Control Cities

[mightyace]

Is it normal to use control cities that are over 300 miles away? US 101 uses Eureka in areas even south of Santa Rosa, where it's over 300 miles away. There are many other cities that could be used that are closer.

Well, it's been previously mentioned that I-80 East near Youngstown, OH uses New York City as a control city even though it's over 350 miles and two states away!  (Plus, IIRC I-80 Officially ends at the George Washington Bridge approach and doesn't actually enter NYC!)

[Greybear]

In Texas, El Paso first shows up on I-20 as a control city over 500 miles away, as shown on this westbound sign gantry at Exit 386. I-20 does not even go into El Paso, but rather ends at I-10 in the middle of nowhere, almost 170 miles east of El Paso.

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[Revive 755]

I-57 uses Memphis as a control city SB - greater than 300 miles.  NB I-57 uses Chicago, which is also greater than 300 miles from Sikeston, MO.

I-255 occasionally uses Tulsa in IL, which is over 390 miles away. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.479949,-90.223331&spn=0,359.978027&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.479713,-90.223455&panoid=pLwN7988N5CDc1b4-acZkA&cbp=12,210.75286007152678,,0,-3.613281249999998  I-44 also uses Tulsa around St. Louis.

I-80 uses Omaha at the eastern end of the western I-76, which is over 300 miles eastward:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.028348,-102.151737&spn=0,359.824219&z=13&layer=c&cbll=41.028413,-102.151466&panoid=-W-8Y6ysd4TelIYvMDIOkQ&cbp=12,46.459887602735826,,0,-9.326171875000002
I-80 also uses Omaha at I-25 in WY:
http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=41.10875,-104.850597&spn=0,359.956055&z=15&layer=c&cbll=41.108654,-104.850602&panoid=Nb7yWPK16UprpVfNAcwJ5w&cbp=12,8.612544038679646,,0,-21.455078124999996

There's probably some more out west that are over 300 miles away, but I would say it's normal.

[Scott5114]

I-44 using Tulsa in St Louis is just silly...why skip over Springfield?

[PAHighways]

I-70 in Pennsylvania has Washington westbound from the Pa Turnpike at New Stanton, and Washington eastbound from the Pa Turnpike at Breezewood.  Luckily they distinguish them (Washington Pa and Washington DC).

PennDOT just assumes you're going to the Pennsylvanian version and leaves off the "Pa" along I-79.

I-279 north of Pittsburgh uses "Erie" as the control city, instead of Cranberry or Wexford.

[mightyace]

PennDOT just assumes you're going to the Pennsylvanian version and leaves off the "Pa" along I-79.

Of course, to PennDOT, nothing outside Pennsylvania actually exists! 

[Marc]

One that bothers me is U.S. 59 north of downtown Houston. The control city is Cleveland, a small town only 40-50 miles to the northeast. To me, it makes more sense for the control city to be Lufkin, or Texarkana (maybe even Shreveport). Same goes for 59 southbound. Victoria makes sense to some extent, but I think Corpus Christi or Laredo should also get some attention.

I too have noticed the Baton Rouge/Lake Charles swap on I-10 east. Seems like states would better coordinate this stuff amongst themselves.

[Ian]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

(sorry if the image comes out too large.)

[PAHighways]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

I-279 uses Fort Pitt Bridge and I-579 uses Veterans Bridge and Liberty Bridge as their southbound control "cities."

[74/171FAN]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

(sorry if the image comes out too large.)

That's for the mall off DE 1 just south of the I-95 interchange there.

[Greybear]

US 82 East in Wichita Falls uses Texarkana as a control city, skipping over much-closer Sherman.

US 75 North in Dallas, until recently, used Sherman as its control city before being changed by TxDOT to McKinney.

Until just within a couple of years ago, there were no control cities on I-430 in the Little Rock area. Now, signs for I-430 South on both directions of I-40 has a control city of Texarkana while northbound signs for I-430 from both directions of I-30 have Fort Smith on its signs.

[Revive 755]

How about a control county:  http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=38.469601,-90.225112&spn=0,359.978027&z=16&layer=c&cbll=38.469337,-90.225034&panoid=3vZplbqfnTFDnzU8fejefQ&cbp=12,359.5938294533995,,0,0.07812499999999942

Any other places where a county is used as a control?

[Bryant5493]

^^ That's odd. I've never seen a county used as a control city.


Be well,

Bryant

[Greybear]

I haven't either.  Interesting.

[Dougtone]

I find it interesting that NB I-95 north of Baltimore in Maryland has a control city of New York. This shows no respect to Philadelphia or Wilmington. I'm okay with it because New York is the nation's largest city. However, I-78 and I-80 in Pennsylvania do not show New York as their control city. I wonder why I-95 would have New York as a control city, at such a far distance, but I-78 and I-80 do not.

Well, my home state of Pennsylvania tends to be a bit provincial about control cities.  While I-80 around Youngstown, OH uses New York City as the eastbound control, Pennsylvania uses several small towns and cities along the way.  There are, of course, no big cities along that route.

