@@mikeshumaker I see your Lyman, South Dakota, and raise you Lyman, Idaho. It’s an unincorporated community near Rexburg without even a sign acknowledging its existence. According to google maps it does, but everyone there calls it “near South Fork elementary school”
The fact that I just drove through Colorado and couldn't help but notice a crap ton of Limon exit signs around Denver just makes this quite funny to me.
I think the main reason states list a lot of cities/towns in their own state rather than a bigger more prominent city a little further up, is DOT works with the Tourism Boards of their states to draw more attention to their own cities/towns.
You truly are a freak for making a whole channel specifically about control cities but Ive been wracking my brain for years to even remember the term “control city” bc I have so many thoughts about them so very glad I found this. Subscribed
Nebraska resident here. In defense of Sidney it's where Cabelas was headquarted before being bought out by Bass Pro Shops. So the city was an important city at one point along I-80, not so much anymore
Easton, PA is also the home of Crayola Crayons. Certainly doesn’t mitigate their choice, but Pennsylvania is notorious for poor signage. Just figured I’d share.
@@ControlCityFreak you are acting like limon has control over something. The limon municipal airport is pretty much just completely ran by the pilots.
I paused the video at 18:50 when he got to Vermont, because I realized he hasn't done Colorado yet.... I have turned down my speakers and sent up a prayer because I think I know what's coming... Ok, time to continue the video lol.
6:45 if I'm NOT mistaken, the reason that Angola is on that 69 sign for the Indiana Toll Road interchange is because there is an exit ramp other than the two directions of 69 in there (for Indiana 120). and while the Toll Road COULD have just included Indiana 120 on the signage itself (i won't argue against that) ... that ramp is essentially for Angola, and that ramp IS why Angola is listed on there.
I totally agree that Salt Lake City is the way to go on the I-80 sign in Wyoming, but Rock Springs is the junction for U.S. 191, which goes north from there to Yellowstone National Park. I would say that Yellowstone being the most famous national park in the U.S., if not the world, justifies Rock Springs as a major junction, and presumably a lot of motorists would be getting off the Interstate there to go to Yellowstone? I agree with the below commenter who said that Sidney at that same junction might be the "better" worst choice for Wyoming, especially since Sidney isn't even in Wyoming. That's like Louisiana saying Bay St. Louis. Good job on the video and the selections overall; most of them are pretty fair.
I agree. I've lived in the Tri-Cities for a little while now, and every time I come into Johnson City from Elizabethton, I see that overhead sign on 321 for Erwin and I’m just like WHYYY?! And it's just ridiculous because on I-26 itself going east out of Johnson City, there’s an overhead sign for Asheville literally at that interchange with 321. I know former I-181 used to end there and it was US-23/US-19W south of there, but if you can change the overhead signs, you can change the interchange signs also. COME ON TENNESSEE. AHH!! P.S., Thanks for bringing this sign to our attention.
4:00 I agree with you on all of Florida’s wacky control cities. As a Fort Myers native and resident, I always appreciate you pushing for Fort Myers to be an I-75 control city in your videos. I've always thought it should be over Naples. Maybe some day.😂
@@craigceecee8762 Tallahassee should be 10's contol city from the 95 split westward .... Florida is pretty disrespectful to its own state capital, and (i believe) its most populated city in the Gulf portion of the Panhandle.
When I was a little kid I thought Albert Lea must be really important because it was on all the signs. (North of Owatonna it should be Owatonna, and south of Owatonna it should be either Des Moines or Ames.)
Who on earth signs Albert Lea? For southbound I-35, sign Des Moines. For northbound I-35, sign Minneapolis-St. Paul. For westbound I-90, sign Sioux Falls. For eastbounf I-90, sign either Rochester, MN and after that, sign La Crosse.
Hey, at 21:07 there was no overhead Denver/Aurora sign when you did the I-70 east video two years ago. Surprised it isn't The Big L, since 25 goes right into downtown Denver.
In Michigan, I 275 was originally supposed to continue north past its junction with I-96/I696 and meet up with I-75 again near Flint. The route was shortened, but the control city often is listed as Flint for northbound, when 275 does not reach Flint. You would have to either take 96 west to US 23 to Flint or ^(^ east to I-75 to Flint
I think some of these control cities are chosen for being service hubs for truckers and travelers. Being a son of a trucker and from Illinois, I can understand why Effingham and Mount Vernon show up on some signs. But when accessing I-57 south of Mt Vernon, Cairo is the control city on the signs. Cairo has a population under 2,000 and virtually no services for travelers. IDOT definitely needs to reconsider I-57 signage.
Yeah, some control cities are essentially business and commercial hubs for particular regions of the state and while those places may not see much tourist traffic, they see a decent number of business travelers (not truckers). And while I see some reasons for excluding some places, the mindset that interstates should only cater to tourists is kinda mind boggling.
Sometimes control cities are purely hisotrical, Cairo was selected as a control city due to at the time I-57 was completed, it was the location of federal court house with jurisdiction over East St Louis
16:07 for Rhode Island's "worst overhead signage", it would have to be on I-95 south at a left exit for RI state route 4. 95 south is signed without a control city here, whereas several miles ago in downtown Providence you get a nice big (and awesome) "95 South New York" pull-through.
I live in Hawaii. I think "Ewa/Kapolei" might work best on the particular sign you show. H1 itself actually ends in Kapolei, before you get to Waianae. From there you're on Farrington Highway up the Waianae Coast. And a lot of residents, myself included, say "Ewa" instead of west for directions on the island.
In New Jersey, New York City disappears. It is signed in Pa. and Del. but once you cross the Delaware River, the Big Apple vanishes, usually in favor of Newark.
Here's a sentence I never thought I'd type: I'm going to defend Ritzville. Remember, that sign is seen by traffic coming out of Spokane airport. How many people are flying into Spokane to drive to Seattle? Given that Seattle has a much bigger airport with flights to many more destinations and generally cheaper fares, that number is almost certainly very, very low. If Ritzville were on any other sign, I'd agree Seattle would be a far better control city, but because it's on the on-ramp coming from the airport, Ritzville makes sense over Seattle.
In Colorado, between Denver and the Kansas border, and throughout all of Kansas, the control cities on the signs for Interstate 70 should read Denver going Westbound, Kansas City going Eastbound because they are the two largest cities that you are driving in between. Forget Limon, Hays, Salina, and Topeka
Fun Fact: the sign you chose in Alaska used to say "Steese Expy" which IMO is a much better thing to use. There are no real big towns in that direction once you're past Fairbanks, so city-wise it would have to be either Fox (which is a terrible choice) or *maybe* Prudhoe Bay
2:10 in defense of that sign in Arizona, the control city for I-17 southbound is Tucson, which is also the control city for I-10 eastbound, when you’re on I-10. Barely anyone uses the on-ramp from I-17 northbound to I-10 eastbound. Also, there’s probably a worse sign along I-10 eastbound at the same interchange (the closest thing to a control city for I-17 southbound and US-60 eastbound is just “I-10 Truck Route” in small letters).
Also, many of the state highways in the Phoenix area have no control cities. The only time any are mentioned for those is along AZ-202 E in Tempe approaching the AZ-101, where the control city for AZ-101 N is Scottsdale, and the control city for AZ-101 S is Chandler. However, it’s only mentioned on a sign around the McClintock Dr interchange, as it’s not mentioned on the signs for the off-ramps. I’m surprised ADOT doesn’t use Los Angeles as a control city for AZ-202 W in south Phoenix, as that part of the 202 is meant to be a bypass around downtown. Another arguably weird decision is on I-40 west of Flagstaff. For the westbound stretch, the control city is Los Angeles. However, the 40 ends in Barstow, and even as a branch of the 15, that freeway goes nowhere near Los Angeles, so you’d have to take the 10, a branch of the 10, or some other highway to get to Los Angeles.
