Worst control city on an interstate in your state

[SD Mapman]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I wouldn't call that a control city, it's more of a local exit destination. It's basically saying "use this exit to get to Hartsburg", because normally you'd expect to have access to Hartsburg from I-55, but there's no exit at Old Route 121, so you have to use I-155 to get to Hartsburg instead.

And yes, Hartsburg might seem small to put on any sort of signage, but it is quite common for towns of this size to appear on interstate signage as local exit destinations in the Midwest and West. I-29 in North Dakota has many that are smaller than this, sometimes much smaller, like Ardoch (pop. 31) and Bathgate (pop. 47).

It's the first town on I-155, seems fairly logical to me.

[hobsini2]

^Really it varies, not even by state but on a case-by-case basis. I-691 in Connecticut is an example of an Interstate similar to I-155, but has an even first digit.

Then you have Pennsylvania. A spur route from I-79 that connects to I-376 in Downtown Pittsburgh has an even first digit, but a spur from I-80 that connects to I-84 near Scranton has an odd first digit.

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

At least it's only a secondary and Peoria is still signed. I think the southbound I-155 exit at I-74 is worse. No mention of Springfield or St Louis.

I agree on this one. Who is going to Lincoln, IDOT?

You guys are speaking without context. When this was Route 121, Lincoln is where the road made  switch to head southeast to Decatur. It wasn't until the freeway was built that this became a shortcut for Springfield traffic. The old direct route between Springfield and Peoria was Route 29 which you can still take today. Lincoln (13k) is fine. Should Springfield be on the sign too? Sure.

[kirbykart]

^That's what is was. But times change, and control cities should change with them. Jacksonville should not be used on I-72. And although I like it, Jamestown probably shouldn't be used on Route 17.

[Flint1979]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I'd like to know why I-155 has an odd number.

Because it's a north-south spur that provides an Interstate connection between Peoria and Lincoln.

^Again, standards vary by state. Most states would give I-155 an even first digit, but as Illinois and Kansas have shown, not everyone thinks that is best practice. Pennsylvania does a bit of both, and I honestly can't explain I-495 in New York.

I couldn't decide whether to respond to roadman or Flint, so I quoted Flint's post and added an arrow to show I was talking to roadman.

It's a spur route to Peoria off I-55 so I don't think that most states would be giving that highway an even number.

[MATraveler128]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I'd like to know why I-155 has an odd number.

Because it's a north-south spur that provides an Interstate connection between Peoria and Lincoln.

^Again, standards vary by state. Most states would give I-155 an even first digit, but as Illinois and Kansas have shown, not everyone thinks that is best practice. Pennsylvania does a bit of both, and I honestly can't explain I-495 in New York.

I couldn't decide whether to respond to roadman or Flint, so I quoted Flint's post and added an arrow to show I was talking to roadman.

It's a spur route to Peoria off I-55 so I don't think that most states would be giving that highway an even number.

I-270 in Maryland uses an even number and it functions more like a spur towards the DC suburbs.

[roadman65]

^That's what is was. But times change, and control cities should change with them. Jacksonville should not be used on I-72. And although I like it, Jamestown probably shouldn't be used on Route 17.

There was a time when Olean and Elmira were used.  I-86 changed the latter to Corning. Don't know why Olean became Jamestown though.

[Flint1979]

I think I've mentioned this before but back in the day the control cities at the eastern end of US-10 in Bay City had the following control cities:

I-75 NB: Standish
I-75 SB: Flint/Detroit

Now about 20 years ago this was changed to what it is today and has the following control cities:

I-75 NB: Mackinac Bridge
I-75 SB: Saginaw

The second one is what it should be considering those are the two control cities in that area.

Now Standish is a small city of about 1,500 people, it is however where US-23 and I-75 split after having a 73 mile concurrency. Standish is the seat of Arenac County a rather small county for Michigan standards at only 363 square miles and 15,000 people.

[roadman65]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I'd like to know why I-155 has an odd number.

Because it's a north-south spur that provides an Interstate connection between Peoria and Lincoln.

^Again, standards vary by state. Most states would give I-155 an even first digit, but as Illinois and Kansas have shown, not everyone thinks that is best practice. Pennsylvania does a bit of both, and I honestly can't explain I-495 in New York.

I couldn't decide whether to respond to roadman or Flint, so I quoted Flint's post and added an arrow to show I was talking to roadman.

It's a spur route to Peoria off I-55 so I don't think that most states would be giving that highway an even number.

I-270 in Maryland uses an even number and it functions more like a spur towards the DC suburbs.