The I-80 control cities are (west to east) Sharon, Mercer, Clarion, Brookville, DuBois, Clearfield, Bellefonte, Milton, Bloomsburg (my hometown), Hazleton, and Stroudsburg.  (I may have missed one between Hazleton and Stroudsburg.)  None of those towns is over 50,000 and I think that only Sharon, Hazleton, and Stroudsburg may even be over 20,000.

I am not as sure about I-81 but I think they are Chambersburg, Shippensburg, Carlisle, Harrisburg, Hazleton, Wilkes-Barre, Scranton then Binghamton, NY.

I think I-78 uses Harrisburg (even though it doesn't reach it and Allentown.

Delaware Water Gap has always bothered me on I-80 West in New Jersey. I know, PA I-80 has no really significant cities, so why not something really long distance, like Youngstown or Cleveland, Ohio. LOL, sounds wierd thinking about it on signs in NJ.

Maybe Pittsburgh via I-79, either that or the Ohio destinations

How about State College as a control city for I-80 in PA (from both east and west).  Granted, I-80 misses State College by about 10 miles, but it's the most identifiable place between Youngstown and New Jersey.

[Dougtone]

I've noticed that "Thru Traffic" tends to be used on pull through signs on the toll roads at the interchanges.

In the same vein as "NJ-NY," I seem to remember somewhere in New England seeing the destination "N.H.-Maine."  I think using state names is cheesy.

However, in Maine, I've seen "N.H.-Mass." used as control cities for I-95 southbound.  I also remember when "New England" was a control city for I-95 northbound in New York City.  That changed within the past 10 years, when "New England" and "New Jersey" where phased out in favor of "New Haven" and "Trenton".

[Dougtone]

"Other Desert Cities", anyone?

I still would like to know where Thru Traffic, California is located.

The control cities on I-10 EB in east TX and LA are kind of funny. East of Beaumont, TX uses "Baton Rouge", but then once across the state line the control point becomes "Lake Charles." Thought that was kind of interesting. BTW, La. uses "Beaumont" on I-10 WB past Lake Charles.

Also, I might have mentioned it before, but the use of "Bay St. Louis" as a control point for I-10 EB past Slidell is truly ridiculous. Ditto some of the MS I-55 control points such as McComb or Grenada.

I've seen Thru Traffic listed as control cities on I-290 in the Buffalo, NY area.  We at Gribblenation think that it is near Fredonia.

[Dougtone]

I think that the upstate control city makes perfect sense. It does plainly state where the highway goes...

Plus, there are a lot of destinations that one could go in Upstate New York.  It covers the definition of such places like Albany, Binghamton, Newburgh, etc.

However, I would like Newburgh to be added as a control city for I-87, as it is an Interstate junction between I-84 and I-87, and there's plenty of people that live around Newburgh.  While we're talking the Thruway, it wouldn't hurt to have Syracuse added as a control city, for similar reasons.

[Dougtone]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

(sorry if the image comes out too large.)

Well, Delaware IS the home of tax-free shopping (but so is New Hampshire).

[SSOWorld]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

(sorry if the image comes out too large.)

Well, Delaware IS the home of tax-free shopping (but so is New Hampshire).

Until you "technically" take your stuff back home - then you pay your home state a use tax

[Alex]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

(sorry if the image comes out too large.)

That's for the mall off DE 1 just south of the I-95 interchange there.

Which is not directly connected to Interstate 95, it requires a loop ramp from Delaware 1/7 southbound, and that ramp may soon change as the overpass that leads to Mall Road will have to be removed or replaced when the Interstate 95 interchange is upgraded. Mall Road should be used as on auxiliary sign, or could easily display "Christiana Mall".

[mightyace]

Exit 17 on I-180 in Pennsylvania is simply signed as Lycoming Mall Road.  But, other than the shopping area, there's nothing else of note there!

[Dougtone]

If this hasn't been brought up, how bout "Mall Rd" as a control city? I-95 southbound in Newark, DE.

(sorry if the image comes out too large.)

Well, Delaware IS the home of tax-free shopping (but so is New Hampshire).

Until you "technically" take your stuff back home - then you pay your home state a use tax

Yeah, I am supposed to do that, aren't I.  But I don't think that the states care too much for small ticket items, such as clothing.  It's the bigger items, like cars, they care about.  Except for New York, we care about the taxes on clothing and cars.

[PAHighways]

Exit 17 on I-180 in Pennsylvania is simply signed as Lycoming Mall Road.  But, other than the shopping area, there's nothing else of note there!

Exit 12A on PA 28 is for Pittsburgh Mills Boulevard and it too just goes to the Galleria and Village at Pittsburgh Mills.  It does connect to a local road to the south, but there is nothing on that side...yet.

[Terry Shea]

I hate the fact when you come off the Mackinaw bridge, the control city for I-75 is Saginaw, when it doesn't even go to it. Instead, it should be Flint.

It's even more interesting heading north on I-75 near Saginaw.  There's an overhead sign that says Mackinac Bridge with an arrow pointing straight ahead.  Then about a mile or so later you start climbing the Zilwaukee Bridge.  I don't know how many people have been fooled by the sign but apparently my nephew was.  His wife was driving him up to Mackinac Bridge and after seeing the sign and then crossing the Zilwaukee I guess he said "That was it?"