Whenever I see those signs for west I-8 in San Diego, I can't help but sing "Millions of Beaches, Beaches for me. Millions of Beaches, Beaches for free."
There is another 'Phoenix Bypass' for eastbound m =otorists from LA area. Take CA-86 south to El Centro when it splits off I-10 at the easternmost desert city, Indio. Then follow 86 all the way to I-8 and take 8 east till it ends at I-10 in Casa Grande, Az. Just a few blocks before you get to I-8 in El Centro is an El Polio Loco restaurant.
@@thomasrinschler6783I disagree. It's not "digs." He showing respect to the San Diego Chargers. A storied franchise who had it's best seasons playing at the Murph. Fuck LA.
I-8 is a fun drive. I’ve done it several times. The eastern part through the mountains in California is so cool. It always makes me feel like I’m driving on Mars.
Arizona does summer road construction work AT NIGHT (down in the desert valley, at least), for the most part. I presume California isn't much different in the desert regions statewide.
@dhinton1 It still has to be uncomfortable, though. This isn’t cold desert like Northern Nevada where even after a triple digit day, nighttime temperatures drop considerably to a comfortably mild level (~60-65). This is hot desert, where (from what I’ve read), nighttime temperatures may not even fall below 80 (meaning it’s still very hot).
I'm from New Zealand and just drove 6000 miles solo through the states. Interestate 8 was a highlight driving from Tuscon to San Diego. The sand dunes by the border were a real surprise and then the road through the Jucumba mountains in California was also unexpected! Very cool.
If you ever get bored or run out of roads that you want to do, I think a good idea would be a segment like Todd plans a road trip just for example maybe Atlanta Georgia to Fargo North Dakota and go over what route you would take and do the control cities.
Great video as always. With that being said though, I've got an idea. I know this is a bit far out, but maybe you could do US 63 when the next Kansas-Mizzou game happens, since it's the main route serving Columbia (other than I-70). I'm sure that would be an interesting video, since 63 is one of the lesser-known/talked about routes.
Yuma and El Centro are both prominent enough to where I believe they earned their spots as control cities. They may not be a San Diego, Phoenix, or Tucson in terms of raw population numbers, but when compared to their relative areas, they are exceptionally prominent. That being said, I'm quite miffed that there's no love for Felicity, CA, which I believe to be the most interesting location along the entire I-8 corridor.
@davidlandry3487 Yes on both! I just think that most people automatically lump them in with truly questionable controls in the Southern California desert like Barstow, Blythe and Needles. Not all Desert Cities are equal. In fact, some are more equal than others…
just drove on I-8 eastbound yesterday from san diego to el centro. its crazy how drastically the landscape changes approaching el centro from mountains (where it happened to be pouring rain) to flat, dry desert.
Places like the Tecate Divide in the winter can and do get snow...enough to require chains. Be advised during the winter-if it is raining in SD, there may be snow between Jacumba and Alpine.
I think signing Yuma from El Centro eastbound makes a lot of sense, especially with how the region has grown. But I completely agree with you westbound. Go San Diego the whole way
California will NEVER sign an out-of-state city from over an hour beyond its border. LITERALLY NEVER 😂😂 shoot, if California could find a way around signing Yuma from El Centro, you bet your bottom dollar that California WOULD. there literally is NO other city to sign for eastbound I-8 from that point. California is NOT Arizona.
You forgot about seaworld and the sand dunes but nice video. An error to point out was that the chargers are in LA since 2017 since the Jack Murphy stadium was torn down.
@PSTXFL I work for a company that makes the lithium batteries used by Tesla. I think you’re describing where the largest reserves are. My understanding is that this region is the driest place on Earth. The driest places in Northern Nevada average only 4 inches of rain per year; if I’m not mistaken, this region only gets 1% of that every five CONSECUTIVE years!
Signing Ajo off AZ-85 makes sense because that’s where you’ll go heading south. And Buckeye isn’t signed because that sign has probably been there since Buckeye was a town with one gas station and a general store.
Buckeye really only exploded population wise within the last 10 years. and that is only gonna continue as the state gets closer to building I-11 southward from the Hoover Dam, as it would go through the western side of Buckeye.
My way it should be: Westbound: San Diego/Phoenix Bypass Route Eastbound: Phoenix Tucson Phoenix should start from the jump, and I-11 should go due south from Wickenburg to Gila Bend to form a true Phoenix Bypass
So I-8 parallels the old US 80 route? If so, it's quite astounding to see how much US 80 was truncated from its original routing to its current routing, despite the fact that it was in it's day, one of the most important roads in the country, to the extent that it even rivaled Route 66.
