Mileage signs control cities

[NE2]

customary (e.g. obsolete)

i.e.

non

[Alps]

customary (e.g. obsolete)

i.e.

non

this is the guy who thinks tollroadsblog is a worthy news source

[cpzilliacus]

this is the guy who thinks tollroadsblog is a worthy news source

Not familiar with  a "tollroadsblog."

[Scott5114]

AR also posts the shields over the mileage sign. I'm fine with it, though I could see how it could be argued that posting everything at once like that could overwhelm the reader.

Why won't CA sign Tijuana? Signing Ensenada over it seems especially dumb...before I read posts about your trips down there, I'd never heard of Ensenada, and probably would have guessed it was some suburb in CA, but I definitely knew Tijuana was in Mexico!

[cpzilliacus]

AR also posts the shields over the mileage sign. I'm fine with it, though I could see how it could be argued that posting everything at once like that could overwhelm the reader.

That's a fair comment, but I've never had a problem comprehending the combination of reassurance marker(s) and the three "control cities" that VDOT so routinely posts.  Would someone less interested in such matters have a problem with "TMI?" 

I have never heard any complaints (but then I don't work for VDOT). 

Why won't CA sign Tijuana? Signing Ensenada over it seems especially dumb...before I read posts about your trips down there, I'd never heard of Ensenada, and probably would have guessed it was some suburb in CA, but I definitely knew Tijuana was in Mexico!

Caltrans seems to want to post "International Border" instead of Tijuana (with one exception that was pointed out on this forum to me).   I really dislike the country name instead of a city being posted on signs (such as "Bridge to Canada" or "Bridge to USA," or, even worse, "International Border" (and I usually like Caltrans signing practices)).

Compare and contrast those practices with Denmark on the E20 motorway as it approaches the Øresund Bridge-Tunnel. No mention at all that the motorist is leaving Denmark for Sweden, just that the control city is Malmø (Malmö in Swedish) and that the motorist is entering a toll road (GSV here)

[agentsteel53]

Caltrans seems to want to post "International Border" instead of Tijuana (with one exception that was pointed out on this forum to me).

where is that exception?

[cpzilliacus]

Caltrans seems to want to post "International Border" instead of Tijuana (with one exception that was pointed out on this forum to me).

where is that exception?

I don't know.

I mentioned that in my travels (not especially recent) from Los Angeles south to Baja California, the mileage signs on southbound I-5 through San Diego invariably read International Border.

Someone else pointed out that there is one sign on I-5 that actually reads Tijuana (I don't recall ever seeing it myself, but again, it has been quite a few years since I was out  that way).

[Alps]

[cpzilliacus]

Thank you. Wonder how I missed that sign?  It does not look to be especially new.

[Alps]

Thank you. Wonder how I missed that sign?  It does not look to be especially new.

I only take photos of button copy, so, yeah.

[J N Winkler]

There has been much speculation upthread about various rules that can be used to select destinations for post-interchange confirmation signs, as well as debate about whether these rules are in fact applied in practice.  So, as an exercise, I used photologging data to extract destinations and distances for what I believe are all the confirmation signs on I-15 northbound in Utah.

In the following list each line represents one sign, and each comma represents a line break.  The word "ruled" in brackets means that each line of legend on the sign is enclosed by one or more horizontal ruled lines.  Capitalization and punctuation is reproduced exactly as shown on the actual sign (hence "JCT" versus "Jct.").  (UDOT does not use route shields on confirmation signs, so the issue of how to render route shields did not arise.)  The photologging imagery dates from 2007-08.  I have made no attempt to account for signs which might temporarily have been removed during a construction project, had been withdrawn for repair or replacement, etc.  The list does not include interchange sequence signs or community interchanges signs, both of which UDOT uses (there is some overlapping provision of confirmation signs on lengths of I-15 for which interchange sequence signs are provided).  I believe the list is complete, but I cannot completely rule out the possibilities of truck obscuration of shoulder-mounted signs, or median-mounted signs being missed because they were too indistinct to read properly and were therefore confused with interchange sequence signs.  Styles and ages of signs span the gamut from UDOT gaptooth, early UDOT modern (fresh-looking sheeting, moderate padding), and late UDOT modern (fresh-looking sheeting, thick border, chunky padding), but I have not attempted dating since image quality and resolution is not consistently high enough for that purpose.

Two signs have Boise as a forward destination, owing to the I-84 overlap.

