Route 1 in Australia, listed at a distance of 1986 km (1234 mi) on this sign. I can't vouch for how continuously it is posted, however.

So, it looks like Portland's "continuousness" might or might not begin at the one south of Sacramento (632 mi / 1017 km or 622mi / 1002 km), but gets more definitely "continuous" by my definition a bit later. But, Reno from Salt Lake (or farther) is indisputable. I thank those who researched it. I intentionally picked 36% so that two cities could alternate and be considered "continuous". It was my intention that signs that only showed one or two cities shouldn't count. My idea was that 36% was the dividing line between "continuously posted" and "occasionally mentioned".

[roadman65]

In Florida Miami appears on mileage signs 340 or so miles out on I-95 but disappears after Palm Bay as FDOT D4 likes West Palm Beach over Miami. They maintain the freeway from Indian River to Miami-Dade County Line.

Naples is used on every sign for I-75 south religiously from Wesley Chapel southward.

Pensacola is used from Tallahassee west on I-10 exclusively.

[KCRoadFan]

I was just thinking: on I-5 southbound in California, where does one start consistently seeing signs for Los Angeles? I would think they would begin just south of Sacramento, but I could be mistaken.

[Ben114]

Coming west on I-90 in Massachusetts, Albany is posted for quite a while. First westbound mention is at 128 miles.

Coming east, Boston is posted as far as 163 miles.

(If we counted the distance it is used as a control city, Albany is posted from 158 miles, and Boston from 171 miles.)

[michravera]

I was just thinking: on I-5 southbound in California, where does one start consistently seeing signs for Los Angeles? I would think they would begin just south of Sacramento, but I could be mistaken.

I don't REMEMBER any and certainly not consistent signs for LA on I-5 north or Sacramento. LA is consistently posted on US-101 at least south of Gilroy. North of Gilroy, distance would be misleading because you could stay on US-101 or take CASR-152 to I-5.
 

[Osthagen]

I live in the UK where signage inconsistency is a huge issue. The problem is that most routes have their signs designed by local authorities, meaning that there's no central oversight which leads to glaring inconsistencies when crossing administrative borders.

An example is the M1 heading South through Derbyshire. The mileage signs consistently sign:

"Derby, Nottingham, Leicester, Rugby", then:
"Leicester, Rugby, Northampton"

Once you cross over into Nottinghamshire, you totally lose any mention of Rugby or Northampton (despite the fact you're 40 and 60 miles from the respective turnoffs), and instead you're greeted with:

"Loughborough, Leicester, London"

[Flint1979]

Probably not the longest anywhere, but in MI I-75 is posted for nearly 200 miles with Saginaw sb and Mackinac Bridge nb.

Over 200 miles from the Mackinac Bridge, the furthest south sign has Saginaw 33, Bay City 46 and Mackinac Br 222 on it that sign is between the Corunna and Pierson Road exits in Flint. The furthest north sign for Saginaw is just south of the M-123 exit that sign has St. Ignace 8, Mackinaw City 15 and Saginaw 203 on it. I don't think it's the furthest either but it could be for Michigan.

[Flint1979]

When I posted in the third post of this thread just now realizing this is an old thread I was wrong about Saginaw being featured on a distance sign at 185 miles away. The correct distance and location of the sign is 203 miles and it's just south of the M-123 exit in the U.P.

[kirbykart]

This is similar to the Michigan example: Binghamton is continuously posted on distance signs from Jamestown (distances listed over 200 miles). https://goo.gl/maps/6vdiqDRrxjYKDVJo7 This is a sign listing 204 miles to Binghamton. There might be one further back by the Bemus Point exit.

EDIT: Yep, found one with 216 miles. https://goo.gl/maps/JXFgYjYzEpH4asZ99

But what surprised me is that it's actually posted from Findley Lake (245 miles) https://goo.gl/maps/aZVdHModsXYneyG17. PA just posts Findley Lake and Jamestown.

[JayhawkCO]

Was just investigating crossing from Oman to Saudi Arabia on my upcoming trip, and happened to come across this sign in a blog post. It is continuously signed every 10km as well per the blog.

[Jim]

Seeing activity back in this thread made me think of Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Whitehorse as possible candidates.  My travels up there were 20+ years ago and I didn't get a ton of pictures of distance signs.  There aren't that many distance signs anyway, but I bet those major destinations are on distance signs pretty consistently for hundreds of miles on the roads that serve them.

[JayhawkCO]

Seeing activity back in this thread made me think of Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Whitehorse as possible candidates.  My travels up there were 20+ years ago and I didn't get a ton of pictures of distance signs.  There aren't that many distance signs anyway, but I bet those major destinations are on distance signs pretty consistently for hundreds of miles on that roads that serve them.

I think in that neck of the woods, Inuvik is probably the highest.

[tdindy88]

Seeing activity back in this thread made me think of Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Whitehorse as possible candidates.  My travels up there were 20+ years ago and I didn't get a ton of pictures of distance signs.  There aren't that many distance signs anyway, but I bet those major destinations are on distance signs pretty consistently for hundreds of miles on that roads that serve them.