An Easter Egg for driving I-8 eastbound down the In-Koh-Pah grade - you actually enter and exit San Diego and Imperial Counties a few times with a sign at each, which seems kind of wasteful. Also, small correction - the park that 163 goes through is Balboa Park, not Mission Park.
Oh yeah, spaced that, I totally knew it was Balboa Park. First time I went to SD as a kid I saw it on the map and wanted to go there since I assumed it would have a bunch of Rocky stuff.
If I were driving from Southern California to Texas (or other US southern states) - and I DO once a year - would be best to drive down to San Diego and pick up I-8 (use I-15 in Riverside County or I-5 if in Orange County) and take I-8 all the way till it ends in Casa Grande. It may be a few miles longer, but you will completely avoid Phoenix metro area and you will avoid a long grade once passed Indio (Chiriaco Summit) that gets bogged down to almost 20 mph by heavy truck traffic. I-8 has only a fraction of the traffic, especially truck traffic, that I-10 carries. Only downside with I-8 is there is a US Customs and Border Patrol check about 5 miles east of Yuma, Az, but the volume at that checkpoint is much, MUCH less than the next checkpoint headed east - just before Sierra Blanca, Texas (100 mile marker), the checkpoint westbound is about 15 miles west of Las Cruces, NM.
More on I 15 south of Mission Valley, San Diego. It is signed Cal 15 and will always be, since about 2 to 3 miles are not Interstate standard. This was the last section of the entire 15 to be built, as it plowed thru an established neighborhood and was stopped and a court battle ensued. It was decided a cut and cover park would be built to keep the neighborhoods 'together." Just south of this park, the stretch of freeway which was built in the 60s is narrow, interchanges are dangerous. It was never rebuilt when the section from Mission Valley was constructed, and the rest of the freeway meeting I-5. Therefore, all sections of freeway, old and new were signed "California 15." Technically...I-15 ends at I-8.
A little late to the party but here’s my way it should be: Westbound: San Diego Beaches (After I-8) Eastbound: Yuma Phoenix/Tucson (Until AZ 85) Tucson I skipped over El Centro because it has no city map in the Rand McNally Road Atlas (as of 2023). Also I think Cabo San Lucas has a small argument for being signed on I-5 South out of San Diego since it’s a popular vacation destination 😂
@@ControlCityFreak ok no problem man. I was actually meaning the one that meets I-26, goes through Shelby NC, and Charlotte, and more (Shelby NC is my hometown btw). Keep on trucking man!
I think I'd love to see a reboot of Interstate 5 from the one you did a couple years ago. Back then, you didn't have a cutout of your face, but more importantly, you skipped a lot of Interstate 5 in Washington (random interchanges, etc.) and mostly focused on the portions in Oregon and California. You also didn't do the way it should be back then.
I have to agree that signing directly to San Diego while entering I-8 from I-10 is the right choice. For eastbound, signing El Centro, the county seat of Imperial County is too small for a city to be sign. But instead, I'll sign Yuma, then Phoenix until we meet AZ 85, and then Tucson all the way. Or maybe, I can sign El Centro, and then Yuma, then Phoenix, and then Tucson for eastbound instead.
@CrystalClearWith8BE Compared with other Southern California cities (Barstow, Blythe, Needles), El Centro is far from bad. I’m looking at an immediate urban population of around 65-70k (I like the urban population to be at least 50k for consideration). Add in that it’s over 100 miles away from San Diego (those mountain curves make the two farther apart than they look!), and I have no issues with El Centro as a control. Fight the real enemy…
@@tylermarchand2996The thing is, Blythe, Barstow and Needles should not be signed. Instead it should be Las Vegas, Flagstaff or Kingman, Phoenix, and Los Angeles. Also, compared to Yuma, Phoenix, and Tucson, El Centro is far from good.
I wouldn’t sign Yuma from SD yet. El Centro isn’t that much smaller and is probably more useful for local traffic (and this being the bottom left corner of the country means most eastbound traffic is local). When Yuma gets to ~150k city/400 metro then I’d hope the El Centro signs come down.
I would have been fine with El Centro and Yuma being control cities, or at least secondary ones, along I-8 due to the fact that they've become commercial/business hubs for their regions.