Leeds 10, Cedar City 45, Salt Lake 296
Leeds 5, Parowan 57, Salt Lake 291
Kanarraville 20, Beaver 84, Salt Lake 283
Cedar City 28, Fillmore 137, Salt Lake 280
Cedar City 12, Parowan 29, Salt Lake 263
Cedar City 8, Parowan 26 [ruled]
Summit 8, Parowan 15
Parowan 6, Beaver 40 [ruled]
Paragonah 6, Beaver 35, Salt Lake 235 [ruled]
Beaver 32, Jct. I-70 54 [ruled]
Beaver 26, Nephi 139, Salt Lake City 225
Beaver 15, Fillmore 72, Salt Lake City 214
Beaver 10, JCT I-70 33, Salt Lake City 208
Jct. I-70 22, Fillmore 57 [ruled]
Fillmore 54, Salt Lake 198 [ruled]
Jct. I-70 11, Fillmore 46, Salt Lake City 187
Jct. I-70 6, Fillmore 41, Salt Lake City 182
Meadow 25, Fillmore 30, Salt Lake City 175
Meadow 19, Nephi 83, Salt Lake City 169
Fillmore 4, Provo 107, Salt Lake 149
Holden 6, Nephi 54, Salt Lake 140
Scipio 9, Provo 87, Salt Lake 129
Nephi 36, Provo 76, Salt Lake 118
Levan 13, Nephi 22, Salt Lake 104
Nephi 17, Provo 58, Salt Lake 100
Mona 4, Provo 35, Salt Lake 79
Mona 3, Provo 35, Salt Lake 77
Santaquin 10, Provo 30, Salt Lake 72
Payson 8, Provo 22, Salt Lake 64
Payson 6, Provo 20, Salt Lake 62
Spanish Fork 5, Provo 13, Salt Lake 55
Springville 5, Provo 10, Salt Lake City 52
Provo 7, Orem 13, Salt Lake 49
Orem 11, Salt Lake 47
Orem 3, Salt Lake 40
Lehi 2, Salt Lake 30
Bluffdale 3, Salt Lake 23
Farmington 2, Layton 9, Ogden 21
Kaysville 4, Ogden 17
Roy 2, Ogden 6, Brigham City 27
Ogden 3, Brigham City 24, Tremonton 37
Willard 5, Brigham City 9, Pocatello 113
Honeyville 6, Pocatello 104, Boise 284
Snowville 38, Twin Falls 162, Boise 275
Riverside 3, Malad 28, Pocatello 89
Plymouth 6, Malad 24, Pocatello 85
Portage 7, Malad 18, Pocatello 79
Malad 13, Pocatello 68

[Interstatefan78]

California tends to use a mix of 2 and 3 destinations on mileage signs.  Notice I said "destinations" and not "cities".  In rural areas where there are not a whole lot of cities (mainly on I-5 through the central valley and CA-99 to a lesser extent), Caltrans uses intersecting state highways on the mileage signs.  Kind of like this...




Finally, here's a 3-city mileage sign located in an urban area...


All images are from the AARoads Gallery.

You are right about this and in southern California Caltrans signs 2 cites or sometimes 3 cites on the mileage signs  https://www.aaroads.com/california/images005/i-005_nb_exit_073_04.jpg or  https://www.aaroads.com/california/images005/i-005_sb_exit_195_01.jpg

[J N Winkler]

These are confirmation signs on Utah I-70 in both directions.  Caveats are, mutatis mutandis, as outlined upthread for Utah I-15 northbound.

I-70 eastbound:

Joseph 23, Richfield 34, Denver 507
Fremont Indian [state park symbol] State Park 17, Capitol Reef Nat'l Park 120 [ruled; brown background]
Richfield 15, Salina 34, Grand Jct. 254
Salina 17, Green River 122
GREEN RIVER 108, CRESCENT JCT. 125, GRAND JUNCTION 205
Jct. SR-10 29, Green River 96, Grand Junction 198
Fremont Jct. 15, Green River 85
Green River 67, Denver 413
Green River 61, Denver 404
Green River 51, Denver 395
Green River 38, Denver 382
Green River 28, Denver 372
Green River 18, Denver 361
GREEN RIVER 14, DENVER 358
Green River 12, Denver 355
Crescent Jct. 16, Denver 339
MOAB 48, GRAND JUNCTION 97
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK 41, CANYONLANDS 49 [brown background; each line on own panel]
Thompson Springs 5, Grand Jct. 79
Grand Junction 73, Denver 317
Fruita 55, Grand Jct 68
Fruita 46, Grand Jct. 57
Fruita 45, Denver 295
Fruita 35, Grand Jct. 47
Grand Jct. 42, Denver 282
Grand Jct. 34, Denver 277

I-70 westbound:

Crescent Jct. 43, Green River 62
Crescent Jct. 38, Green River 56
Thompson Springs 25, Green River 51
Thompson 21, Green River 47
Thompson 16, Green River 41
Thompson Springs 5, Green River 30, Jct I-15 190
Crescent Jct 3, Green River 23, Jct I-15 184
Green River 20, Jct. I-15 178
Green River 13
Green River 3, JCT U.S. 6 6
Salina 100, Jct. I-15 154
Salina 92, Richfield 108
Richfield 101, Jct. I-15 140
Salina 74, Richfield 90
Salina 35, Jct. I-15 92
Salina 16, Richfield 31, Jct. I-15 71
SALINA 6, RICHFIELD 24, JCT I-15 62
Sigurd 7, Richfield 16
I-15 36, St. George 162, Las Vegas 279
Jct. I-15 21

[roadman65]

Here in Florida we do not use "JCT" on mileage signs except on I-4 heading west of Orlando (along with control cities of other highway that intersects).  Most signs use the route shield and on the FL Turnpike the shield and control city of the exit (for example FL 70 & Ft. Pierce are used starting at the Osceola Parkway near Kissimmee).  Not too much of route junctions as supposed to routes themselves.