I-270 ends at I-495, a circle route. It don't go to Downtown Washington.

[Flint1979]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I'd like to know why I-155 has an odd number.

Because it's a north-south spur that provides an Interstate connection between Peoria and Lincoln.

^Again, standards vary by state. Most states would give I-155 an even first digit, but as Illinois and Kansas have shown, not everyone thinks that is best practice. Pennsylvania does a bit of both, and I honestly can't explain I-495 in New York.

I couldn't decide whether to respond to roadman or Flint, so I quoted Flint's post and added an arrow to show I was talking to roadman.

It's a spur route to Peoria off I-55 so I don't think that most states would be giving that highway an even number.

I-270 in Maryland uses an even number and it functions more like a spur towards the DC suburbs.

I think it depends on what the state decides. I-696 in Michigan has both ends at an Interstate (not the same Interstate though) it's western end is at I-96 and I-275 and the eastern end is at I-94. Now I-196 also in Michigan has both ends at an Interstate also not the same Interstate, the northern end is at I-96 and the southern end is at I-94.

The reason I-196 is numbered the way it is was because it originally was supposed to go to Muskegon and I-96 was supposed to be the highway to follow the current I-196 back to I-94. The highways got flipped and I-96 went to Muskegon and I-196 went to I-94 near Benton Harbor.

[Flint1979]

^That's what is was. But times change, and control cities should change with them. Jacksonville should not be used on I-72. And although I like it, Jamestown probably shouldn't be used on Route 17.

Why should control cities change when nothing else has really changed?

[hotdogPi]

270 should have an odd first digit. It clearly goes inward/outward from Washington.

155 is correct as is. It's not a loop of anything.

[roadman65]

Keep in mind I-196 is N-S where it’s parent is E-W.  Plus I-196 acts as a de facto spur of I-94 anyway.

270 should have an odd first digit. It clearly goes inward/outward from Washington.

155 is correct as is. It's not a loop of anything.

It ends at I-495, it’s not a spur.

Now enough, as the thread is to be about bad choice of control cities, not the validity of the three digit interstates.

[Flint1979]

^Really it varies, not even by state but on a case-by-case basis. I-691 in Connecticut is an example of an Interstate similar to I-155, but has an even first digit.

Then you have Pennsylvania. A spur route from I-79 that connects to I-376 in Downtown Pittsburgh has an even first digit, but a spur from I-80 that connects to I-84 near Scranton has an odd first digit.

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

At least it's only a secondary and Peoria is still signed. I think the southbound I-155 exit at I-74 is worse. No mention of Springfield or St Louis.

I agree on this one. Who is going to Lincoln, IDOT?

You guys are speaking without context. When this was Route 121, Lincoln is where the road made  switch to head southeast to Decatur. It wasn't until the freeway was built that this became a shortcut for Springfield traffic. The old direct route between Springfield and Peoria was Route 29 which you can still take today. Lincoln (13k) is fine. Should Springfield be on the sign too? Sure.

It's actually about a mile or so shorter to take IL-29 instead of the Interstate's but adds about 25 more minutes to the trip.

[Flint1979]

Keep in mind I-196 is N-S where it's parent is E-W.  Plus I-196 acts as a de facto spur of I-94 anyway.

270 should have an odd first digit. It clearly goes inward/outward from Washington.

155 is correct as is. It's not a loop of anything.

It ends at I-495, it's not a spur.

Now enough, as the thread is to be about bad choice of control cities, not the validity of the three digit interstates.

I-196 like I have already mentioned was a spur to Muskegon not no spur to I-94. Then the highways got flipped and we have what we have today.

[kirbykart]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I'd like to know why I-155 has an odd number.

Because it's a north-south spur that provides an Interstate connection between Peoria and Lincoln.

^Again, standards vary by state. Most states would give I-155 an even first digit, but as Illinois and Kansas have shown, not everyone thinks that is best practice. Pennsylvania does a bit of both, and I honestly can't explain I-495 in New York.

I couldn't decide whether to respond to roadman or Flint, so I quoted Flint's post and added an arrow to show I was talking to roadman.

It's a spur route to Peoria off I-55 so I don't think that most states would be giving that highway an even number.

No, I think Illinois is just choosing its interpretation of "connecting routes". Most states would give it an even number regardless of whether you think it's a spur.

[JoePCool14]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I think what bothers me more about this setup is the way that Springfield, a secondary control, was placed below St. Louis, the primary control.

Hartsburg makes sense here as a destination. The only thing arguably more logical would be to have no control at all.