Unfortunately, I think that most people, without thinking, automatically lump them into the same category as more northern Desert Cities controls on 10, 15 and 40. The thing is though, that none are much bigger than 25k urban, but the smallest of these two is a modest 65k urban…
@@mxderateArizona is probably the best state at signing control cities, other runner ups would be Tennessee, South Carolina, North Dakota and Indiana especially since North Dakota and South Carolina have very similar signage and Tennessee might be the 2nd best signed state next to Arizona
During my 2024 summer road trip, I 8 was another highway that I very nearly clinched all of (hit every mile eastbound except for the westernmost ones between the ‘San Diego Beaches’ and I 5. This very well may be controversial, but I didn’t see much if anything wrong with how it was signed. I’ll even defend it using El Centro right from the jump; it is a big urban area by the standards of the very empty desert wedged between the Salton Sea and the U.S.-Mexico border. And once outside of San Diego, there’s next to nothing until here (I can say that those mountains look very hostile and unforgiving, and this is coming from someone who lives at the base of the most notorious mountain range in the days of westward migration). After El Centro, the control is Yuma, which, again, I say is the best choice. Yes, Winterhaven appears on the mileage signs, but it ALWAYS has Yuma right below it. The last mileage sign before the Colorado River changes the primary to Tucson. Again, no complaints here. I 8 in California is definitely signed above average for the state. Once in Arizona, the bottom line alternates between Tucson and Phoenix, with occasional secondary references to the junction with AZ 85. The deeper into the state the highway progresses, these eventually become the ONLY mileage controls (except for if AZ 85 is swapped with Gila Bend). After this, however, the bottom line is exclusively Tucson, with additional mileage controls to the junction with I 10 in the Phoenix exurbs. I 8 in Arizona is, I’d say, on par with Arizona standards. I guess the occasional mileage guides to Phoenix once past Yuma are helpful, but I question whether or not it’s necessary to spam it so much. For me, it all comes down to the fact that AZ 85 seems to be just an undivided rural highway as opposed to a full on freeway between 8 and 10. Going off of an example that I’m much more familiar with, I turn to U.S. 95 in Winnemucca. In both directions, it is the first instance where the two major urban areas it links, Boise and Reno, are signed. Since U.S. 95 is a rural, desolate two lane highway between the two, I don’t take any issue with this.
This route is very easy to sign, so I won’t beat around the bush (left to right is eastbound): San Diego-El Centro-Yuma-Tucson My main reason for not having Phoenix is the trajectory of the routes cutting over to I 10. AZ 85 runs perfectly perpendicular to 8 and 10, and, as a bonus, it isn’t a full fledged freeway. I’m not opposed to off-the-mainline controls in theory; San Francisco along I 5 through the San Joaquin Valley, for example, is pretty agreeable, as 580 provides a perfect freeway link that takes advantage of the NW-SE trajectory of 5. It’s the same reason why I’m not a fan of signing Minneapolis/Saint Paul along I 90 E in Southwest Minnesota, or even Raleigh on I 85 S leaving Richmond. I actually traveled the entirety of this highway westbound (excluding the Beaches segment) during my 2021 summer road trip. My car thermometer peaked at an insane 116 just west of El Centro (early July; makes me appreciate 100 normals in Northern Nevada), and I was subjected to a car search at the Interior Border checkpoint in the mountains east of San Diego, as the smell of my used clothes in the trunk led the dogs to think I had contraband! I’ll just say firsthand that cooperation works with these guys. I’ll be revising this highway in the eastbound direction this summer when I do a counterclockwise drive around the country, the opposite direction of my ‘21 and ‘22 trips (minus using I 80 to split the country into respective southern and northern halves). A big loop for a big year, and additional “fingers” branching off the loop TBD!
I would sign San Diego-Phoenix-Tucson. As an Arizona resident who commutes to San Diego often, it is best to get to Phoenix by either taking AZ-85 to I-10 or AZ-238 to 347 to I-10 (for the southern suburbs).
It’s going through mountain passes and instead of switching carriageways im assuming it’s easier to make each carriageway continue as is and just make them crossover twice
@@cheflos It's also quite the experience. The only other time I'd experienced driving on a freeway over a freeway was the I-5 viaduct through parts of Seattle.
@@davidlandry3487 your comment reminds me of Woodward Avenue where it interests I-696 near the Detroit Zoo. Both roads have service drives on the surface. 696 is in a trench below the surface. Woodard dives under the trench.
Woodward Ave. being M-1... Detroit to Pontiac... There are no control cites because after crossing 8 Mile (M-102), you go from one Detroit suburb to the next
Mod's the way it should be: (WEST): San Diego, Beaches (EAST): Phoenix/Tucson (or just Phoenix), Tucson El Centro is like signing Palm Springs or Indio on I-10.
Looks like you want to make sure you are full of gas before you start on this interstate with the distances between services... Wanna make sure you go to the bathroom and are well fed as well...
@tomtbi Rural stretches could be WAY worse, even on Interstates. Even in the vast emptiness that is Arizona outside of Yuma, I noticed during my 2021 summer road trip that sporadic gas stations can be found every 30 miles or so (one of my fill-up points was in this empty area with the last fill-up before this in Deming, New Mexico). Didn't need to fill up again until Los Angeles. In Nevada, I 80 has a 57 mile stretch with no services outside of one rest area through the 40 Mile Desert. I think the longest Interstate stretch with no services is I 70 across the San Rafael Swell, at 100 miles and change.