In Texas I saw IH 10 (Texas way of saying I-10) for the upcoming junction on mileage signs.  One in particular along the TX 87 corridor along the Bolivar Peninsula that uses it.  Anyway, no junction mentioned just the text of the route.

[Interstate Trav]

These are confirmation signs on Utah I-70 in both directions.  Caveats are, mutatis mutandis, as outlined upthread for Utah I-15 northbound.

I-70 eastbound:

Joseph 23, Richfield 34, Denver 507
Fremont Indian [state park symbol] State Park 17, Capitol Reef Nat'l Park 120 [ruled; brown background]
Richfield 15, Salina 34, Grand Jct. 254
Salina 17, Green River 122
GREEN RIVER 108, CRESCENT JCT. 125, GRAND JUNCTION 205
Jct. SR-10 29, Green River 96, Grand Junction 198
Fremont Jct. 15, Green River 85
Green River 67, Denver 413
Green River 61, Denver 404
Green River 51, Denver 395
Green River 38, Denver 382
Green River 28, Denver 372
Green River 18, Denver 361
GREEN RIVER 14, DENVER 358
Green River 12, Denver 355
Crescent Jct. 16, Denver 339
MOAB 48, GRAND JUNCTION 97
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK 41, CANYONLANDS 49 [brown background; each line on own panel]
Thompson Springs 5, Grand Jct. 79
Grand Junction 73, Denver 317
Fruita 55, Grand Jct 68
Fruita 46, Grand Jct. 57
Fruita 45, Denver 295
Fruita 35, Grand Jct. 47
Grand Jct. 42, Denver 282
Grand Jct. 34, Denver 277

I-70 westbound:

Crescent Jct. 43, Green River 62
Crescent Jct. 38, Green River 56
Thompson Springs 25, Green River 51
Thompson 21, Green River 47
Thompson 16, Green River 41
Thompson Springs 5, Green River 30, Jct I-15 190
Crescent Jct 3, Green River 23, Jct I-15 184
Green River 20, Jct. I-15 178
Green River 13
Green River 3, JCT U.S. 6 6
Salina 100, Jct. I-15 154
Salina 92, Richfield 108
Richfield 101, Jct. I-15 140
Salina 74, Richfield 90
Salina 35, Jct. I-15 92
Salina 16, Richfield 31, Jct. I-15 71
SALINA 6, RICHFIELD 24, JCT I-15 62
Sigurd 7, Richfield 16
I-15 36, St. George 162, Las Vegas 279
Jct. I-15 21

How do you get these?  Can you get the one's for I-70 in Colorado, East and West Bound?

[J N Winkler]

How do you get these?  Can you get the ones for I-70 in Colorado, East and West Bound?

I do it by downloading photologging imagery for a given length of Interstate (in this case, I-15 and I-70 border-to-border), flipping through the images at high speed using the smooth-scrolling function of my mouse, extracting the images that have mileage signs in them, and then typing out the sign messages in a Notepad file.  I can do it for I-70 in Colorado since CDOT has photologging online--it will just take some time since I have imagery already downloaded only for I-70 eastbound from MP 100 to MP 280.

The only states I know of which have online photologs good enough for this approach are CO, UT, and WA.

[J N Winkler]

More lists for Utah Interstates--this time I-80 in both directions and I-84 westbound only.  Again, caveats are as described upthread, mutatis mutandis.  As an aside, the list for I-80 westbound gives an idea of why transcontinental travelers on I-80 encounter Wendover with a feeling of resentment.  Thirteen mentions in 103 miles, in spite of a population of just 1,500 (about 6,000 combined with its neighbor in Nevada, which is larger partly because gambling is permitted there), pump up expectations to a level which virtually guarantees anticlimax and disappointment.

I-80 eastbound:

Knolls 38, Salt Lake 114
Knolls 32, Salt Lake City 111 [ruled]
Knolls 22, Salt Lake City 101 [ruled]
Knolls 10, Tooele 79, Salt Lake City 90
Delle 27, Tooele 68, Salt Lake City 79
Grantsville 35, Salt Lake 64
Delle 8, Salt Lake 59 [ruled]
Lake Pt. Jct. 28, Salt Lake City 51
Grantsville 17, Salt Lake City 44
Great Salt Lake 25, Salt Lake City 37
Great Salt Lake 21, Salt Lake City 33
S.L. Int'l Airport 10, Jct. I-215 11, Salt Lake City 16 [destinations are centered]
Park City 20, Coalville 33, Cheyenne 447
Wanship 18, Coalville 26, Evanston 61
Wanship 7, Coalville 15, Cheyenne 427
Coalville 7, Echo 12, Cheyenne 420
Jct I-84 4, Evanston 38, Cheyenne 412
Evanston 31, Cheyenne 404
Evanston 22, Cheyenne 395
Evanston 10, Cheyenne 383