Drove 70 entirely from Denver to St. Louis early April and I think the lineman signs are slowly going away However, there’s still Lyman signs on 25 coming from Cheyenne. For some of the radial toll roads.
For New York, I-95 at that location should just be signed "New England" going north and going south both "New Jersey" and "Pennsylvania" on the bottom line. Most drivers at that point will end up going those directions.
No cuz AASHTO doesn’t like regions being signed, it used to be that way. I’d honestly sign it for GWB of course, but after that just the immediate suburbs (Newark, Paterson, Bear Mountain (via Palisades)).
@@naptime0143 That should change to New Haven per AASHTO. Honestly for the Throgs Neck it should just be Bronx since that’s the decision point for NJ, upstate, or New England
@@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Well usually there isn’t much else to sign. The city doesn’t have much mileage of primary interstate. Just 95 which is signed pretty well (except for the Trenton exit on 87), 78 (which is just signed NJ for the Holland Tunnel, and 87 with Albany signage
I live in Denver….right off of I-70. Im just used to seeing Limon signs lol…Its not so bad of a town! Nice people. When im driving back from Texas I actually LOVE it when I get to Limon. Means I’m almost home ❤
The knock isn't on Limon. Truckers love Limon, and for good reason. The complaint is that CDOT makes it the center of the universe on their signage. It's typical Colorado homerism...
2:34 - Marion is the town north of W. Memphis in Arkansas. 6:07 - Yes, that is exactly why they have Sterling / Rock Falls for I88 because some just go on US 30 as it's a straight line to get back onto I 88 via IL 56. The Dekalb Toll is not the most but one of the most expensive tolls in Illinois. 7:06 - Council Bluffs hosts more concerts than Omaha does because of the Mid-America Center
Virginia signing Lexington, VA right before the I-64 junction isn’t the most egregious thing since it does connect with I-64 W which does go to Lexington, Kentucky :)
In downtown Indianapolis, an exit to I-70 eastward is signed “Columbus, O.” That’s because an exit there to I-65 southward goes to Columbus, Ind., a city of about 40,000 well recognized by architecture lovers, but not nearly as well known to the general public nationally as the Ohio capital and big university city. It’s a thoughtful service to drivers that Virginia and New Mexico could be inspired by to make their Lexington and Las Vegas signs better.
Yeah, it should be I-10 East to Gulfport and/or Biloxi. MS only has 77 miles of I-10, so we shouldn't be talking about 4 different control cities. Slidell & Hammond mostly get to be control cities bc they're the 2 biggest cities in the Northshore, 2nd and 3rd biggest on I-12, and each has a major interchange.
@@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 I-10 West in Mobile definitely should have a Biloxi control city, cuz Alabama's DOT ain't gonna sign New Orleans, anymore than Louisiana's DOT will sign Mobile.
The Pensacola/Pascagoula sign is bad. But my dad once screwed up in Knoxville, TN. I-40s control cities or Nashville and Asheville can be really confusing especially in the days before GPS. They drove almost 2 hours west, when they wanted to go east.
In NH 93 is signed Plymouth because of Plymouth State University which is the second largest college in the state. They do not sign it Vermont because of the single lane Franconia Notch. NH wants you to take 89 to Vermont to minimize traffic in the notch and reduce pollution in the area.
For Virginia, I would argue Staunton makes sense over Lexington or DC. Staunton isn't that big, but it's culturally significant and has a few tourist draws. It's also where 64 East intersects for Charlottesville, Richmond, and Norfolk. Meanwhile, DC is 2 1/2-3 hours away and does require getting on a separate interstate as you said.
Beloit is the worst control city in Wisconsin by the stats not Janesville. I personally lobbied the project manager of the 39-90 expansion to include Janesville on control signs and include a downtown Janesville sign since Beloit had one and is a smaller city.
Fairmont is the 8th largest city in West Virginia by population. One I think is worse is that they sign Moundsville on the exit ro get onto WV State Route 2 from I-470 in Wheeling, however I do realize that it was said that he was mainly focused on 2 digit interstates but they did the same on the regular I-70 just before you ever the tunnels in downtown wheeling, putting a city of not even 9,000 people 20 minutes away is a lot worse.
For the I-5 control city being Santa Ana it makes sense to the locals in the area being that the freeway name is Santa Ana Freeway on the stretch from Downtown Los Angeles to the I-5/I-405 interchange. The San Diego Frwy name given to I-405 through Los Angeles extends to I-5 going south to San Diego from there. 🤷♂
Louisiana, all three of those cities have the pleasure of being given the ludicrous achievement award. I would give I-12 Baton Rouge, 59 north Meridian, 10 East Mobile/ Pensacola
I still stand by new London to this day, big port, 100,000+ people in the metro if you include norwich. Also lots of traffic getting off to use US 1 to get to Rhode Island shoreline and Newport. I don’t think providence would apply to most of the traffic going east on 95 out of New Haven.
@mattciscool The 100k number is just the portion of continuous sprawl at the core of the metro. For some reason, Connecticut replaced their counties with Planning Regions. The new boundaries actually made the Norwich-New London metro bigger (280k), mostly due to the inclusion of Willimantic in the north…
@@tylermarchand2996I’m not including willimantic I am simply adding together the towns in that region, willimantic is in windham county, new London county is east of the ct river and it has 268,000 people, and the largest casino in the USA is in montville and the second largest is In Preston, also major port in new London and ferry port. Also lots of important junctions there for people going to southern Rhode Island .
@mattciscool Starting this year, it looks like Connecticut is changing from counties to nine “Planning Regions”, which help to define metropolitan boundaries. A lot of the boundaries look similar to the old map with eight counties, but there are some noticeable changes. In the new Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Willimantic is now within the same metro as Norwich and New London. The most noticeable change you’ll see is that New Haven and Waterbury are no longer in the same metro area; a significant portion of the old New Haven County makes up a new “Naugatuck Valley Planning Region”, along with other cities and towns from the surrounding old counties (mostly Litchfield, but some Fairfield and Hartford as well).
Todd great episode. I'm wondering if many of these control city choices are political in nature - possibly a congressman or senator may be from, or lives in the town or suburb, or they're using the overhead signs to send (or misdirect) folks to a certain area...
7:26 Personally, first I would actually add overhead signs in Hays, then I would put both Hays and Denver on the westbound sign from 135. The eastbound secondary could be Junction City or Manhattan even though 70 doesn’t go into Manhattan (Abilene despite its importance is too small), as there is a side gantry on I-70 for the west Junction City exit (US-77) and the main Manhattan exit (K-18). If it weren’t up to me, then just signing Denver and Topeka would be good enough from 135.
Having lived in Oregon, I never realized how ridiculous that I84/I82 interchange is with the signage. I drive by it semi frequently and know where those towns are, but if I was a tourist I would be so confused!
My mom's side of family is from Fairmont WV so I've a soft spot for that sign. I was expecting you to name White river Jct. as worse control for Vermont!
12:32 yes it should. Notice you said that *I-95* goes to Philadelphia. The NJ Turnpike itself doesn't go to Philly. The contol cities from I-95 GWB area southbound are as follows: Newark, Trenton, Camden, and Wilmington, DE. Since I-95 and NJTP separate from each other in Burlington County, NJ, it wouldn't be a good idea to make the control city as Philadelphia. People will mistakenly believe that both the turnpike AND I-95 go to Philly, when in reality, only I-95 goes to Philly. The Turnpike continues to Delaware. The Trenton control city sign makes sense.