@NW255 I don’t see any reason why one city (let alone two) should have two teams. Honorable mention goes to Oakland; it’s in the same metro as San Francisco! It’d be like if Fort Worth had a team to rival Dallas. On an off note, I always wondered what cities would be chosen if there were 64 teams (keeping the exponents of two formula for consistency). San Diego and St. Louis would get teams again, and maybe some other 2M+ metro cities like Riverside, Sacramento, Orlando, Columbus, Portland, Austin and San Antonio would get their own franchises.
7:49 you’ve gotta drive this road one day!!! I have driven it. And your video SUCKS!!! You left its most beautiful feature. The sand dunes, how could you not include the sand dunes??
@@ControlCityFreak WOW!!! the guy that makes the video, and the money from it, blames the guy who points out he missed something epic, as the reason for his missing it!! It’s your video dude, and it’s on you to do the BLEEPING research! but here let me drop a hint for you since you used Google Earth Street view for all of your signs. Why don’t you try using Google Earth to actually look at the route from above because it is quite unmissable. It’s called the Buttercup Sand dunes and there’s a big rest area there. All you would’ve had to do is go into street view from that spot and you would’ve seen just how amazing it is.
Whenever I see those signs for west I-8 in San Diego, I can't help but sing "Millions of Beaches, Beaches for me. Millions of Beaches, Beaches for free."
Nice Presidents of the United States of America reference
The song title is Peaches, though
There is another 'Phoenix Bypass' for eastbound m =otorists from LA area. Take CA-86 south to El Centro when it splits off I-10 at the easternmost desert city, Indio. Then follow 86 all the way to I-8 and take 8 east till it ends at I-10 in Casa Grande, Az. Just a few blocks before you get to I-8 in El Centro is an El Polio Loco restaurant.
Chargers moved to LA in 2017. Jack Murphy Stadium was torn down and a new stadium was built for the San Diego State Aztecs.
He's a Chiefs fan, so he's getting in digs against a divisional rival. He knows very well where they are at these days.
> 5:20
@@thomasrinschler6783 Forgot about that.
@@thomasrinschler6783I disagree. It's not "digs." He showing respect to the San Diego Chargers. A storied franchise who had it's best seasons playing at the Murph. Fuck LA.
I-8 is a fun drive. I’ve done it several times. The eastern part through the mountains in California is so cool. It always makes me feel like I’m driving on Mars.
I feel for the people that had to build this interstate in the summer.
Arizona does summer road construction work AT NIGHT (down in the desert valley, at least), for the most part. I presume California isn't much different in the desert regions statewide.
@dhinton1 It still has to be uncomfortable, though. This isn’t cold desert like Northern Nevada where even after a triple digit day, nighttime temperatures drop considerably to a comfortably mild level (~60-65). This is hot desert, where (from what I’ve read), nighttime temperatures may not even fall below 80 (meaning it’s still very hot).
For some reason I kinda enjoy the double or single digit interstates than the other ones.
I think Los Angeles still doesn't know the chargers are there.lol
I'm from New Zealand and just drove 6000 miles solo through the states. Interestate 8 was a highlight driving from Tuscon to San Diego. The sand dunes by the border were a real surprise and then the road through the Jucumba mountains in California was also unexpected! Very cool.
Awesome! Sounds like a great trip!
My Control Cities for I-8
East:
El Centro
Yuma
Pheonix / Tuscon
West:
Yuma / San Diego
San Diego
If you ever get bored or run out of roads that you want to do, I think a good idea would be a segment like Todd plans a road trip just for example maybe Atlanta Georgia to Fargo North Dakota and go over what route you would take and do the control cities.
Great video as always. With that being said though, I've got an idea. I know this is a bit far out, but maybe you could do US 63 when the next Kansas-Mizzou game happens, since it's the main route serving Columbia (other than I-70). I'm sure that would be an interesting video, since 63 is one of the lesser-known/talked about routes.
Maybe I’ll do something for the next KU-MU football game. Guessing that will be in the semis in the Cotton Bowl or something. Kansas 73 Missouri 6.
Yuma and El Centro are both prominent enough to where I believe they earned their spots as control cities. They may not be a San Diego, Phoenix, or Tucson in terms of raw population numbers, but when compared to their relative areas, they are exceptionally prominent. That being said, I'm quite miffed that there's no love for Felicity, CA, which I believe to be the most interesting location along the entire I-8 corridor.