I-80 westbound:

Echo 21, Park City 50, Salt Lake City 70
Coalville 4, Wanship 11, Salt Lake 49
Wanship 6, Park City 24, Salt Lake 44
U S 40 7, Park City 17, Salt Lake 37
Salt Lake 26, Reno 551
Salt Lake 21, Reno 546
Wendover 110, Reno 511 [ruled]
Tooele 17, Wendover 103, Elko 212 [destinations are centered]
Grantsville 16, Wendover 98, Reno 504
Delle 19, Wendover 88, Reno 494
Delle 14, Wendover 83, Reno 489
Delle 6, Wendover 75
Knolls 28, Wendover 69
Knolls 20, Wendover 61
Knolls 12, Wendover 54, Reno 460
Knolls 5, Wendover 47, Reno 453
Wendover 40, Reno 446
Wendover 30, Elko 140, Reno 436
Wendover 20, Elko 130, Reno 426
Wendover 9, Reno 415

I-84 westbound:

Henefer 4, Morgan 16, Ogden 36
Henefer 2, Ogden 35
Morgan 12, Ogden 32
Morgan 7, Ogden 25, Tremonton 65
Morgan 4, Ogden 23, Twin Falls 216
Morgan 1, Ogden 20, Tremonton 60
Ogden 17, Tremonton 57, Twin Falls 210
Ogden 8, Brigham City 31, Tremonton 46
Riverdale 5, Boise 310
Riverdale 2, Jct. I-15 3 [ruled]
Snowville 18, Burley 91, Boise 250
Snowville 8, Twin Falls 122, Boise 240
Snowville 4, Twin Falls 118, Boise 236
Burley 72, Boise 227

[J N Winkler]

Moving on to Colorado, I now have post-interchange confirmation signs for what I believe is the entirety of I-70 eastbound.  The source is CDOT's photologging (primarily "front" images), which dates from 2011.

CDOT's photologging differs from that of UDOT in a number of respects.  CDOT uses a two-camera ("front" and "right") setup, instead of a single-camera one.  Both state DOTs also use cameras which are designed to mimic the normal human visual field (which corresponds to a 50-mm lens for a 35-mm camera), unlike Google StreetView, which uses an extreme wide-angle field of view.  However, CDOT's equivalent focal length is significantly longer than UDOT's, and probably corresponds to a mild telephoto.  This means that on right-hand curves of sufficiently high degree, CDOT's "front" camera will not sweep the full right-of-way and therefore will miss signs on the inside of the curve, either partially or in their entirety.  It is frequently not possible to check for missing signs using "front" imagery taken from the tangent upstream of the curve since CDOT allows brush to grow quite close to the back of the shoulder, especially on slopes protected by guardrail.  The imagery is fairly noisy, the high focal length tends to magnify the effects of motion jitter, and mileage signs are allowed to have a fairly small letter height, so in a few cases the signs could not be read with certainty from the "front" images and I had to cross-check against the "right" images.

Edit:  In the case of I-70 (increasing-milepost direction), CDOT also has incomplete milepost cross-referencing between MP 285 and MP 305 (just east of Denver).  This results in a number of "drop-outs," the longest of which is about half a mile.  I do not think there are any mileage signs in the lengths of I-70 covered by these drop-outs, but of course I cannot be sure.

Caveats (such as exclusion of interchange sequence signs and community interchanges signs) are otherwise as for the UDOT lists.  In some cases CDOT combines the distance to a crossroad with distances to cities, thus creating a hybrid between a post-interchange confirmation sign and an interchange sequence sign; I opted to include these borderline cases.

I-70 eastbound:

Mack 10, Grand Jct 30, Denver 273
LOMA 3, FRUITA 8, GRAND JUNCTION 19
Fruita 4, Grand Jct 16, Denver 260
Grand Jct 11, Denver 256
Horizon Dr 3, Clifton 8, Palisade 13
Palisade 6, Rifle 54, Denver 240
DeBeque 14, Rifle 45, Denver 230
Parachute 13, Glenwood Spgs 54, Denver 206
Rulison 7, Eagle 67, Denver 195
Rifle 9, Glenwood Springs 30, Denver 188
New Castle 7, Glenwood Springs 18, Denver 178
Glenwood Spgs 7, Denver 167
Gypsum 24, Denver 158
Gypsum 5, Eagle 13, Denver 138
Wolcott 9, Vail 31, Denver 126
Edwards 6, Denver 118
Silverthorne 28, Denver 100
Frisco 21, Dillon 25, Denver 94
Frisco 6, Silverthorne 10, Denver 75
Georgetown 21, Idaho Springs 33, Denver 67
Jct US 40 4, Idaho Spgs 11, Denver 44
Manila Road 3, Limon 65
Bennett 4, Limon 61
Strasburg 4, Limon 55
Byers 4, Limon 50
Deer Trail 11, Limon 44
Agate 12, Limon 33
Agate 2, Limon 23
Limon 21, Hugo 36
Limon 8, Burlington 84, Salina 351
Genoa 8, Burlington 73, Salina 341
Bovina 4, Burlington 66, Salina 333
Arriba 6, Burlington 60, Salina 327
Flagler 10, Burlington 53, Salina 320
Seibert 10, Burlington 42, Salina 309
Vona 6, Burlington 31, Salina 298
Stratton 7, Burlington 23, Salina 291
Bethune 6, Burlington 16, Salina 284
Burlington 7, Salina 274
Kanorado 12, Salina 265