[hotdogPi]

While there's no rule about it and it's just an observation I've noticed, medium-distance connectors (I'm calling them medium and not long because long = 2di) are often 1xx, such as I-135 in Kansas, the I-155 this discussion is about, I-195 in Rhode Island and Massachusetts (any first digit would work here, actually – it's a spur from Providence but also part of Boston's third beltway), I-195 in New Jersey, I-395 in Massachusetts and Connecticut because the number 195 was already taken, and I-196 in Michigan.

[webny99]

Also, I-190 (27 miles) and I-390 (76 miles). They're both what I would consider medium-distance connectors, and are by far the longest two odd-digit 3di's in New York.

[Flint1979]

Illinois is notorious for bad controls, but this is ridiculous: https://goo.gl/maps/KihGvxzLYQPDK3w96
Hartsburg, Illinois

I'd like to know why I-155 has an odd number.

Because it's a north-south spur that provides an Interstate connection between Peoria and Lincoln.

^Again, standards vary by state. Most states would give I-155 an even first digit, but as Illinois and Kansas have shown, not everyone thinks that is best practice. Pennsylvania does a bit of both, and I honestly can't explain I-495 in New York.

I couldn't decide whether to respond to roadman or Flint, so I quoted Flint's post and added an arrow to show I was talking to roadman.

It's a spur route to Peoria off I-55 so I don't think that most states would be giving that highway an even number.

No, I think Illinois is just choosing its interpretation of "connecting routes". Most states would give it an even number regardless of whether you think it's a spur.

It is a spur, it's not that I think it is, it is one.

[JoePCool14]

While there's no rule about it and it's just an observation I've noticed, medium-distance connectors (I'm calling them medium and not long because long = 2di) are often 1xx, such as I-135 in Kansas, the I-155 this discussion is about, I-195 in Rhode Island and Massachusetts (any first digit would work here, actually – it's a spur from Providence but also part of Boston's third beltway), I-195 in New Jersey, I-395 in Massachusetts and Connecticut because the number 195 was already taken, and I-196 in Michigan.

Unfortunately, I-190 in Illinois is definitely not a medium-distance connector. I like the idea of I-1xx being reserved for that medium-distance purpose though.

[kphoger]

Keep in mind I-196 is N-S where it's parent is E-W.

So?

[GaryV]

Keep in mind I-196 is N-S where it's parent is E-W.

So?

I-196 is E/W in Grand Rapids and Ottawa County. It becomes N/S south of Holland to the end at I-94.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/eDAYYWtQbzRJYinN7

This here using Camden as a control city at Exit 1A is totally ridiculous.  Traffic here reading this sign just originated there.

Plus when exiting you get this:  https://goo.gl/maps/gxbAaeSUpm2BFZth7 where your led back onto I-676 in a reverse direction.

I think the engineer who wanted this sign was fulfilling a destination for US 130 along with Trenton and forgot the road merges into the traffic heading from Philadelphia who need to use I-676  north.

Fix is to replace Camden with Audubon so that both US 130 and NJ 168 have control cities. 

[Flint1979]

While there's no rule about it and it's just an observation I've noticed, medium-distance connectors (I'm calling them medium and not long because long = 2di) are often 1xx, such as I-135 in Kansas, the I-155 this discussion is about, I-195 in Rhode Island and Massachusetts (any first digit would work here, actually – it's a spur from Providence but also part of Boston's third beltway), I-195 in New Jersey, I-395 in Massachusetts and Connecticut because the number 195 was already taken, and I-196 in Michigan.

Unfortunately, I-190 in Illinois is definitely not a medium-distance connector. I like the idea of I-1xx being reserved for that medium-distance purpose though.

Probably because it's the only odd digit spur route off I-90 in Illinois.

[Terry Shea]

Keep in mind I-196 is N-S where it's parent is E-W.  Plus I-196 acts as a de facto spur of I-94 anyway.

270 should have an odd first digit. It clearly goes inward/outward from Washington.

155 is correct as is. It's not a loop of anything.

It ends at I-495, it's not a spur.

Now enough, as the thread is to be about bad choice of control cities, not the validity of the three digit interstates.

I-196 like I have already mentioned was a spur to Muskegon not no spur to I-94. Then the highways got flipped and we have what we have today.

Also, when present day I-196 was opened to traffic it was for all practical purposes a 2-segment spur.   There was a spur off from I-96 into Grand Rapids, Wyoming and Grandville and another spur heading north off from I-94 near Benton Harbor to just south of Holland.  It remained like this for about a dozen years, and we were kept in the dark for a long time about whether the middle section between Grandville and Holland would ever be completed.