@davidlandry3487 Yes on both! I just think that most people automatically lump them in with truly questionable controls in the Southern California desert like Barstow, Blythe and Needles. Not all Desert Cities are equal. In fact, some are more equal than others…
Not to mention Mexicali is huge and SLRC is decently sized
Seeing that KC is playing LA this weekend, I was thinking you might have done "The 405" or one of the other freeways around LA
Lol we aren't playing the Rams. Also already did the 405.
just drove on I-8 eastbound yesterday from san diego to el centro. its crazy how drastically the landscape changes approaching el centro from mountains (where it happened to be pouring rain) to flat, dry desert.
Places like the Tecate Divide in the winter can and do get snow...enough to require chains. Be advised during the winter-if it is raining in SD, there may be snow between Jacumba and Alpine.
I think signing Yuma from El Centro eastbound makes a lot of sense, especially with how the region has grown. But I completely agree with you westbound. Go San Diego the whole way
I would just go Phoenix/Tucson the whole way until AZ-85, then just Tucson
California will NEVER sign an out-of-state city from over an hour beyond its border. LITERALLY NEVER 😂😂
shoot, if California could find a way around signing Yuma from El Centro, you bet your bottom dollar that California WOULD. there literally is NO other city to sign for eastbound I-8 from that point. California is NOT Arizona.
You forgot about seaworld and the sand dunes but nice video. An error to point out was that the chargers are in LA since 2017 since the Jack Murphy stadium was torn down.
If you want to see some desert check out Highway 1 south of Lima, Peru I drove through that several times. 👍
Is that the highway that cuts through the salt flats?
@PSTXFL I work for a company that makes the lithium batteries used by Tesla. I think you’re describing where the largest reserves are. My understanding is that this region is the driest place on Earth.
The driest places in Northern Nevada average only 4 inches of rain per year; if I’m not mistaken, this region only gets 1% of that every five CONSECUTIVE years!
Given that we’re playing the Dolphins in the playoffs, are you doing some Miami-area road tomorrow? Maybe do Florida’s Turnpike.
Nope, US 56.
Signing Ajo off AZ-85 makes sense because that’s where you’ll go heading south. And Buckeye isn’t signed because that sign has probably been there since Buckeye was a town with one gas station and a general store.
Why? 😁
Buckeye really only exploded population wise within the last 10 years. and that is only gonna continue as the state gets closer to building I-11 southward from the Hoover Dam, as it would go through the western side of Buckeye.
Cool that I 8 ends at the beach!!
Would like to do i-8 one day looks like a wonderful road
Same
I applaud you for not naming this video "Interstate 8(TV: Todd's Version)".
lol
My way it should be:
Westbound:
San Diego/Phoenix Bypass Route
Eastbound:
Phoenix
Tucson
Phoenix should start from the jump, and I-11 should go due south from Wickenburg to Gila Bend to form a true Phoenix Bypass
So I-8 parallels the old US 80 route? If so, it's quite astounding to see how much US 80 was truncated from its original routing to its current routing, despite the fact that it was in it's day, one of the most important roads in the country, to the extent that it even rivaled Route 66.
Yep from Dallas it roughly followed 20, 10, and 8.
There are still driveable sections of US 80 in San Diego County, and some surface streets are signed "Historic US 80."
An Easter Egg for driving I-8 eastbound down the In-Koh-Pah grade - you actually enter and exit San Diego and Imperial Counties a few times with a sign at each, which seems kind of wasteful. Also, small correction - the park that 163 goes through is Balboa Park, not Mission Park.
Oh yeah, spaced that, I totally knew it was Balboa Park. First time I went to SD as a kid I saw it on the map and wanted to go there since I assumed it would have a bunch of Rocky stuff.
@gosnooky I 80 does the same thing with Nevada and Placer Counties along the western side of Donner Pass
30 years of completed freeway CA 15...I don't see that ever changing to I 15. Just how the local opposition group power works in California!
See my explanation why it's California 15.
You plan on covering California Highway 99? That’s one of the freeways I’ve wanted to travel for a very long time.
At some point yeah
If you are doing Florida Turnpike on the week of February 1, would love to check that out since the Pro Bowl will be in Orlando on February 4!
That's the plan!
@@ControlCityFreak great minds think alike! I will be going to the Pro Bowl in Orlando this year before I have to go up to Massachusetts.
Always keep forgetting that the Florida Turnpike isn’t an Interstate for some reason lol!
In El Centro there is the large tank at the fertilizer plant that has the "Sea Level" mark..about 1/3 up from the ground!
Cool!