[Interstate Trav]

How do you get these?  Can you get the ones for I-70 in Colorado, East and West Bound?

I do it by downloading photologging imagery for a given length of Interstate (in this case, I-15 and I-70 border-to-border), flipping through the images at high speed using the smooth-scrolling function of my mouse, extracting the images that have mileage signs in them, and then typing out the sign messages in a Notepad file.  I can do it for I-70 in Colorado since CDOT has photologging online--it will just take some time since I have imagery already downloaded only for I-70 eastbound from MP 100 to MP 280.

The only states I know of which have online photologs good enough for this approach are CO, UT, and WA.

Thanks for letting me know how you did this.  Very much appreiciated!

[Interstate Trav]

Moving on to Colorado, I now have post-interchange confirmation signs for what I believe is the entirety of I-70 eastbound.  The source is CDOT's photologging (primarily "front" images), which dates from 2011.

CDOT's photologging differs from that of UDOT in a number of respects.  CDOT uses a two-camera ("front" and "right") setup, instead of a single-camera one.  Both state DOTs also use cameras which are designed to mimic the normal human visual field (which corresponds to a 50-mm lens for a 35-mm camera), unlike Google StreetView, which uses an extreme wide-angle field of view.  However, CDOT's equivalent focal length is significantly longer than UDOT's, and probably corresponds to a mild telephoto.  This means that on right-hand curves of sufficiently high degree, CDOT's "front" camera will not sweep the full right-of-way and therefore will miss signs on the inside of the curve, either partially or in their entirety.  It is frequently not possible to check for missing signs using "front" imagery taken from the tangent upstream of the curve since CDOT allows brush to grow quite close to the back of the shoulder, especially on slopes protected by guardrail.  The imagery is fairly noisy, the high focal length tends to magnify the effects of motion jitter, and mileage signs are allowed to have a fairly small letter height, so in a few cases the signs could not be read with certainty from the "front" images and I had to cross-check against the "right" images.

Edit:  In the case of I-70 (increasing-milepost direction), CDOT also has incomplete milepost cross-referencing between MP 285 and MP 305 (just east of Denver).  This results in a number of "drop-outs," the longest of which is about half a mile.  I do not think there are any mileage signs in the lengths of I-70 covered by these drop-outs, but of course I cannot be sure.

Caveats (such as exclusion of interchange sequence signs and community interchanges signs) are otherwise as for the UDOT lists.  In some cases CDOT combines the distance to a crossroad with distances to cities, thus creating a hybrid between a post-interchange confirmation sign and an interchange sequence sign; I opted to include these borderline cases.

I-70 eastbound:

Mack 10, Grand Jct 30, Denver 273
LOMA 3, FRUITA 8, GRAND JUNCTION 19
Fruita 4, Grand Jct 16, Denver 260
Grand Jct 11, Denver 256
Horizon Dr 3, Clifton 8, Palisade 13
Palisade 6, Rifle 54, Denver 240
DeBeque 14, Rifle 45, Denver 230
Parachute 13, Glenwood Spgs 54, Denver 206
Rulison 7, Eagle 67, Denver 195
Rifle 9, Glenwood Springs 30, Denver 188
New Castle 7, Glenwood Springs 18, Denver 178
Glenwood Spgs 7, Denver 167
Gypsum 24, Denver 158
Gypsum 5, Eagle 13, Denver 138
Wolcott 9, Vail 31, Denver 126
Edwards 6, Denver 118
Silverthorne 28, Denver 100
Frisco 21, Dillon 25, Denver 94
Frisco 6, Silverthorne 10, Denver 75
Georgetown 21, Idaho Springs 33, Denver 67
Jct US 40 4, Idaho Spgs 11, Denver 44
Manila Road 3, Limon 65
Bennett 4, Limon 61
Strasburg 4, Limon 55
Byers 4, Limon 50
Deer Trail 11, Limon 44
Agate 12, Limon 33
Agate 2, Limon 23
Limon 21, Hugo 36
Limon 8, Burlington 84, Salina 351
Genoa 8, Burlington 73, Salina 341
Bovina 4, Burlington 66, Salina 333
Arriba 6, Burlington 60, Salina 327
Flagler 10, Burlington 53, Salina 320
Seibert 10, Burlington 42, Salina 309
Vona 6, Burlington 31, Salina 298
Stratton 7, Burlington 23, Salina 291
Bethune 6, Burlington 16, Salina 284
Burlington 7, Salina 274
Kanorado 12, Salina 265

This is a cool one, and I had wondered how long Limon was a control city on I-70 eastbound, and then which city took over after, so it is Salina that takes over.  I always heard it was Hays.  I wonder when Denver is first mentioned on I-70 westbound.

