Worst control city on an interstate in your state

[roadman65]

Then there is Plymouth Meeting on I-476 in  Delaware County, PA.  Should be Allentown as that's the states third largest city and Plymouth Meeting is a small place within Plymouth Township.

Then again, I-84 uses Milford for it's EB control city despite Port Jervis is 10 miles further and much larger.  Then at US 6 & 209 in Matamoros, Port Jervis is used there on the EB I-84 ramp, but should be Newburgh at that point as Downtown Port Jervis is north of the freeway on both US 6 & 209. 

Even on I-84 at the US 6 & 209 interchange, Port Jervis is not a control city but only Matamoros is.  It should be signed both going EB with a Port Jervis Next 2 Exits guide.  In reality taking US 6 & 209 into Port Jervis via Matamoros is the most direct way I to that city.

[JayhawkCO]

Because I-65 does not travel through Huntsville city proper.

Yes, it does.

I-65 travels through Huntsville city proper for two miles in zoning grid 11-02 and 10-02 (from near the Verizon cell tower south of Buc-ee's to Martin Line Road), then for another 0.2 miles in zoning grid 09-02 (between the Norfolk Southern railroad and CR-45).

As is demonstrated here:

[kphoger]

As is demonstrated here

That's where I started.  But I decided to verify Google's data.

[Daniel Fiddler]

Because I-65 does not travel through Huntsville city proper.

Yes, it does.

I-65 travels through Huntsville city proper for two miles in zoning grid 11-02 and 10-02 (from near the Verizon cell tower south of Buc-ee's to Martin Line Road), then for another 0.2 miles in zoning grid 09-02 (between the Norfolk Southern railroad and CR-45).

I stand corrected

[mrsman]

Worst?  Huntsville, for I-65 south in Nashville.

Why?

Because I-65 does not travel through Huntsville city proper.

It travels through the metropolitan area (Decatur and Athens), but not the city proper.  And I-565 is far more "biased" towards Birmingham than Nashville!

Control city used to be Birmingham, but they changed it several years back.

The city proper of Huntsville and Mobile are both larger than the city proper of Birmingham, although the metropolitan area of Birmingham is still the largest in the state at 1.1 million, plus I-65 does traverse the city proper of Birmingham.

Therefore, the control city should be Birmingham in my opinion.

Second place:  On I-155, the control city should be Hayti.  I-155 does not end in St. Louis...at all.  You have to get on I-55 to go there.

Third place:  In Memphis, US 78 should be Tupelo.  US 78 is not access-fully controlled freeway for another seven miles, and not Interstate 22 for even longer than that.  So a shorter distance city than Birmingham would make more sense there.

Trying to think of others.

Even if Huntsville is technically within I-65's path, the majority of town is considerably away.  I agree that Huntsville is not a helpful addition since I-65 is more of a Nashville to Birmingham direct connector.

For the other cases cited, there is a bit of a disagreement as to whether a 3di should sign for the cities it goes to or the cities that it leads to.  So I-155 does not go to St Louis, but it does basically put you on a road that leads to St Louis.  But I can see the argument against St Louis as well.

[Scott5114]

I have no idea what to think about the control city for I-11 north.

Some signs use Tonopah. Some use Reno. I-11 doesn't reach either, of course. US-95, which I-11 defaults onto, does reach Tonopah. If I-11 ever gets extended it will probably serve Tonopah. But it's a pretty small town that normally wouldn't qualify to be an Interstate control city.

But Reno has its own problems. I-11 will probably never directly serve Reno, and as it stands now you have to use a few different numbered routes to reach it (you can't just stay on US-95 because then you end up in Winnemucca).

So no matter what you put there, it's probably the worst control city in Nevada.

[jlam]

I have no idea what to think about the control city for I-11 north.

Some signs use Tonopah. Some use Reno. I-11 doesn't reach either, of course. US-95, which I-11 defaults onto, does reach Tonopah. If I-11 ever gets extended it will probably serve Tonopah. But it's a pretty small town that normally wouldn't qualify to be an Interstate control city.

But Reno has its own problems. I-11 will probably never directly serve Reno, and as it stands now you have to use a few different numbered routes to reach it (you can't just stay on US-95 because then you end up in Winnemucca).

So no matter what you put there, it's probably the worst control city in Nevada.

You know what they say. When you can't sign something nice, sign nothing.

[Scott5114]

I have no idea what to think about the control city for I-11 north.