If I were driving from Southern California to Texas (or other US southern states) - and I DO once a year - would be best to drive down to San Diego and pick up I-8 (use I-15 in Riverside County or I-5 if in Orange County) and take I-8 all the way till it ends in Casa Grande. It may be a few miles longer, but you will completely avoid Phoenix metro area and you will avoid a long grade once passed Indio (Chiriaco Summit) that gets bogged down to almost 20 mph by heavy truck traffic. I-8 has only a fraction of the traffic, especially truck traffic, that I-10 carries. Only downside with I-8 is there is a US Customs and Border Patrol check about 5 miles east of Yuma, Az, but the volume at that checkpoint is much, MUCH less than the next checkpoint headed east - just before Sierra Blanca, Texas (100 mile marker), the checkpoint westbound is about 15 miles west of Las Cruces, NM.
Been on I-8. Should’ve mentioned the great city of Felicity, Cali with a great population of 2.
Yeesss!!! Center of the world!
No more Chargers in San Diego, sadly.
More on I 15 south of Mission Valley, San Diego. It is signed Cal 15 and will always be, since about 2 to 3 miles are not Interstate standard. This was the last section of the entire 15 to be built, as it plowed thru an established neighborhood and was stopped and a court battle ensued. It was decided a cut and cover park would be built to keep the neighborhoods 'together." Just south of this park, the stretch of freeway which was built in the 60s is narrow, interchanges are dangerous. It was never rebuilt when the section from Mission Valley was constructed, and the rest of the freeway meeting I-5. Therefore, all sections of freeway, old and new were signed "California 15." Technically...I-15 ends at I-8.
Control City Freek I have an Interstate video that you should do. you should do Interstate I580 It runs from Tracy California to San Rafael
Will definitely do that sometime.
A little late to the party but here’s my way it should be:
Westbound:
San Diego
Beaches (After I-8)
Eastbound:
Yuma
Phoenix/Tucson (Until AZ 85)
Tucson
I skipped over El Centro because it has no city map in the Rand McNally Road Atlas (as of 2023). Also I think Cabo San Lucas has a small argument for being signed on I-5 South out of San Diego since it’s a popular vacation destination 😂
I get the Rand McNally argument. Not so much Cabo though, that’s a 20 hour drive lol
@@ControlCityFreak Cabo was supposed to be a joke choice, it wasn’t meant to be taken seriously.
Very late response, but if you're going to sign something other than Phoenix or Tucson, sign Mexicali
You should've added the sign that says you're below sea level around California Exit 128.
I bet you’ll go back to Arizona if the Chiefs & Cardinals face each other in the future.
2026. Maybe it’ll be worth doing an I-11 reboot by then.
Great video Control city freak! Can you try to do US 74 in NC one day?
I did "I-74" there already, doubt I'll get closer than that for a while.
@@ControlCityFreak ok no problem man. I was actually meaning the one that meets I-26, goes through Shelby NC, and Charlotte, and more (Shelby NC is my hometown btw). Keep on trucking man!
@benhuffstetler3282 I guess U.S. 74 in TN is a different highway?
@@benhuffstetler3282Would you like me to do US 74? (BTW, I also live in NC)
9:10 There's where two bounds of I-8 crisscross each other.
Yuma is where Nick Papagergio lives. He’s into software. Vegas Vacation reference
I think I'd love to see a reboot of Interstate 5 from the one you did a couple years ago. Back then, you didn't have a cutout of your face, but more importantly, you skipped a lot of Interstate 5 in Washington (random interchanges, etc.) and mostly focused on the portions in Oregon and California.
You also didn't do the way it should be back then.
I will one day
El Cajon is NASCAR driver Jimmie Johnson’s home town and the Chargers play at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood
If interstate 11 replaces AZ 85, Ajo would be replaced with Las Vegas
I have to agree that signing directly to San Diego while entering I-8 from I-10 is the right choice. For eastbound, signing El Centro, the county seat of Imperial County is too small for a city to be sign. But instead, I'll sign Yuma, then Phoenix until we meet AZ 85, and then Tucson all the way. Or maybe, I can sign El Centro, and then Yuma, then Phoenix, and then Tucson for eastbound instead.
@CrystalClearWith8BE Compared with other Southern California cities (Barstow, Blythe, Needles), El Centro is far from bad. I’m looking at an immediate urban population of around 65-70k (I like the urban population to be at least 50k for consideration). Add in that it’s over 100 miles away from San Diego (those mountain curves make the two farther apart than they look!), and I have no issues with El Centro as a control. Fight the real enemy…
@@tylermarchand2996The thing is, Blythe, Barstow and Needles should not be signed. Instead it should be Las Vegas, Flagstaff or Kingman, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.
Also, compared to Yuma, Phoenix, and Tucson, El Centro is far from good.
I wouldn’t sign Yuma from SD yet. El Centro isn’t that much smaller and is probably more useful for local traffic (and this being the bottom left corner of the country means most eastbound traffic is local). When Yuma gets to ~150k city/400 metro then I’d hope the El Centro signs come down.
