Control Cities

[thenetwork]

You know there is a sign for Las Vegas on I-70 west in Grand Junction.  Over 500 miles away

[Edited out most of the post quoted, merged posts. -S.]

Only for the mileage signs and only after the first couple of exits west of Grand Junction.  Otherwise the official BGS control cities at the on-ramps/pull-throughs are either Utah or Green River (,UT). 

[kharvey10]

But you can still get to both of those places from there, just VIA a connecting road. That's very common on interstates, especially 3dis.
Take, for instance, I-205 around Portland, OR. Its northbound control city is Seattle, but it itself doesn't go to Seattle, you have to get back on I-5 first. Not the best example, but I'm sure there are many more.

And I-57 doesn't go to Memphis. And I-24 doesn't go to St. Louis.

And remember as late as 1994 or 1995 that TnDOT had the westbound I-24 control city in the Nashville area listed as "St. Louis".

[Interstate Trav]

There are other examples of this.  On I-215 westbound in the Las Vegas area, "Las Vegas" is used as the control city for I-15 north*. At this location, one is already in an area most would consider to be "Las Vegas" but is not actually within the limits of the City of Las Vegas.

(*Interestingly, on eastbound CR 215, I-15 north uses "Salt Lake City" as the control city.)

I think thats because on westbound I-215 it's coming from the airport, so it's directing tourist traffic to the fastest way to Downtown and the strip.  Also your still over atleast 5 miles from the actual city limits.
But that would also explain why on 215 east it used Salt Lake City.
They redisgned the Blue Diamond interchange and now it says Salt Lake City, and a small reference to Las Vegas.  I personally don't think Salt Lake City should be signed until after Sahara Ave.

[golden eagle]

Here is a sign near Birmingham that uses Memphis as a control city along Corridor X.

I don't have a problem with Memphis being a control city near Birmingham since B'ham is used as a control city in Memphis.

[MDOTFanFB]

U.S. 24 NB at Ecorse Road, Taylor, Michigan: "Thru Traffic"!!!

[rmsandw]

You get "thru traffic" alot on the Ohio Turnpike also...

[mightyace]

I remember that from the Ohio Turnpike as well.

My first recollection of seeing "THRU TRAFFIC" is on I-95 in Wilmington, DE as a kid.

[TheStranger]

California's most famous "THRU TRAFFIC" road is I-605, though I-805 southbound gets that treatment as well.

[dislocatedkid]

As I was driving down to the Minneapolis/St Paul Airport yesterday a question popped into my head about the alternating Minneapolis/St Paul control cities on I-35 south of Duluth. Is the same practice used in Texas for 35 alternating Dallas & Ft. Worth. Or is Dallas used more often?

[Scott5114]

Can't say for Texas, but in Oklahoma south of OKC, "Dallas" is used consistently. Fort Worth is not mentioned.

[corco]

What do you guys suppose is the control city with the smallest population.  My guess would be Tucumcari, NM as the control city on I-40 in the Texas panhandle.

Probably Moorcroft WY- population 807. That's used as the main control city between Gillette and Sundance. Sundance is used extensively from Moorcroft to the South Dakota line (South Dakota uses Gillette)- population 1161

[agentsteel53]

if Delaware Water Gap refers to the town, then the population of 744 would be the smallest.

[njroadhorse]

if Delaware Water Gap refers to the town, then the population of 744 would be the smallest.

That one's kind of ambiguous, because while the town is there, I'm honestly not sure how many people are referring to the town.  Most people in my area just refer to "the Water Gap," meaning the area on the New Jersey side of the river on I-80, but for the sake of argument, let's say it does mean the town.

[mightyace]

^^^

Like njroadhorse, I always though the sign was referring to the geographical feature not the town.

[roadman65]

I would like to know why Des Moines is used as the NB Control City on both loops of I-435 near Olathe, KS?  Also why is St. Louis used for I-70 EB from I-435 west of Kansas City as well?  I think that KSDOT forgot you have to pass through Kansas City first to get to these!

[ftballfan]

I-94 in Michigan uses Detroit and Chicago for most of its length.

[InterstateNG]

I-94 in Michigan uses Detroit and Chicago for most of its length.

MDOT's University Region also uses Ann Arbor, Jackson and Marshall.

[Scott5114]

I would like to know why Des Moines is used as the NB Control City on both loops of I-435 near Olathe, KS?  Also why is St. Louis used for I-70 EB from I-435 west of Kansas City as well?  I think that KSDOT forgot you have to pass through Kansas City first to get to these!

Probably because Olathe is, for all practical purposes, Kansas City. Besides, if you're using I-435 in the first place you're probably either 1) local traffic that already knows where Actual Kansas City is, or 2) non-local traffic that is interested in bypassing Kansas City, not accessing it. So signing Kansas City from that interchange isn't terribly useful.

[roadman65]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/54480415@N08/5236255190/
Above is no city or cities but a proper airport and interstate.

[ftballfan]

US-31 north of Muskegon used to have a sign stating the mileage to South Bend, IN.

Lansing is also signed with Grand Rapids for the I-96 exit off of US-31 SB.

[Kniwt]

Breathing new life into an old thread, but just barely ...

Turns out there's a Broadway play called, um, "Other Desert Cities," named for the sign on I-10.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Other_Desert_Cities

Other Desert Cities was a finalist for the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

[PurdueBill]

In Indianapolis today passing by the Repertory Theatre, what do you know--


Unlike the Playbill art, the title here is even in either true FHWA lettering or a close replica, and even uses the lowercase o in "other".   

[Dr Frankenstein]

It's probably in "Interstate", a fairly widespread knockoff of the FHWA alphabet.

[PurdueBill]

It's probably in "Interstate", a fairly widespread knockoff of the FHWA alphabet.

That's what I would guess, but the twisty word art aspect makes it hard to tell without careful inspection...still, I like this logo better than the one on the Playbill.  Saw that poster and instantly recognized what it referred to...

[jfs1988]

Interstate 10 eastbound/US 95 southbound overlap

The final mileage sign in California can have Wickenburg & Tucson dropped & replaced with Quartzsite and Yuma. There are many who live in Blythe and Quartzsite that commute to Yuma.

I made this mileage sign on Microsoft Paint.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jfs1988/9738278768/