Thank You again for posting these.  I always enjoy learning more about Highways from signs to control city placement to distanct between each sign.

Oh and also, your not kidding Wendover gets mentioned a lot on I-80 westbound.

[J N Winkler]

This is a cool one, and I had wondered how long Limon was a control city on I-70 eastbound, and then which city took over after, so it is Salina that takes over.  I always heard it was Hays.  I wonder when Denver is first mentioned on I-70 westbound.

I was mildly surprised to discover that Hays (the next control city after Limon on the old list, and after Denver on the current list) was not mentioned in Colorado at all.  Traditionally the first mention of Denver on eastbound I-70 has been at 560 miles out on the Kansas Turnpike between Topeka and Kansas City, but I am not sure that is still the case.

Unfortunately Kansas DOT does not have photologging data online (though I understand an online photolog is currently under development), but I have been able to reconstruct the mileage signs for Kansas I-70 in both directions, from the Colorado state line to the eastern edge of Russell County (MP 0 to roughly MP 205), using construction plans for sign replacement jobs.  Although KDOT has replaced some signs as part of interchange reconstruction jobs in western Kansas, most of the signs on I-70 in western Kansas were replaced in a major signing job in 1999 (KDOT project number 106 K-5927-99), and some of these signs were in turn replaced in a smaller signing job in 2011 (KDOT project number 106 KA-1892-01).  The later job replaced mentions of Limon on some signs with mentions of Denver, presumably to reflect the dropping of Limon as an AASHTO control city.

In the following lists, the signs are transcribed exactly as they appear on the plan sheets (which are pattern-accurate), down to one spelling error ("Lavant" instead of "Levant").  Kansas seems to use a two-layer approach to mileage signs, with most mileage signs having distance to the next city or next exit as the first line, while a select few mileage signs--which I think are located at the exits from rest areas since they appear close to rest area signing in the plans--have much longer distances, including to multiple AASHTO control cities.

Sign messages which do not appear in parentheses are from 106 K-5927-99 (the 1999 job), while ones in parentheses are from 106 KA-1892-01 (the 2011 job).  The mileage discrepancies are surprisingly large in some cases, and the middle capital in "WaKeeney" seems to have been dropped.

I-70 eastbound:

Hays 163, Salina 256, Topeka 368
Goodland 15, Colby 52, Hays 157
Edson 8, Colby 34, Hays 143
Brewster 8, Colby 28, Hays 129
Hays 113, Salina 206, Topeka 318
Lavant 8, Colby 19, Hays 103
Colby 7, Oakley 23, Hays 112
Oakley 18, WaKeeney 71, Hays 103
(Oakley 18, Wakeeney 71, Hays 103)
US-40 5, WaKeeney 59, Hays 91
(US-40 5, Wakeeney 56, Hays 88)
Grinnell 10, WaKeeney 51, Hays 80
(Grinnell 10, Wakeeney 51, Hays 83)
Grainfield 8, WaKeeney 47, Hays 76
Park 4, WaKeeney 31, Hays 62
Quinter 8, Hays 60, Salina 154
Collyer 8, WaKeeney 20, Hays 53
WaKeeney 12, Hays 46, Salina 136
Hays 36, Salina 129, Topeka 241
Ogallah 7, Hays 33, Salina 126
Ellis 10, Hays 26, Salina 119
Hays 16, Russell 40, Salina 108
Victoria 10, Russell 27, Salina 94
(Victoria 10, Russell 26, Salina 93)
Gorham 7, Russell 17, Salina 85
Russell 10, Wilson 31, Salina 78
Bunker Hill 8, Dorrance 15, Salina 69
Bunker Hill 4, Dorrance 11, Salina 65
Wilson 8, Salina 54
Salina 36, Topeka 129, Kansas City 241

I-70 westbound:

Bunker Hill 7, Russell 16, Hays 41
Gorham 14, Victoria 21, Hays 31
Hays 29, Limon 278, Denver 364
Gorham 10, Victoria 17, Hays 27
Victoria 9, Hays 18, Limon 267
Hays 11, Oakley 94, Limon 260
Ellis 12, WaKeeney 30, Limon 249
Ogallah 9, WaKeeney 19, Limon 236
WaKeeney 8, Oakley 63, Limon 226
Limon 224, Denver 310
Collyer 12, Oakley 54, Limon 218
Quinter 8, Oakley 41, Limon 206
Park 8, Oakley 35, Limon 199
Grainfield 5, Oakley 26, Limon 190
Grinnell 8, Oakley 20, Limon 184
Oakley 12, Colby 34, Limon 176
(US-83 5, Goodland 56, Denver 244)
Colby 18, Goodland 51, Limon 160
(Colby 16, Goodland 51, Denver 239)
Levant 7, Goodland 34, Limon 144
(Levant 7, Goodland 34, Denver 223)
Limon 140, Denver 226
Brewster 9, Goodland 26, Limon 136
Edson 9, Goodland 19, Limon 125
Goodland 10, Limon 118
Limon 97, Denver 183
Burlington 13, Limon 90

[Interstate Trav]

This is a cool one, and I had wondered how long Limon was a control city on I-70 eastbound, and then which city took over after, so it is Salina that takes over.  I always heard it was Hays.  I wonder when Denver is first mentioned on I-70 westbound.

I was mildly surprised to discover that Hays (the next control city after Limon on the old list, and after Denver on the current list) was not mentioned in Colorado at all.  Traditionally the first mention of Denver on eastbound I-70 has been at 560 miles out on the Kansas Turnpike between Topeka and Kansas City, but I am not sure that is still the case.

Unfortunately Kansas DOT does not have photologging data online (though I understand an online photolog is currently under development), but I have been able to reconstruct the mileage signs for Kansas I-70 in both directions, from the Colorado state line to the eastern edge of Russell County (MP 0 to roughly MP 205), using construction plans for sign replacement jobs.  Although KDOT has replaced some signs as part of interchange reconstruction jobs in western Kansas, most of the signs on I-70 in western Kansas were replaced in a major signing job in 1999 (KDOT project number 106 K-5927-99), and some of these signs were in turn replaced in a smaller signing job in 2011 (KDOT project number 106 KA-1892-01).  The later job replaced mentions of Limon on some signs with mentions of Denver, presumably to reflect the dropping of Limon as an AASHTO control city.

In the following lists, the signs are transcribed exactly as they appear on the plan sheets (which are pattern-accurate), down to one spelling error ("Lavant" instead of "Levant").  Kansas seems to use a two-layer approach to mileage signs, with most mileage signs having distance to the next city or next exit as the first line, while a select few mileage signs--which I think are located at the exits from rest areas since they appear close to rest area signing in the plans--have much longer distances, including to multiple AASHTO control cities.

Sign messages which do not appear in parentheses are from 106 K-5927-99 (the 1999 job), while ones in parentheses are from 106 KA-1892-01 (the 2011 job).  The mileage discrepancies are surprisingly large in some cases, and the middle capital in "WaKeeney" seems to have been dropped.

I-70 eastbound:

Hays 163, Salina 256, Topeka 368
Goodland 15, Colby 52, Hays 157
Edson 8, Colby 34, Hays 143
Brewster 8, Colby 28, Hays 129
Hays 113, Salina 206, Topeka 318
Lavant 8, Colby 19, Hays 103
Colby 7, Oakley 23, Hays 112
Oakley 18, WaKeeney 71, Hays 103
(Oakley 18, Wakeeney 71, Hays 103)
US-40 5, WaKeeney 59, Hays 91
(US-40 5, Wakeeney 56, Hays 88)
Grinnell 10, WaKeeney 51, Hays 80
(Grinnell 10, Wakeeney 51, Hays 83)
Grainfield 8, WaKeeney 47, Hays 76
Park 4, WaKeeney 31, Hays 62
Quinter 8, Hays 60, Salina 154
Collyer 8, WaKeeney 20, Hays 53
WaKeeney 12, Hays 46, Salina 136
Hays 36, Salina 129, Topeka 241
Ogallah 7, Hays 33, Salina 126
Ellis 10, Hays 26, Salina 119
Hays 16, Russell 40, Salina 108
Victoria 10, Russell 27, Salina 94
(Victoria 10, Russell 26, Salina 93)
Gorham 7, Russell 17, Salina 85
Russell 10, Wilson 31, Salina 78
Bunker Hill 8, Dorrance 15, Salina 69
Bunker Hill 4, Dorrance 11, Salina 65
Wilson 8, Salina 54
Salina 36, Topeka 129, Kansas City 241

I-70 westbound:

Bunker Hill 7, Russell 16, Hays 41
Gorham 14, Victoria 21, Hays 31
Hays 29, Limon 278, Denver 364
Gorham 10, Victoria 17, Hays 27
Victoria 9, Hays 18, Limon 267
Hays 11, Oakley 94, Limon 260
Ellis 12, WaKeeney 30, Limon 249
Ogallah 9, WaKeeney 19, Limon 236
WaKeeney 8, Oakley 63, Limon 226
Limon 224, Denver 310
Collyer 12, Oakley 54, Limon 218
Quinter 8, Oakley 41, Limon 206
Park 8, Oakley 35, Limon 199
Grainfield 5, Oakley 26, Limon 190
Grinnell 8, Oakley 20, Limon 184
Oakley 12, Colby 34, Limon 176
(US-83 5, Goodland 56, Denver 244)
Colby 18, Goodland 51, Limon 160
(Colby 16, Goodland 51, Denver 239)
Levant 7, Goodland 34, Limon 144
(Levant 7, Goodland 34, Denver 223)
Limon 140, Denver 226
Brewster 9, Goodland 26, Limon 136
Edson 9, Goodland 19, Limon 125
Goodland 10, Limon 118
Limon 97, Denver 183
Burlington 13, Limon 90