@@ControlCityFreak If you're going to sign something other than Phoenix and/or Tucson, sign Mexicali
GOTATED INTERSTATE 🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
How are you able to find mileage signs on street view if they show up at seemingly random parts of the road
In most states they do reassurance shield, then speed limit, then mileage when there’s a 3-4 mile + gap to the next exit
@@ControlCityFreak ok, I would love to see you play GeoGuessr one day
I would have been fine with El Centro and Yuma being control cities, or at least secondary ones, along I-8 due to the fact that they've become commercial/business hubs for their regions.
Unfortunately, I think that most people, without thinking, automatically lump them into the same category as more northern Desert Cities controls on 10, 15 and 40. The thing is though, that none are much bigger than 25k urban, but the smallest of these two is a modest 65k urban…
@@tylermarchand2996 honestly, I'd be fine with Palm Springs as a control city on 10, just due to being a major resort city.
I also wonder why I 15 is actually signed CA 15 Southbound from I 8??
This is a very common question. Among other things, the junction with CA 94 south of I-8 is not up to Interstate standard.
See my answer to this question.
My interstate hero! No lie, I was trying to donate u $500 through the Super Thanks but I couldn’t afford it! Sorry 😣
Here’s Speedboy14’s the way it should be for I-8
Westbound: San Diego, Beaches
Eastbound: Tucson/Phoenix (until Arizona 85), Tucson
I agree!
@@mxderateArizona is probably the best state at signing control cities, other runner ups would be Tennessee, South Carolina, North Dakota and Indiana especially since North Dakota and South Carolina have very similar signage and Tennessee might be the 2nd best signed state next to Arizona
@@jordanjones5751 Yeah Arizona and Tennessee can switch places any day. (depends on how I feel really)
@@mxderate North Dakota and South Carolina also can switch places depending on how I feel the given day.
@@jordanjones5751 Agreed
Still want to see us40
Well maybe Todd will cover US 40 when the Chiefs & Broncos play again.
I-8 is like I-85
During my 2024 summer road trip, I 8 was another highway that I very nearly clinched all of (hit every mile eastbound except for the westernmost ones between the ‘San Diego Beaches’ and I 5. This very well may be controversial, but I didn’t see much if anything wrong with how it was signed.
I’ll even defend it using El Centro right from the jump; it is a big urban area by the standards of the very empty desert wedged between the Salton Sea and the U.S.-Mexico border. And once outside of San Diego, there’s next to nothing until here (I can say that those mountains look very hostile and unforgiving, and this is coming from someone who lives at the base of the most notorious mountain range in the days of westward migration). After El Centro, the control is Yuma, which, again, I say is the best choice. Yes, Winterhaven appears on the mileage signs, but it ALWAYS has Yuma right below it. The last mileage sign before the Colorado River changes the primary to Tucson. Again, no complaints here. I 8 in California is definitely signed above average for the state.
Once in Arizona, the bottom line alternates between Tucson and Phoenix, with occasional secondary references to the junction with AZ 85. The deeper into the state the highway progresses, these eventually become the ONLY mileage controls (except for if AZ 85 is swapped with Gila Bend). After this, however, the bottom line is exclusively Tucson, with additional mileage controls to the junction with I 10 in the Phoenix exurbs. I 8 in Arizona is, I’d say, on par with Arizona standards.
I guess the occasional mileage guides to Phoenix once past Yuma are helpful, but I question whether or not it’s necessary to spam it so much. For me, it all comes down to the fact that AZ 85 seems to be just an undivided rural highway as opposed to a full on freeway between 8 and 10. Going off of an example that I’m much more familiar with, I turn to U.S. 95 in Winnemucca. In both directions, it is the first instance where the two major urban areas it links, Boise and Reno, are signed. Since U.S. 95 is a rural, desolate two lane highway between the two, I don’t take any issue with this.
I don’t think I could have resisted taking 8 to the beach just to clinch the whole thing lol
I-8 is my favorite ever
Best highway
Ahh yes we're back 😂😂
YEA
I want to drive I-8 sooner rather than later
Same
CAN YOU PLEASE DO A MEXICAN HIGHWAY SIERES. FROM MX-1 TO MX-180
This route is very easy to sign, so I won’t beat around the bush (left to right is eastbound):
San Diego-El Centro-Yuma-Tucson
My main reason for not having Phoenix is the trajectory of the routes cutting over to I 10. AZ 85 runs perfectly perpendicular to 8 and 10, and, as a bonus, it isn’t a full fledged freeway. I’m not opposed to off-the-mainline controls in theory; San Francisco along I 5 through the San Joaquin Valley, for example, is pretty agreeable, as 580 provides a perfect freeway link that takes advantage of the NW-SE trajectory of 5. It’s the same reason why I’m not a fan of signing Minneapolis/Saint Paul along I 90 E in Southwest Minnesota, or even Raleigh on I 85 S leaving Richmond.