Some signs use Tonopah. Some use Reno. I-11 doesn't reach either, of course. US-95, which I-11 defaults onto, does reach Tonopah. If I-11 ever gets extended it will probably serve Tonopah. But it's a pretty small town that normally wouldn't qualify to be an Interstate control city.

But Reno has its own problems. I-11 will probably never directly serve Reno, and as it stands now you have to use a few different numbered routes to reach it (you can't just stay on US-95 because then you end up in Winnemucca).

So no matter what you put there, it's probably the worst control city in Nevada.

You know what they say. When you can't sign something nice, sign nothing.

Nothing is on I-11 south. This is about I-11 north.

/s

[hobsini2]

I have no idea what to think about the control city for I-11 north.

Some signs use Tonopah. Some use Reno. I-11 doesn't reach either, of course. US-95, which I-11 defaults onto, does reach Tonopah. If I-11 ever gets extended it will probably serve Tonopah. But it's a pretty small town that normally wouldn't qualify to be an Interstate control city.

But Reno has its own problems. I-11 will probably never directly serve Reno, and as it stands now you have to use a few different numbered routes to reach it (you can't just stay on US-95 because then you end up in Winnemucca).

So no matter what you put there, it's probably the worst control city in Nevada.

I would still sign it Reno since it goes in that direction and it is the 2nd largest metro in the state, not that that is saying something.

[JayhawkCO]

I have no idea what to think about the control city for I-11 north.

Some signs use Tonopah. Some use Reno. I-11 doesn't reach either, of course. US-95, which I-11 defaults onto, does reach Tonopah. If I-11 ever gets extended it will probably serve Tonopah. But it's a pretty small town that normally wouldn't qualify to be an Interstate control city.

But Reno has its own problems. I-11 will probably never directly serve Reno, and as it stands now you have to use a few different numbered routes to reach it (you can't just stay on US-95 because then you end up in Winnemucca).

So no matter what you put there, it's probably the worst control city in Nevada.

Not to get into a big debate, but Tonopah is bigger than Limon, and arguably even more of a necessary stop for thru travelers.

[kphoger]

Not to get into a big debate

whoops

more of a necessary stop for thru travelers

I think decision points for non-thru travelers are more important as control cities than stops for thru travelers.

[JayhawkCO]

Not to get into a big debate

whoops

more of a necessary stop for thru travelers

I think decision points for non-thru travelers are more important as control cities than stops for thru travelers.

To each their own, of course. But I still feel like control cities are as much "what's the next important town coming up" as much as outright "destinations".

[kphoger]

I still feel like control cities are as much "what's the next important town coming up" as much as outright "destinations".

You're thinking of mileage signs...

[JayhawkCO]

I still feel like control cities are as much "what's the next important town coming up" as much as outright "destinations".

You're thinking of mileage signs...

No, not really. And even so, control cities are used in the last line of mileage signs. (We talked about this in another thread). But if I exit onto some ransom state highway, I assume the control city for the state route is most likely the next important city, no matter where the highway eventually ends up.

[Scott5114]

I would still sign it Reno since it goes in that direction and it is the 2nd largest metro in the state, not that that is saying something.

Reno is a perfectly fine city, and is a sensible control city in general. The only hangups I have on it for I-11 are because of the number of steps one has to take to get from a road with an I-11 shield on it to Reno. It is very much not the usual Interstate control city experience of "If I stay on this road without making any turns I will end up there eventually". (For one thing, you'll crash into a house in Beatty if you try that, because US 95 has a TOTSO there.)

There also isn't a whole lot of guidance for Reno along US 95, since it follows the usual conventional-road practice of directing you to the next town along the route, so you'll see Beatty and Tonopah and Hawthorne signed as destinations before you will Reno.

Not to get into a big debate, but Tonopah is bigger than Limon, and arguably even more of a necessary stop for thru travelers.

I suppose if you feel like Hays makes sense as a control city, then Tonopah also makes sense as a control city.

It does feel weird to have it as a control city somewhere like here, though (this sign has recently been replaced with one that includes an I-11 shield, but is otherwise identical). Obviously, if you're still in Las Vegas, you are probably not going to be thinking about your next fuel stop since options abound where you are. Even if you are thinking about future fuel stops, you still have options in Indian Springs and Beatty ahead of you at this point, even if also stopping at Tonopah before the 100-mile service gap is an excellent idea.

Tonopah has a Clown Motel, which no other Interstate control city has, so that's something.

some ransom state highway

The Craig County sign was on a US route, not a state highway.