@@ControlCityFreak I will say though, even the non-95 section of the NJ Turnpike should most definitely be 3 lanes its whole length considering it's literally the link between our nation's capital and our nation's largest city.
Yeah, big props to KDOT for cracking down on the Limon signs. The only reason I liked Hays being signed from I-135 is because I’m from there and it’s the biggest city 70 passes westbound until Denver, but it does not have any overhead signs on I-70 and has 20,000 people. There is a sign in Wichita on the turnpike “Denver via 135 north” (already covered on Todd’s channel) but there is no mention of Denver in Salina.
I kinda figured you would use the Chester sign for Delaware. DelDOT actually signs Chester/Philadelphia from US 202. As long as Philly is on there, it's fine, but I think a better idea would be to start signing Philadelphia/New York City from US 202, because it's kinda pointless to travel on 95 South to get to 295; you're better off just staying on 95 North at that point.
Nah cuz if dey do philly and new york dey might as well sign trenton/new york on the I-95 & I-295 split which will make no sense maybe Philadelphia & Allentown but the only thing to make that happen is to change I-476 signage of Plymouth meeting into allentown
Born and raised in Illinois, two of my biggest control city beefs were: 1) As you alluded to in your video, East Saint Louis. I will never understand IDOT's fascination with ESL, literally a mile away from ST LOUIS. Most people try to *avoid* ESL. 2) Using Memphis on SB I-57. You mentioned a couple of control cities as being bad choices because the interstate didn't go anywhere near them. I-57 ends *140 miles* away from Memphis. Yes, I know it feeds I-55 south to Memphis, but there are plenty of towns in Illinois that could be used. On the positive side, I like how Illinois Toll Roads around Chicago just throw up their hands and use Wisconsin/Indiana/Iowa for their control cities. "Screw it" -- Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Living in Kentucky now, it does bug me a little that Louisville doesn't use control cities on I-265 and I-264. I know they're just urban 3di's, but there are sooo many suburbs, some of decent size, that could be used.
I think Rolla is a valid control city for Missouri because 1) I-44 runs mostly on top of Route 66 and that would have been a great control city for the US63 and US66 junction making it a nice little holdover from the good ol’ days; 2) Missouri S&T, a former Mizzou satellite campus, is located there; 3) US63 is the best way to get to Des Moines and Minneapolis from Springfield, although from Saint Louis you’d have likely just jumped on to US 61 and cut across the back 40 of Iowa; and 4) although Rolla itself isn’t that big, there’s a lot of smaller towns within a half hour of Rolla (including my hometown) that basically act as suburbs of Rolla and treat Rolla as the de facto “urban core”.
I won’t complain about Rolla as a control city for one selfish reason - “Rolla” was my dad’s first name, was my brother’s first name, and is my nephew’s first name.
The only reason why New London is signed is because there is a naval base there, specifically a submarine base, although technically it’s in Groton, not New London.
@Bobspineable The area is actually deceivingly big. Including communities slightly upriver, the immediate urban area is roughly 100k. This is comparable to Danbury along the 84 corridor…
And the Electric Boat shipyard is located in Groton, where many nuclear submarines are built. There used to be a Navy research lab located in downtown New London. But that was BRAC'd a couple of decades ago.
Louisiana: 10 is for Mobile, 12 for Baton Rouge and even Houston, and 59 for Birmingham, the next large cities. (Really, because of 59 and 12 ending together I would be tempted to replace 12 with 59, as there are east-west segments of odd-digit interstate routes... save "12" in case Texas wants to connect Austin to I-10 instead of having an east-west split route)
Hi Todd! Heading from Ohio to Utah for a two week vacation now (5/25/24). Can’t wait to see Limon 😂, but in the meantime, any recommendations on where to stay for a night near I-70 in Lawerence, Kansas? Insider “Jayhawk” mom-n-pop gems? Thanks in advance, love the channel!
The Eldridge Hotel is the classic Lawrence hotel downtown, but it's a little pricey given it's amenities. The Baymont is a mile or 2 off 70 and pretty decent for a chain, and still reasonably close to downtown. Eat at Free State Brewery, or at least get a beer there lol
@@ControlCityFreak Thank you for your response! We actually ended up at the Baymont, not too shabby. Missed out on Free State Brewing, but we’ll try to hit that on the way back east in 2 weeks. If we do, I’ll give you a shout on here and buy you a beer if you can make it. Thanks again for your reply and all that you do.
Valdosta is the largest city in south central Georgia and is a commercial and industrial hub for the area. It is home to a university, a prison and Moody Air Force base.
I think the worst NJ sign is signing 78 West for just Pennsylvania. Why can't they sign Allentown? You don't even have a choice after the Phillipsburg exit(s) you are gonna have to go to PA. And also they sign EASTON on 287 in NJ. WHY NEW JERSEY, WHYYYYYYY!!!
Here is my opinion with Trenton NJ. Keep Trenton as a secondary from NYC. Sign Newark and then Philly as a primary. Once we meet 195 is when we stop. Then sign Baltimore because of the NJ turnpike as it leads a big shortcut to Baltimore. Then sign Philly after the split from the NJ turnpike. After that. Once 95 crosses to Pennsylvania. Keep sign Harrisburg for 276 and Philly for 95. Will you agree with this?
95 never entered Trenton from the north, and the Somerset Freeway was cancelled in the 80s, and anyone in the know at NJDOT would have known it would never be built years/decades before that. 95 not having a gap is recent, but Trenton was never a good choice.
In Re Cross Bronx Expressway - New Haven, CT - Trenton, NJ - this fail is more epic and egregious than at first look. The interchange in question is that between I-87 (Major Degan Expressway) and I-95 (Cross Bronx Expressway), one of the busiest in NYC if not the entire NY-NJ-CT region, and feeds tons of commuter traffic (along with sports traffic - Yankee Stadium is only 2-3 miles south of this interchange) coming from Queens and Manhattan into The Bronx and, via the nearby George Washington Bridge, New Jersey. The thing is that not only is this signed New Haven/Trenton at this spot, but every on-ramp on I-95 in The Bronx is signed for New Haven or Trenton, depending on direction of travel. If going southbound on I-95, one is likely headed for North NJ points (or even the Lower Hudson Valley, as the next crossing of the Hudson River going north is the Mario Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge which is tolled in both directions, whereas the GWB is tolled NY bound only) or perhaps down to Newark; Trenton is a long haul by NYC standards and, to get there, requires two connecting highways: I-195 and NJ 29. If going northbound on I-95, one is likely headed for New Rochelle or Stamford (maybe points north in Westchester County via the nearby Bronx River Parkway); New Haven is also a long haul by NYC standards and is the far NE egde of its commuter region. In Re NJ Turmpike "Trenton" - LOL! Again, same issue as in NY. If on the NJ Turnpike, you need I-195 to NJ 29 to get to Trenton. If you're going that far south, 10 to 1 you are headed for Philly (or its suburbs), or you're a long hauler headed for points south. The interesting thing is that south of the I-95 cutoff to PA at Exit 6, the Control City on the NJ Turnpike is WILMINGTON (Delaware). While that is technically correct, you need to backtrack on I-95 or I-495 after the DMB to get there, and not much traffic is doing that. Most traffic at this point is headed for Baltimore or DC (or much further south even).
And yeah, here in New York, Jamestown has died dramatically over the past 30 years. So much so that they've even lost government subsidized commercial air service over the past few years and it's likely never ever coming back.