I actually traveled the entirety of this highway westbound (excluding the Beaches segment) during my 2021 summer road trip. My car thermometer peaked at an insane 116 just west of El Centro (early July; makes me appreciate 100 normals in Northern Nevada), and I was subjected to a car search at the Interior Border checkpoint in the mountains east of San Diego, as the smell of my used clothes in the trunk led the dogs to think I had contraband! I’ll just say firsthand that cooperation works with these guys.
I’ll be revising this highway in the eastbound direction this summer when I do a counterclockwise drive around the country, the opposite direction of my ‘21 and ‘22 trips (minus using I 80 to split the country into respective southern and northern halves). A big loop for a big year, and additional “fingers” branching off the loop TBD!
I would sign San Diego-Phoenix-Tucson. As an Arizona resident who commutes to San Diego often, it is best to get to Phoenix by either taking AZ-85 to I-10 or AZ-238 to 347 to I-10 (for the southern suburbs).
@mxderate Long time, no see!
Long time man! How've you been?@@tylermarchand2996
Any idea why I-8 crosses itself?
It’s going through mountain passes and instead of switching carriageways im assuming it’s easier to make each carriageway continue as is and just make them crossover twice
@@cheflos It's also quite the experience. The only other time I'd experienced driving on a freeway over a freeway was the I-5 viaduct through parts of Seattle.
@@davidlandry3487 your comment reminds me of Woodward Avenue where it interests I-696 near the Detroit Zoo. Both roads have service drives on the surface. 696 is in a trench below the surface. Woodard dives under the trench.
Woodward Ave. being M-1... Detroit to Pontiac... There are no control cites because after crossing 8 Mile (M-102), you go from one Detroit suburb to the next
Mod's the way it should be:
(WEST): San Diego, Beaches
(EAST): Phoenix/Tucson (or just Phoenix), Tucson
El Centro is like signing Palm Springs or Indio on I-10.
Looks like you want to make sure you are full of gas before you start on this interstate with the distances between services... Wanna make sure you go to the bathroom and are well fed as well...
@tomtbi Rural stretches could be WAY worse, even on Interstates. Even in the vast emptiness that is Arizona outside of Yuma, I noticed during my 2021 summer road trip that sporadic gas stations can be found every 30 miles or so (one of my fill-up points was in this empty area with the last fill-up before this in Deming, New Mexico). Didn't need to fill up again until Los Angeles.
In Nevada, I 80 has a 57 mile stretch with no services outside of one rest area through the 40 Mile Desert. I think the longest Interstate stretch with no services is I 70 across the San Rafael Swell, at 100 miles and change.
i wouldn’t. id fill up near the beginning and not worry until the end. my car will easily go 400 freeway miles without filling up
Yuma and El Centro both have an In-N-Out, so no worries.
Maybe some day you will get to doing us 35
One day yes
Chargers should have stayed in SD , LA is not a football town
@NW255 I don’t see any reason why one city (let alone two) should have two teams. Honorable mention goes to Oakland; it’s in the same metro as San Francisco! It’d be like if Fort Worth had a team to rival Dallas.
On an off note, I always wondered what cities would be chosen if there were 64 teams (keeping the exponents of two formula for consistency). San Diego and St. Louis would get teams again, and maybe some other 2M+ metro cities like Riverside, Sacramento, Orlando, Columbus, Portland, Austin and San Antonio would get their own franchises.
@@tylermarchand2996Heck California’s got Baseball teams in the same metro area while Oregon has none. So Unfair.
150 VIDEOS
Whoa!
7:49 you’ve gotta drive this road one day!!! I have driven it. And your video SUCKS!!! You left its most beautiful feature. The sand dunes, how could you not include the sand dunes??
Didn't know about it. You could have requested it, so it's probably mainly your fault it isn't included.
@@ControlCityFreak WOW!!! the guy that makes the video, and the money from it, blames the guy who points out he missed something epic, as the reason for his missing it!! It’s your video dude, and it’s on you to do the BLEEPING research! but here let me drop a hint for you since you used Google Earth Street view for all of your signs. Why don’t you try using Google Earth to actually look at the route from above because it is quite unmissable. It’s called the Buttercup Sand dunes and there’s a big rest area there. All you would’ve had to do is go into street view from that spot and you would’ve seen just how amazing it is.
Lol you said the vid sucks, I'm allowed to respond with as much snark as I want
@@ControlCityFreak The video sucked because you didn’t do basic research, and that’s on you.
Yeah, the sand dunes are pretty awesome, all movies allegedly set in Saudi Arabia are filmed in these amazing sand dunes
First