I was just in Alaska back in March so I saw some of the distance signs in the state. North of Anchorage, in Wasilla, there was a sign for Fairbanks with a distance of 319 miles and Fairbanks was all the bottom line on all other mileage signs from there. Just west of Fairbanks there was a sign for Anchorage with a distance of 357 miles. There's also along the Dalton Highway at its beginning where the distance to Deadhorse is 414 miles. And although I only went as far as the Arctic Circle it was still on the few mileage signs. And looking at Google Streetview, Fairbanks is listed as a southbound control city from Deadhorse at a distance of 494 miles. At the Arctic Circle Fairbanks was listed at 200 miles so I would guess it's pretty consistently signed.

[JayhawkCO]

Seeing activity back in this thread made me think of Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Whitehorse as possible candidates.  My travels up there were 20+ years ago and I didn't get a ton of pictures of distance signs.  There aren't that many distance signs anyway, but I bet those major destinations are on distance signs pretty consistently for hundreds of miles on that roads that serve them.

I think in that neck of the woods, Inuvik is probably the highest.

I correct myself. Fairbanks is signed consistently from Whitehorse and the first sign is 910 km. Inuvik's first sign on the Dempster is 735 km.

[Jim]

Seeing activity back in this thread made me think of Fairbanks, Anchorage, and Whitehorse as possible candidates.  My travels up there were 20+ years ago and I didn't get a ton of pictures of distance signs.  There aren't that many distance signs anyway, but I bet those major destinations are on distance signs pretty consistently for hundreds of miles on that roads that serve them.

I think in that neck of the woods, Inuvik is probably the highest.

I correct myself. Fairbanks is signed consistently from Whitehorse and the first sign is 910 km. Inuvik's first sign on the Dempster is 735 km.

And at least in 2001, there was this south/east of Whitehorse:

[minneha]

On northbound I-15, just north of Baker, California there is a mileage sign that says:

Las Vegas 89
Salt Lake City 510

If you use that as the starting point, I would guess that Salt Lake City appears on the majority of the mileage signs on I-15 after that point until Salt Lake City.

On eastbound I-70 in Utah, just east of Exit 1 for Cove Fort, there is a mileage sign that says:

Joseph 23
Richfield 34
Denver 507

This is the beginning of Denver mileage signs on eastbound I-70 in Utah, and I think Denver is mostly signed continuously from that point until Denver.

There is a Denver 560 sign on westbound I-70 in Lawrence, Kansas, but Denver mileage signs then disappear until Hays, where they reappear again and are signed continuously until Denver. If you added up all the mileage signs between Lawrence and Denver, I would guess that more than 36 percent of them have Denver as the control city, even though there is a gap between Lawrence and Hays where there are no Denver signs. That would technically qualify as continuously signed based on the definition in this thread, where more than 36 percent of the signs on a highway use that control city.

[Scott5114]

On northbound I-15, just north of Baker, California there is a mileage sign that says:

Las Vegas 89
Salt Lake City 510

If you use that as the starting point, I would guess that Salt Lake City appears on the majority of the mileage signs on I-15 after that point until Salt Lake City.

Once you cross into Nevada, the bottom line is Las Vegas until after you pass it. (The sign after the Primm exit is Jean/Sloan/Las Vegas, after Jean it's Sloan/SR-146/Las Vegas, and then after Sloan you start getting Las Vegas-area exit menus.)

[minneha]

On northbound I-15, just north of Baker, California there is a mileage sign that says:

Las Vegas 89
Salt Lake City 510

If you use that as the starting point, I would guess that Salt Lake City appears on the majority of the mileage signs on I-15 after that point until Salt Lake City.

Once you cross into Nevada, the bottom line is Las Vegas until after you pass it. (The sign after the Primm exit is Jean/Sloan/Las Vegas, after Jean it's Sloan/SR-146/Las Vegas, and then after Sloan you start getting Las Vegas-area exit menus.)

That's good to know. I thought there might be some mileage signs between Baker and Las Vegas that omitted Salt Lake City, since Las Vegas is the primary control city in that area.

I was thinking more in terms of the definition in this thread of continuously signed, where it's defined as a stretch of highway where more than 36 percent of the mileage signs use a specific control city. If you use the Salt Lake City 510 sign near Baker as the starting point, it's almost certain that more than 36 percent of the mileage signs on I-15 from that point until Salt Lake City use Salt Lake City as the control city, even if there are a few signs between Baker and Las Vegas that use Las Vegas.

[Scott5114]

I was thinking more in terms of the definition in this thread of continuously signed, where it's defined as a stretch of highway where more than 36 percent of the mileage signs use a specific control city. If you use the Salt Lake City 510 sign near Baker as the starting point, it's almost certain that more than 36 percent of the mileage signs on I-15 from that point until Salt Lake City use Salt Lake City as the control city, even if there are a few signs between Baker and Las Vegas that use Las Vegas.

There are a lot of next-three-exits mileage signs in Las Vegas. (And in fact, the Jean and Sloan ones basically function as those too, since there are no exits between Primm and Jean and Jean and Sloan.) So if you count those (and I would argue you should, since places that have next-three-exit menu signs usually don't have city-distance signs posted alongside them) it would probably drive the percentage into the ground.