While driving on I-79 North in West Virginia, the smaller Washington, PA mileage sign is first placed north of Clarksburg. Overhead signs for Washington, PA begin in Morgantown. Why not use Pittsburgh instead? Pittsburgh is only mentioned as a mileage sign just 5 miles before the PA state line. Oh yeah, you are right about Fairmont as a control city. Makes no sense.
Brunswick is the second largest city on the Georgia coast. While not a Jacksonville, it is a decent sized place. Also, it is listed first because you come to it before you get to Jacksonville when heading South.
Florida: I-75, I-4 intersection, 4 west; tampa, 4 east; orlando, 75 north; ocala, 75 south; naples. we could always sign both ocala / atlanta and naples / miami, i mean, US 41 south from tampa is called the tampa-miami (tamiami) trail.
Regarding I-95 at 3:43 and 12:18, I feel sorry for Philadelphia sometimes. It doesn't get respect. There are places north and south of Philadelphia that really should say Philadelphia as the control city, but instead, as mentioned, they use other cities instead. The most egregious was in Washington DC where when I-95 north leaves the DC area, the next control city is New York! What about Philadelphia? I tried looking for it, but I can't find it now in Google Maps. Hmm. This was 2010 or so when I saw it, so maybe they updated the sign since then. The other ridiculous signing was going southbound I-95 nearing Philadelphia. Why in the world did they abbreviate Philadelphia to "Downtown Phila" when there is plenty of space on the giant sign to spell out Philadelphia? Usually, names are shortened if there is no room, but there was plenty of space left. SMH. 12:48 Ya know, when I went to Albuquerque and drove up to Santa Fe, I was shocked by the Las Vegas signage because like many on here, I was a highway geek and thought, "Wait, there is an I-25 that goes to Las Vegas (NV)?". I thought I knew the interstates pretty well. It was only when I asked at the hotel that I stayed in that the receptionist told me, "Oh no, not that Las Vegas!" and explained to me there was a Las Vegas NM. CCF is so right here. It's confusing.
In terms of 12:18, I explained my comment to Control City Freak and I'll explain it here. 12:32 yes it should. Notice you said that *I-95* goes to Philadelphia. The NJ Turnpike itself doesn't go to Philly. The contol cities from I-95 GWB area southbound are as follows: Newark, Trenton, Camden, and Wilmington, DE. Since I-95 and NJTP separate from each other in Burlington County, NJ, it wouldn't be a good idea to make the control city as Philadelphia. People will mistakenly believe that both the turnpike AND I-95 go to Philly, when in reality, only I-95 goes to Philly. The Turnpike continues to Delaware. The Trenton control city sign makes sense.
On the other hand, I have no issue with the NEW YORK sign for I-80 in eastern Ohio, when headed eastbound to the I-80/I-76 split. It's still over 400 miles away, but I-80 before NY City has nothing all that substantial along it.
Alright this video popped up for me never seen your channel before, quick question how many of the cities that you named have military installations? I’d think ensuring traffic getting to those facilities is worthy enough given the original purpose of the interstate system
When life gives you limons, make limonade.
Limon is the smallest major city in the US with its own metro area
LIMON 😖🤢😫
@@anidnmeno da most important historical town in Colorado
lol
Or limon cake
Colorado: Limon
Wyoming: Lyman
Maine: Lyman
South Carolina: Lyman
Lyman, Maine is not a control city
@@benjaminchandler7919I don't think it is in South Carolina either.
Nebraska: Lyman
There is a Lyman in S. Dakota, but it isn't marked on the exit sign off I-90. It has almost no people.
@@mikeshumaker I see your Lyman, South Dakota, and raise you Lyman, Idaho. It’s an unincorporated community near Rexburg without even a sign acknowledging its existence. According to google maps it does, but everyone there calls it “near South Fork elementary school”
The fact that I just drove through Colorado and couldn't help but notice a crap ton of Limon exit signs around Denver just makes this quite funny to me.
all roads lead to limon
Living in Colorado, cant help but laugh when i see a Limon sign after watching this channel
I don't think Limon is even the worst control city in Colorado. You also have fort Morgan and Trinidad.
@@dvferyancewtf is the point of trinidad as a control city, that's like literally the southern end of i-25s part in colorado 😭
@@endingtasks8538 I don't know ask cdot.
CCF's Mind: 'I hate Limon so much I'm gonna have it as the video cover'
for valid reasons 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
@dhinton1 what did we do? 💀
I think the main reason states list a lot of cities/towns in their own state rather than a bigger more prominent city a little further up, is DOT works with the Tourism Boards of their states to draw more attention to their own cities/towns.
You truly are a freak for making a whole channel specifically about control cities but Ive been wracking my brain for years to even remember the term “control city” bc I have so many thoughts about them so very glad I found this.
Subscribed
When I was a kid, the best way for me to know that we were finally close to our destination is when it finally showed up as the control city lol.
Yes!
😂😂😂
Nebraska resident here. In defense of Sidney it's where Cabelas was headquarted before being bought out by Bass Pro Shops. So the city was an important city at one point along I-80, not so much anymore
Lllliiiiiiiimmmmoooonnnnnnn 😂 I bet Todd has nightmares about signs with limon on them
Easton, PA is also the home of Crayola Crayons. Certainly doesn’t mitigate their choice, but Pennsylvania is notorious for poor signage.
Just figured I’d share.
It’s odd for it to be signed on either side of 78 right before the PA-NJ border or itself.
Breezewood!
Reason why Easton is signed is a holdover from when pa611 was a us highway
This is the kinda niche rant I love.
P.S. Limon Gang, we will rise
Lol
@@ControlCityFreakwe might as well make limon a more populated place so it can have a reason to be a good control city
@@ControlCityFreak you are acting like limon has control over something.
The limon municipal airport is pretty much just completely ran by the pilots.
I would have never thought this channel existed
, I love it keep up the good work
16:00 Oh my god I laughed so hard when you said NEW YORK CITY!!! You said it so loud that it echoed. lol
I paused the video at 18:50 when he got to Vermont, because I realized he hasn't done Colorado yet.... I have turned down my speakers and sent up a prayer because I think I know what's coming... Ok, time to continue the video lol.
Amazing video Control City Freak! You should do the best control cities in each state next.
There would be a lot of ties, such as St. Louis and Kansas City.
6:45 if I'm NOT mistaken, the reason that Angola is on that 69 sign for the Indiana Toll Road interchange is because there is an exit ramp other than the two directions of 69 in there (for Indiana 120). and while the Toll Road COULD have just included Indiana 120 on the signage itself (i won't argue against that) ... that ramp is essentially for Angola, and that ramp IS why Angola is listed on there.
I totally agree that Salt Lake City is the way to go on the I-80 sign in Wyoming, but Rock Springs is the junction for U.S. 191, which goes north from there to Yellowstone National Park. I would say that Yellowstone being the most famous national park in the U.S., if not the world, justifies Rock Springs as a major junction, and presumably a lot of motorists would be getting off the Interstate there to go to Yellowstone? I agree with the below commenter who said that Sidney at that same junction might be the "better" worst choice for Wyoming, especially since Sidney isn't even in Wyoming. That's like Louisiana saying Bay St. Louis. Good job on the video and the selections overall; most of them are pretty fair.
I expected to hear the horn when you mentioned I-68.
D'oh!
1:13 I remember that sign, passing by it on our way to a seafood joint in Spanish Fort back in 2013.
I know a bad mileage sign in Tennessee. On I-26 when you leave Johnson City only Erwin is on the mileage sign to where Asheville should be on there!!
I agree. I've lived in the Tri-Cities for a little while now, and every time I come into Johnson City from Elizabethton, I see that overhead sign on 321 for Erwin and I’m just like WHYYY?! And it's just ridiculous because on I-26 itself going east out of Johnson City, there’s an overhead sign for Asheville literally at that interchange with 321. I know former I-181 used to end there and it was US-23/US-19W south of there, but if you can change the overhead signs, you can change the interchange signs also.
