Non-Interstate Control Cities

[roadman65]

I think the furthest away control city on a US route in NJ that actually makes sense is US 40 for Atlantic City. It's too bad there isn't a reciprocal one in Atlantic City for Wilmington or Delaware Memorial Bridge. Others are a bit silly. No one is taking US 202 from Morristown to Ramapo, NY or US 1 from New Brunswick to Newark.

Or on Route 23 they use Montague over Port Jervis.  Montague is a township covering many square miles where on any map it shows it as a dot on US 206 and not on Route 23.

[kphoger]

I've always liked Iowa's approach:

Next incorporated town
First county seat after that
First town over 5,000 after that

I feel like this could lead to weird results. What if the next county seat is four counties away, or it hits a decently sized city that isn't a county seat and is forced to skip it?

Using US-6 as an example...
https://maps.app.goo.gl/xua8wNV2dYbMnAmS8
Brooklyn is not a county seat, yet it gets the second line.
Grinnell is skipped in favor of Newton.

Going the other direction...
https://maps.app.goo.gl/PA9tpVXrtELqHSiEA
Grinnell is not a county seat, yet it gets the second line.

[Mav94]

It's possible I'm misremembering.

[MattHanson939]

Vaughn and Portales are the control cities for US-285 North and US-70 East respectively at their junction in north Roswell, NM. Vaughn is 91 miles away and Portales is 86 miles away. Clovis (105 mi away) could have been signed as a secondary but I think Portales is adequate because ENMU is there and NM-467 which is a cutoff to Cannon AFB intersects US-70 on the east end of Portales.

For US 285 north, I think Santa Fe should be the control city because it's the next largest thing after Roswell.  Vaughn is pretty much a ghost town, even though it's where 285 meets US 60 and and US 54; I'd use that as a secondary control point.  Clovis should be signed as the primary control city on US 70 east because it's much bigger than Portales (that can be a secondary), and is also the junction point of US 60, US 70, and US 84 (60 and 84 run concurrently).  US 70 west should be signed for Alamogordo or dual-signed Alamogordo / Las Cruces, instead of Ruidoso.

Conversely, US 285 south ought to be dual-signed Clines Corners / Roswell from where it splits from I-25 just outside of Santa Fe.  Clines Corners as you know is where US 285 meets I-40, and travelers headed to Texas from Santa Fe or north-central New Mexico typically take 285 south to bypass Albuquerque altogether.  But there are also motorists headed towards Roswell.  After Clines Corners, Roswell should be the sole control city on US 285 south (but as previously mentioned, Vaughn can be a secondary).

[MattHanson939]

Also within New Mexico, US 550 is signed for Farmington going north out of Bernalillo, https://www.google.com/maps/@35.3281384,-106.5680678,1569a,75y,307.97h,95.44t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sU1Y0jdSraUCeu_SOYQmCcA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-5.435129216676188%26panoid%3DU1Y0jdSraUCeu_SOYQmCcA%26yaw%3D307.9732072921894!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D and Albuquerque is the control city for US 550 south after it splits from US 64 heading out of Bloomfield https://www.google.com/maps/@36.7112765,-107.9841449,1665a,75y,266.28h,86.65t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sOfvo-yJDhdVTykCGE63bxw!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D3.3528699554869803%26panoid%3DOfvo-yJDhdVTykCGE63bxw%26yaw%3D266.2816769621627!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D.  In my opinion, those two are the best choices because Farmington is the largest city in the four corners region, and 550 is the most direct route when traveling between there and Albuquerque, despite it doesn't actually go to either one but runs close.

Santa Fe is the control city on NM 502 east, https://www.google.com/maps/@35.8839523,-106.1636802,1733a,75y,46.32h,94.52t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sLv2Fkk10o4Yk04chYsg6fQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-4.520252515412537%26panoid%3DLv2Fkk10o4Yk04chYsg6fQ%26yaw%3D46.31636975857938!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI2MDgyMy4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D even though the route ends at US 84/285 in Pojoaque.  But it's the correct choice because it's much bigger than Pojoaque, and travelers headed to Santa Fe originating in Los Alamos, White Rock, or San Ildefonso Pueblo use NM 502 to get there.

[Roadgeekteen]

It really depends on what kind of non-interstate. If it's the main way between 2 major cities like US 93 in Arizona sign those cities. But if it's mostly parallel to interstates sign small towns and cities on the way. If it's a freeway treat it just like an interstate.

[MattHanson939]

If it's the main way between 2 major cities like US 93 in Arizona sign those cities.

From Wickenburg, where US 93 starts, there a sign for both Kingman and Las Vegas for US 93 north; but at other intersections, only Kingman is signed.  Las Vegas doesn't become a control city again until the junction with I-40 (with which US 93 runs concurrently until Kingman where 93 splits to continue north to Las Vegas).  There is a sign for Phoenix for I-11 south from Las Vegas, but then Boulder City becomes the control city since it's the current southern terminus for I-11, and the route continues south as US 93.  Kingman is the control city from Boulder City on US 93 south, and then Phoenix becomes the primary control city when the route joins I-40 for 20 miles.  From the I-40 split, Wickenburg is the secondary control (most traffic will continue on to Phoenix using US 60).

That's going to change when I-11 is extended south to the Phoenix area.

[Scott5114]

There is a sign for Phoenix for I-11 south from Las Vegas, but then Boulder City becomes the control city since it's the current southern terminus for I-11, and the route continues south as US 93.

It's not so much that as it is that NDOT hasn't really bothered to unify the control cities for I-11 since they got the designation. You can find signs for Henderson too. Going northbound from downtown LV it's kind of a crapshoot whether any given sign will say Tonopah or Reno.

[ClassicHasClass]

it's kind of a crapshoot whether any given sign will say Tonopah or Reno.

Isn't that what you would expect in Las Vegas?

[Scott5114]

it's kind of a crapshoot whether any given sign will say Tonopah or Reno.

Isn't that what you would expect in Las Vegas?

I'll be here all week.

Because my tires are flat.