Thanks for posting these too!!  I was wondering about Kansas for I-70 eastbound and westbound as well.  I was wondering do you have I-70 westbound in Colorado? 

[J N Winkler]

I'm posting a couple of additional mileage sign lists.  One is for I-25 northbound in Colorado, while the other is an experiment in transcribing mileage signs on a non-Interstate route--US 101 on the Olympic peninsula in Washington state in this case.  Some of the destinations in the latter will be familiar to Twilight fans.

A new addition to the convention:  a line group followed by a colon (:) means the preceding line of legend is separated from the rest of the sign message by a border-to-border horizontal ruled line.  As before, obvious interchange sequence signs and community interchanges signs are ignored.

Colorado I-25 northbound:

Aguilar 18, Walsenburg 32, Pueblo 77
Colo City 21, Pueblo 47, Denver 157
Pueblo 26, Colo Spgs 65, Denver 138
Pueblo 3, Colorado Springs 51
Colo Spgs 37, Denver 105
Colo Spgs 34, Denver 102
Colo Spgs 8, Denver 74
[blank line], Castle Rock 30, Denver 60
Monument 4, Denver 54
Castle Rock 19, Denver 48
Castle Rock 6, Denver 35
Longmont 22, Ft Collins 49, Cheyenne 89
SH 119 4, FT COLLINS 37, CHEYENNE 77
SH 66 2, Ft Collins 32, Cheyenne 72
Loveland 16, Ft Collins 29, Cheyenne 69
Loveland 6, Ft Collins 21, Cheyenne 59
Crossroads Blvd 1, Ft Collins 16, Cheyenne 50
Harmony Rd 2, Prospect Rd 6, Jct SH-14 7 [marginal:  an interchange sequence sign?]
WELLINGTON 7, CHEYENNE 38
WYO STATE LINE 20, CHEYENNE 32
Wyo State Line 10, Cheyenne 21
Wyo State Line 5, Cheyenne 16

US 101 initially northbound, then eastbound and southbound (around Olympic peninsula):

STATION CAMP 1 1/2, FT COLUMBIA 2, CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT 11 [brown background]
Ilwaco 2, Long Beach 5
Raymond 43, Aberdeen 68, Longview 73
South Bend 25, Raymond 30, Aberdeen 55
Aberdeen 24, Hoquiam 28
Cosmopolis 13, Aberdeen 16
Cosmopolis 4, Aberdeen 7
Quinault Rain Forest 36, Queets Rain Forest 63, Hoh Rain Forest 89 [brown background]
Lake Quinault 35, Forks 99, Port Angeles 156
Lake Quinault 17, Forks 82, Port Angeles 138
Quinault Rec Area:  South Shore Rd 1/2, North Shore Rd 3 1/2
Amanda Park 3/4, Forks 66, Port Angeles 123
Forks 53, Port Angeles 109
Hoh Rain Forest 26, Forks 37, Port Angeles 94
Hoh Rain Forest 12, Forks 24, Port Angeles 80
Hoh Rain Forest 3, Forks 15
Forks 10, Port Angeles 67
Port Angeles 57
Port Angeles 44
Port Angeles 30
Port Angeles 13
Sequim 15, Pt. Townsend 46, Olympia 120
Shelton 80, Olympia 100
Quilcene 11, Shelton 62, Olympia 82
Shelton 54, Olympia 76
Shelton 33, Olympia 55
Shelton 10, Olympia 33
Tumwater 5, Olympia 6

[The High Plains Traveler]

^Colorado's seeming reluctance to list destinations on I-25 far beyond the state line - not evident on I-70 or I-76 - may be relaxing somewhat. Recently revised distance signage on SB I-25, which formerly showed nothing beyond Raton (only 6 miles inside NM), now lists Las Vegas when leaving Trinidad, the last town in Colorado; and a very recently updated sign has Albuquerque in place of Walsenburg on a sign just south of Fountain. Also on that same replacement sign, Pueblo moved three miles closer, from 28 to 25 miles.

Maybe future NB sign replacements approaching Wyoming will list Douglas or Casper.

[MASTERNC]

The PA Turnpike usually lists distances to the next two interchanges.  However, there are a few signs westbound (one just past Somerset) that list the distance to Pittsburgh and the Ohio Line.  There is also one sign on I-276 west of Fort Washington that lists the distance to Harrisburg.