COME ON TENNESSEE. AHH!!
P.S., Thanks for bringing this sign to our attention.
Maybe if Todd reboots I-26 he might show that mileage sign
4:00 I agree with you on all of Florida’s wacky control cities. As a Fort Myers native and resident, I always appreciate you pushing for Fort Myers to be an I-75 control city in your videos. I've always thought it should be over Naples. Maybe some day.😂
I scratch my head on that one. I was on I-75 a few weeks ago, coming from Miami International. I see that sign North 75 Alligator Alley Naples
For 75 in Florida, it should be Gainesville, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Miami. Naples is now smaller so it shouldn't be seen as a primary site.
Really surprised that Gainesville, home of the University of Florida, isn't a control city.
The choice of Bradenton but not Sarasota id wild to me
@@colbymaxheidke7607 Bradenton is the control city on I-275 south in St. Petersburg.
Florida Exit 351A: I-10 West - Los Angeles.
Tallahassee would be the ideal control city there.
Where’s the love for New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Phoenix?
This I need to see proof of .... ain't no way Florida DOT would do that 😂😂
@@craigceecee8762 Tallahassee should be 10's contol city from the 95 split westward .... Florida is pretty disrespectful to its own state capital, and (i believe) its most populated city in the Gulf portion of the Panhandle.
@@dhinton1 Is there a part of the Panhandle that isn't the "Gulf portion"?
When I was a little kid I thought Albert Lea must be really important because it was on all the signs. (North of Owatonna it should be Owatonna, and south of Owatonna it should be either Des Moines or Ames.)
Who on earth signs Albert Lea? For southbound I-35, sign Des Moines. For northbound I-35, sign Minneapolis-St. Paul. For westbound I-90, sign Sioux Falls. For eastbounf I-90, sign either Rochester, MN and after that, sign La Crosse.
Great video as always. Leaving Limon for the end was perfect.
Hey, at 21:07 there was no overhead Denver/Aurora sign when you did the I-70 east video two years ago. Surprised it isn't The Big L, since 25 goes right into downtown Denver.
In Michigan, I 275 was originally supposed to continue north past its junction with I-96/I696 and meet up with I-75 again near Flint. The route was shortened, but the control city often is listed as Flint for northbound, when 275 does not reach Flint. You would have to either take 96 west to US 23 to Flint or ^(^ east to I-75 to Flint
I think some of these control cities are chosen for being service hubs for truckers and travelers. Being a son of a trucker and from Illinois, I can understand why Effingham and Mount Vernon show up on some signs. But when accessing I-57 south of Mt Vernon, Cairo is the control city on the signs. Cairo has a population under 2,000 and virtually no services for travelers. IDOT definitely needs to reconsider I-57 signage.
Yeah, some control cities are essentially business and commercial hubs for particular regions of the state and while those places may not see much tourist traffic, they see a decent number of business travelers (not truckers). And while I see some reasons for excluding some places, the mindset that interstates should only cater to tourists is kinda mind boggling.
Sometimes control cities are purely hisotrical, Cairo was selected as a control city due to at the time I-57 was completed, it was the location of federal court house with jurisdiction over East St Louis
Some of the signs in Chicago sign for Memphis not Cairo at least Illinois needs to be consistent
16:07 for Rhode Island's "worst overhead signage", it would have to be on I-95 south at a left exit for RI state route 4. 95 south is signed without a control city here, whereas several miles ago in downtown Providence you get a nice big (and awesome) "95 South New York" pull-through.
Rolla being used as the midway between St. Louis and Springfield is alot better then Louisiana being shown between St. Louis and Hannibal
I live in Hawaii. I think "Ewa/Kapolei" might work best on the particular sign you show. H1 itself actually ends in Kapolei, before you get to Waianae. From there you're on Farrington Highway up the Waianae Coast. And a lot of residents, myself included, say "Ewa" instead of west for directions on the island.
In New Jersey, New York City disappears. It is signed in Pa. and Del. but once you cross the Delaware River, the Big Apple vanishes, usually in favor of Newark.
Here's a sentence I never thought I'd type: I'm going to defend Ritzville. Remember, that sign is seen by traffic coming out of Spokane airport. How many people are flying into Spokane to drive to Seattle? Given that Seattle has a much bigger airport with flights to many more destinations and generally cheaper fares, that number is almost certainly very, very low. If Ritzville were on any other sign, I'd agree Seattle would be a far better control city, but because it's on the on-ramp coming from the airport, Ritzville makes sense over Seattle.
Reason why Ritzville is on there is more for a jct for us395 going south towards the tri cities
🤔🤔 That is a fair point ...
so sign ritzville+seattle.
In Colorado, between Denver and the Kansas border, and throughout all of Kansas, the control cities on the signs for Interstate 70 should read Denver going Westbound, Kansas City going Eastbound because they are the two largest cities that you are driving in between. Forget Limon, Hays, Salina, and Topeka
Fun Fact: the sign you chose in Alaska used to say "Steese Expy" which IMO is a much better thing to use. There are no real big towns in that direction once you're past Fairbanks, so city-wise it would have to be either Fox (which is a terrible choice) or *maybe* Prudhoe Bay
Also North Pole is useful because its a big tourist draw in the area, and delta junction has two highways that meet there so IMO also works well.
2:10 in defense of that sign in Arizona, the control city for I-17 southbound is Tucson, which is also the control city for I-10 eastbound, when you’re on I-10. Barely anyone uses the on-ramp from I-17 northbound to I-10 eastbound. Also, there’s probably a worse sign along I-10 eastbound at the same interchange (the closest thing to a control city for I-17 southbound and US-60 eastbound is just “I-10 Truck Route” in small letters).
Also, many of the state highways in the Phoenix area have no control cities. The only time any are mentioned for those is along AZ-202 E in Tempe approaching the AZ-101, where the control city for AZ-101 N is Scottsdale, and the control city for AZ-101 S is Chandler. However, it’s only mentioned on a sign around the McClintock Dr interchange, as it’s not mentioned on the signs for the off-ramps. I’m surprised ADOT doesn’t use
Los Angeles as a control city for AZ-202 W in south Phoenix, as that part of the 202 is meant to be a bypass around downtown.
Another arguably weird decision is on I-40 west of Flagstaff. For the westbound stretch, the control city is Los Angeles. However, the 40 ends in Barstow, and even as a branch of the 15, that freeway goes nowhere near Los Angeles, so you’d have to take the 10, a branch of the 10, or some other highway to get to Los Angeles.
That Ritzville one on US 2 just of I-90 always gets me. WB 90 is signed as Seattle almost always from downtown Spokane on.
I love this video, especially the way you roast Bay St. Louis. lol Great video, this one of your best yet. :) 👍👍
Thanks!
I 10 east coming out of New Orleans should be signed for either Biloxi or Mobile, not Slidell or Bay St. Louis.
@@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 Gulfport could work too.
In Virginia, Lexington makes sense. Have you seen the signs on 95 south in Petersburg for Atlanta and Miami?
are those overhead signs still up? 🤔🤔 I seem to think Virginia took them down.
Limon's time to shine! Living in Colorado Springs I hear your voice anytime I drive by a US 24 Limon sign.
Drove 70 entirely from Denver to St. Louis early April and I think the lineman signs are slowly going away
However, there’s still Lyman signs on 25 coming from Cheyenne. For some of the radial toll roads.
For New York, I-95 at that location should just be signed "New England" going north and going south both "New Jersey" and "Pennsylvania" on the bottom line. Most drivers at that point will end up going those directions.
No cuz AASHTO doesn’t like regions being signed, it used to be that way. I’d honestly sign it for GWB of course, but after that just the immediate suburbs (Newark, Paterson, Bear Mountain (via Palisades)).
All the interstates in NYC are maintained by the city and their DOT likely doesn't care in the slightest about control cities.
There's a sign on the Cross Island Pkwy approaching the Throggs Neck Bridge that says New England 🤷♂️
@@naptime0143 That should change to New Haven per AASHTO. Honestly for the Throgs Neck it should just be Bronx since that’s the decision point for NJ, upstate, or New England
@@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Well usually there isn’t much else to sign. The city doesn’t have much mileage of primary interstate. Just 95 which is signed pretty well (except for the Trenton exit on 87), 78 (which is just signed NJ for the Holland Tunnel, and 87 with Albany signage
I live in Denver….right off of I-70. Im just used to seeing Limon signs lol…Its not so bad of a town! Nice people. When im driving back from Texas I actually LOVE it when I get to Limon. Means I’m almost home ❤
The knock isn't on Limon. Truckers love Limon, and for good reason. The complaint is that CDOT makes it the center of the universe on their signage. It's typical Colorado homerism...
@@bartphlegar8212well Colorado just doesn’t sign anything outside of the state. I never understood that.
I don’t know how I feel about my city being named worst control city of Pennsylvania, but I appreciate the shoutout.
2:34 - Marion is the town north of W. Memphis in Arkansas.
6:07 - Yes, that is exactly why they have Sterling / Rock Falls for I88 because some just go on US 30 as it's a straight line to get back onto I 88 via IL 56. The Dekalb Toll is not the most but one of the most expensive tolls in Illinois.
7:06 - Council Bluffs hosts more concerts than Omaha does because of the Mid-America Center
Virginia signing Lexington, VA right before the I-64 junction isn’t the most egregious thing since it does connect with I-64 W which does go to Lexington, Kentucky :)
In downtown Indianapolis, an exit to I-70 eastward is signed “Columbus, O.” That’s because an exit there to I-65 southward goes to Columbus, Ind., a city of about 40,000 well recognized by architecture lovers, but not nearly as well known to the general public nationally as the Ohio capital and big university city.
It’s a thoughtful service to drivers that Virginia and New Mexico could be inspired by to make their Lexington and Las Vegas signs better.
Don’t even need to watch, Louisiana - Bay St. Louis
I 10 west in Mobile is signed for Pascagola, which it should be signed for either Biloxi or New Orleans.
Yeah, it should be I-10 East to Gulfport and/or Biloxi. MS only has 77 miles of I-10, so we shouldn't be talking about 4 different control cities. Slidell & Hammond mostly get to be control cities bc they're the 2 biggest cities in the Northshore, 2nd and 3rd biggest on I-12, and each has a major interchange.
@@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 I-10 West in Mobile definitely should have a Biloxi control city, cuz Alabama's DOT ain't gonna sign New Orleans, anymore than Louisiana's DOT will sign Mobile.
At least they don't use Lyman, so that gives them some cred.
The Pensacola/Pascagoula sign is bad. But my dad once screwed up in Knoxville, TN. I-40s control cities or Nashville and Asheville can be really confusing especially in the days before GPS. They drove almost 2 hours west, when they wanted to go east.
In NH 93 is signed Plymouth because of Plymouth State University which is the second largest college in the state. They do not sign it Vermont because of the single lane Franconia Notch. NH wants you to take 89 to Vermont to minimize traffic in the notch and reduce pollution in the area.
For Virginia, I would argue Staunton makes sense over Lexington or DC. Staunton isn't that big, but it's culturally significant and has a few tourist draws. It's also where 64 East intersects for Charlottesville, Richmond, and Norfolk.
Meanwhile, DC is 2 1/2-3 hours away and does require getting on a separate interstate as you said.
Beloit is the worst control city in Wisconsin by the stats not Janesville. I personally lobbied the project manager of the 39-90 expansion to include Janesville on control signs and include a downtown Janesville sign since Beloit had one and is a smaller city.
The reason Bay St Louis is a control city in Louisiana is because it's the closest beach to New Orleans and Slidell
I thought you would show Ellensburg for Washington, I forgot about that Ritzville sign.
Fairmont is the 8th largest city in West Virginia by population. One I think is worse is that they sign Moundsville on the exit ro get onto WV State Route 2 from I-470 in Wheeling, however I do realize that it was said that he was mainly focused on 2 digit interstates but they did the same on the regular I-70 just before you ever the tunnels in downtown wheeling, putting a city of not even 9,000 people 20 minutes away is a lot worse.
They do sign moundsville off i470
For the I-5 control city being Santa Ana it makes sense to the locals in the area being that the freeway name is Santa Ana Freeway on the stretch from Downtown Los Angeles to the I-5/I-405 interchange. The San Diego Frwy name given to I-405 through Los Angeles extends to I-5 going south to San Diego from there. 🤷♂
I drove on 695 over the beginning of I-70 last week. It should be signed west for Hancock, Breezewood, Effingham, and Limon.
lol
don't give Maryland ideas, they'd actually do that
With the exception of Limon
Those serve a purpose
Interstate jcts
Louisiana, all three of those cities have the pleasure of being given the ludicrous achievement award. I would give I-12 Baton Rouge, 59 north Meridian, 10 East Mobile/ Pensacola
I still stand by new London to this day, big port, 100,000+ people in the metro if you include norwich. Also lots of traffic getting off to use US 1 to get to Rhode Island shoreline and Newport. I don’t think providence would apply to most of the traffic going east on 95 out of New Haven.
@mattciscool The 100k number is just the portion of continuous sprawl at the core of the metro.
For some reason, Connecticut replaced their counties with Planning Regions. The new boundaries actually made the Norwich-New London metro bigger (280k), mostly due to the inclusion of Willimantic in the north…
@@tylermarchand2996I’m not including willimantic I am simply adding together the towns in that region, willimantic is in windham county, new London county is east of the ct river and it has 268,000 people, and the largest casino in the USA is in montville and the second largest is In Preston, also major port in new London and ferry port. Also lots of important junctions there for people going to southern Rhode Island .
@mattciscool Starting this year, it looks like Connecticut is changing from counties to nine “Planning Regions”, which help to define metropolitan boundaries. A lot of the boundaries look similar to the old map with eight counties, but there are some noticeable changes. In the new Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Willimantic is now within the same metro as Norwich and New London.
The most noticeable change you’ll see is that New Haven and Waterbury are no longer in the same metro area; a significant portion of the old New Haven County makes up a new “Naugatuck Valley Planning Region”, along with other cities and towns from the surrounding old counties (mostly Litchfield, but some Fairfield and Hartford as well).
Rolla makes sense because that’s where Ft. Leonard Wood is located near.
But I don’t understand just signing that.
Joplin was hit by a massive EF-5 tornado back in 2011
Most deadly and destructive tornado in the modern era
Makes it famous for sure, but not control city worthy
You should do a video making a tier list for every state’s worst control city
Todd great episode. I'm wondering if many of these control city choices are political in nature - possibly a congressman or senator may be from, or lives in the town or suburb, or they're using the overhead signs to send (or misdirect) folks to a certain area...
I'd imagine so
Yep, I-76 does have wierd control cities. You do get Columbus as a control in the last mile as you approach the interchange with I-71.
7:26 Personally, first I would actually add overhead signs in Hays, then I would put both Hays and Denver on the westbound sign from 135. The eastbound secondary could be Junction City or Manhattan even though 70 doesn’t go into Manhattan (Abilene despite its importance is too small), as there is a side gantry on I-70 for the west Junction City exit (US-77) and the main Manhattan exit (K-18).
If it weren’t up to me, then just signing Denver and Topeka would be good enough from 135.
Before I learned you were focusing on x0 and x5 interstates, I came in here convinced that you would mention Hennepin 🙂
Me too, I was surprised not to see that as the choice.
Having lived in Oregon, I never realized how ridiculous that I84/I82 interchange is with the signage. I drive by it semi frequently and know where those towns are, but if I was a tourist I would be so confused!
how i would do it 82 tri cities/spokane (via 395) or seatte if westbound on 84 and 84 ontario/boise
My mom's side of family is from Fairmont WV so I've a soft spot for that sign. I was expecting you to name White river Jct. as worse control for Vermont!
My In-laws were from Fairmont, home of the pepperoni roll.
@@byrongreene6234 That's right, home of the pepperoni roll. Love them. That alone makes Fairmont worthy of being an Interstate highway control city!
Staunton should be the control north of Roanoke on I-81 bigger metro area that also crossing with 64
Easton is/was signed for I-78 from I-287 in NJ too.
Proof that NJ and Penn DOTs were twins separated at birth!
12:32 yes it should. Notice you said that *I-95* goes to Philadelphia. The NJ Turnpike itself doesn't go to Philly. The contol cities from I-95 GWB area southbound are as follows:
Newark, Trenton, Camden, and Wilmington, DE.
Since I-95 and NJTP separate from each other in Burlington County, NJ, it wouldn't be a good idea to make the control city as Philadelphia. People will mistakenly believe that both the turnpike AND I-95 go to Philly, when in reality, only I-95 goes to Philly. The Turnpike continues to Delaware.
The Trenton control city sign makes sense.
Why? Neither go to Trenton. Philly is the biggest traffic driver. There’s a reason the turnpike goes down to 2 lanes per direction after 95 leaves.
@@ControlCityFreak I love these conversations. I'm so happy to find someone on YT who loves maps the way I do! 😊
@@ControlCityFreak I will say though, even the non-95 section of the NJ Turnpike should most definitely be 3 lanes its whole length considering it's literally the link between our nation's capital and our nation's largest city.
The only reason I can think of as to why Benson is on there (North Carolina) is because 95 intersects with I 40.
Kansas used to sign Limon West of Hays, that's the worst. 7:34
He's ranted about that plenty of times in the past, I think the only reason they avoided it this time is because they just changed the signs.
Yeah, big props to KDOT for cracking down on the Limon signs.
The only reason I liked Hays being signed from I-135 is because I’m from there and it’s the biggest city 70 passes westbound until Denver, but it does not have any overhead signs on I-70 and has 20,000 people.
There is a sign in Wichita on the turnpike “Denver via 135 north” (already covered on Todd’s channel) but there is no mention of Denver in Salina.
Totally agree with the Maine sign - locals know to go 295 to Downtown Portland.
I kinda figured you would use the Chester sign for Delaware. DelDOT actually signs Chester/Philadelphia from US 202. As long as Philly is on there, it's fine, but I think a better idea would be to start signing Philadelphia/New York City from US 202, because it's kinda pointless to travel on 95 South to get to 295; you're better off just staying on 95 North at that point.
Nah cuz if dey do philly and new york dey might as well sign trenton/new york on the I-95 & I-295 split which will make no sense maybe Philadelphia & Allentown but the only thing to make that happen is to change I-476 signage of Plymouth meeting into allentown
Born and raised in Illinois, two of my biggest control city beefs were:
1) As you alluded to in your video, East Saint Louis. I will never understand IDOT's fascination with ESL, literally a mile away from ST LOUIS. Most people try to *avoid* ESL.
2) Using Memphis on SB I-57. You mentioned a couple of control cities as being bad choices because the interstate didn't go anywhere near them. I-57 ends *140 miles* away from Memphis. Yes, I know it feeds I-55 south to Memphis, but there are plenty of towns in Illinois that could be used.
On the positive side, I like how Illinois Toll Roads around Chicago just throw up their hands and use Wisconsin/Indiana/Iowa for their control cities. "Screw it" -- Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.
Living in Kentucky now, it does bug me a little that Louisville doesn't use control cities on I-265 and I-264. I know they're just urban 3di's, but there are sooo many suburbs, some of decent size, that could be used.
And, the overhead signs for I-355 that you see on I-55 (both directions) simply punt, and say "Northwest Suburbs" and "Southwest Suburbs".
I think Rolla is a valid control city for Missouri because 1) I-44 runs mostly on top of Route 66 and that would have been a great control city for the US63 and US66 junction making it a nice little holdover from the good ol’ days; 2) Missouri S&T, a former Mizzou satellite campus, is located there; 3) US63 is the best way to get to Des Moines and Minneapolis from Springfield, although from Saint Louis you’d have likely just jumped on to US 61 and cut across the back 40 of Iowa; and 4) although Rolla itself isn’t that big, there’s a lot of smaller towns within a half hour of Rolla (including my hometown) that basically act as suburbs of Rolla and treat Rolla as the de facto “urban core”.
I won’t complain about Rolla as a control city for one selfish reason - “Rolla” was my dad’s first name, was my brother’s first name, and is my nephew’s first name.
Fort Wainwright - the place I was born...Delta Junction - my first childhood home...I don't see a problem here...LOL
The only reason why New London is signed is because there is a naval base there, specifically a submarine base, although technically it’s in Groton, not New London.
@Bobspineable The area is actually deceivingly big. Including communities slightly upriver, the immediate urban area is roughly 100k. This is comparable to Danbury along the 84 corridor…
And the Electric Boat shipyard is located in Groton, where many nuclear submarines are built. There used to be a Navy research lab located in downtown New London. But that was BRAC'd a couple of decades ago.
Louisiana: 10 is for Mobile, 12 for Baton Rouge and even Houston, and 59 for Birmingham, the next large cities. (Really, because of 59 and 12 ending together I would be tempted to replace 12 with 59, as there are east-west segments of odd-digit interstate routes... save "12" in case Texas wants to connect Austin to I-10 instead of having an east-west split route)
Hi Todd! Heading from Ohio to Utah for a two week vacation now (5/25/24). Can’t wait to see Limon 😂, but in the meantime, any recommendations on where to stay for a night near I-70 in Lawerence, Kansas? Insider “Jayhawk” mom-n-pop gems?
Thanks in advance, love the channel!
The Eldridge Hotel is the classic Lawrence hotel downtown, but it's a little pricey given it's amenities. The Baymont is a mile or 2 off 70 and pretty decent for a chain, and still reasonably close to downtown. Eat at Free State Brewery, or at least get a beer there lol
@@ControlCityFreak Thank you for your response! We actually ended up at the Baymont, not too shabby. Missed out on Free State Brewing, but we’ll try to hit that on the way back east in 2 weeks. If we do, I’ll give you a shout on here and buy you a beer if you can make it. Thanks again for your reply and all that you do.
Valdosta is the largest city in south central Georgia and is a commercial and industrial hub for the area. It is home to a university, a prison and Moody Air Force base.
That's why I picked Brunswick
I think the worst NJ sign is signing 78 West for just Pennsylvania. Why can't they sign Allentown? You don't even have a choice after the Phillipsburg exit(s) you are gonna have to go to PA.
And also they sign EASTON on 287 in NJ.
WHY NEW JERSEY, WHYYYYYYY!!!
Here is my opinion with Trenton NJ. Keep Trenton as a secondary from NYC. Sign Newark and then Philly as a primary. Once we meet 195 is when we stop. Then sign Baltimore because of the NJ turnpike as it leads a big shortcut to Baltimore. Then sign Philly after the split from the NJ turnpike. After that. Once 95 crosses to Pennsylvania. Keep sign Harrisburg for 276 and Philly for 95. Will you agree with this?
Yeah totally.
The whole Trenton thing was at one point on the I 95 corridor it wasn't until very recent that it's no longer going to Trenton
95 never entered Trenton from the north, and the Somerset Freeway was cancelled in the 80s, and anyone in the know at NJDOT would have known it would never be built years/decades before that. 95 not having a gap is recent, but Trenton was never a good choice.
21:21 I-25 instead of Ft Collins why wasn’t it Casper
@ericneumann8509 Casper is NORTH…
It figures that your opening background photo would show “Limon” on it.
I hope to take a driving tour of some of Colorado's best mountain roads this summer, and if I do, I feel that a good Limon picture must be taken! 😁
Please do!
Few of Colorado's best mountain roads lead to Limon.....
No mountains in Limon, that’s for sure.
In Re Cross Bronx Expressway - New Haven, CT - Trenton, NJ - this fail is more epic and egregious than at first look. The interchange in question is that between I-87 (Major Degan Expressway) and I-95 (Cross Bronx Expressway), one of the busiest in NYC if not the entire NY-NJ-CT region, and feeds tons of commuter traffic (along with sports traffic - Yankee Stadium is only 2-3 miles south of this interchange) coming from Queens and Manhattan into The Bronx and, via the nearby George Washington Bridge, New Jersey. The thing is that not only is this signed New Haven/Trenton at this spot, but every on-ramp on I-95 in The Bronx is signed for New Haven or Trenton, depending on direction of travel.
If going southbound on I-95, one is likely headed for North NJ points (or even the Lower Hudson Valley, as the next crossing of the Hudson River going north is the Mario Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge which is tolled in both directions, whereas the GWB is tolled NY bound only) or perhaps down to Newark; Trenton is a long haul by NYC standards and, to get there, requires two connecting highways: I-195 and NJ 29.
If going northbound on I-95, one is likely headed for New Rochelle or Stamford (maybe points north in Westchester County via the nearby Bronx River Parkway); New Haven is also a long haul by NYC standards and is the far NE egde of its commuter region.
In Re NJ Turmpike "Trenton" - LOL! Again, same issue as in NY. If on the NJ Turnpike, you need I-195 to NJ 29 to get to Trenton. If you're going that far south, 10 to 1 you are headed for Philly (or its suburbs), or you're a long hauler headed for points south. The interesting thing is that south of the I-95 cutoff to PA at Exit 6, the Control City on the NJ Turnpike is WILMINGTON (Delaware). While that is technically correct, you need to backtrack on I-95 or I-495 after the DMB to get there, and not much traffic is doing that. Most traffic at this point is headed for Baltimore or DC (or much further south even).
And yeah, here in New York, Jamestown has died dramatically over the past 30 years. So much so that they've even lost government subsidized commercial air service over the past few years and it's likely never ever coming back.
Kentucky one is ironic cause I’m in Ashland right now 🤣🤣🤣
Lol
Ashland does have a purpose due to the fuel refinery right off the the exit
The way Huntington had been losing population, Ashland may be more prominent now.
10:57 - It is actually a forward slash.
Backslashes lean back
Forward slashes lean forward
While driving on I-79 North in West Virginia, the smaller Washington, PA mileage sign is first placed north of Clarksburg. Overhead signs for Washington, PA begin in Morgantown. Why not use Pittsburgh instead? Pittsburgh is only mentioned as a mileage sign just 5 miles before the PA state line. Oh yeah, you are right about Fairmont as a control city. Makes no sense.
Agreed
I noticed the Lake City problem back when I was 12 years old back in the 1990s. Also, Key West should be the final control for i95 South, and for HEFT
Brunswick is the second largest city on the Georgia coast. While not a Jacksonville, it is a decent sized place. Also, it is listed first because you come to it before you get to Jacksonville when heading South.
It makes for a fine secondary, but Georgia treats it like a primary.
@@ControlCityFreakBrunswick was a primary control city when I traveled I-95 back in 1982.
Florida: I-75, I-4 intersection, 4 west; tampa, 4 east; orlando, 75 north; ocala, 75 south; naples. we could always sign both ocala / atlanta and naples / miami, i mean, US 41 south from tampa is called the tampa-miami (tamiami) trail.
75 at 285 in the Atlanta area has a few signs with Tampa as a control city, but Florida doesn't return the favor.
I’m shocked for Jersey you didn’t pick the Route 80 West signage for Netcong.
pretty much ALL the control city signs for I-80 West from I-95 clear through Pennsylvania are horrible, TBH 😂😂
there was a LOT to choose from ...
8:26 I-10 East should be Gulfport/Biloxi from the 12/59 interchange, if Louisiana isn't gonna sign Mobile as its control city.
Regarding I-95 at 3:43 and 12:18, I feel sorry for Philadelphia sometimes. It doesn't get respect. There are places north and south of Philadelphia that really should say Philadelphia as the control city, but instead, as mentioned, they use other cities instead. The most egregious was in Washington DC where when I-95 north leaves the DC area, the next control city is New York! What about Philadelphia? I tried looking for it, but I can't find it now in Google Maps. Hmm. This was 2010 or so when I saw it, so maybe they updated the sign since then. The other ridiculous signing was going southbound I-95 nearing Philadelphia. Why in the world did they abbreviate Philadelphia to "Downtown Phila" when there is plenty of space on the giant sign to spell out Philadelphia? Usually, names are shortened if there is no room, but there was plenty of space left. SMH.
12:48 Ya know, when I went to Albuquerque and drove up to Santa Fe, I was shocked by the Las Vegas signage because like many on here, I was a highway geek and thought, "Wait, there is an I-25 that goes to Las Vegas (NV)?". I thought I knew the interstates pretty well. It was only when I asked at the hotel that I stayed in that the receptionist told me, "Oh no, not that Las Vegas!" and explained to me there was a Las Vegas NM. CCF is so right here. It's confusing.
In terms of 12:18, I explained my comment to Control City Freak and I'll explain it here.
12:32 yes it should. Notice you said that *I-95* goes to Philadelphia. The NJ Turnpike itself doesn't go to Philly. The contol cities from I-95 GWB area southbound are as follows:
Newark, Trenton, Camden, and Wilmington, DE.
Since I-95 and NJTP separate from each other in Burlington County, NJ, it wouldn't be a good idea to make the control city as Philadelphia. People will mistakenly believe that both the turnpike AND I-95 go to Philly, when in reality, only I-95 goes to Philly. The Turnpike continues to Delaware.
The Trenton control city sign makes sense.
As for the New York signage out of DC, I believe the reason for that is the Somerset Freeway cancelation in the 1980s. Huge gap between I-95 and NJTP.
On the other hand, I have no issue with the NEW YORK sign for I-80 in eastern Ohio, when headed eastbound to the I-80/I-76 split. It's still over 400 miles away, but I-80 before NY City has nothing all that substantial along it.
Alright this video popped up for me never seen your channel before, quick question how many of the cities that you named have military installations? I’d think ensuring traffic getting to those facilities is worthy enough given the original purpose of the interstate system
I think roads should be signed for the general clueless public. Military personnel already know where they’re going.
@@ControlCityFreak lol you over estimate the military, trust me on this.
i thought for Illinois you would've put the sign for Memphis, TN that we see even all the way up in Chicago, but yeah I do agree with what you put
I also thought control city of Beaumont in Texas all the way on the western end of I-10 in the state was baffling
@@PrairieKassThat one’s more of a novelty