19:36 I live in Ogallala, and whenever I drive back home from Indiana, I always encounter that sign at about 1am and am so happy to see it. 50 to go!...after about 12 hours of driving.
When I was a kid, my family moved from Paterson, NJ to Sacramento, CA. So I have been end to end on Interstate 80, but I know the areas around the opposite ends best. Thanks for a brief trip down memory lane!
The Mississippi/Great Lakes watershed divide is backwards from what people may think. You travel westbound into the Great Lakes watershed and eastbound into the Mississippi watershed. Cleveland and Akron are on the Cuyahoga River which flows to Lake Erie and Youngstown is in the Mississippi watershed via the Mahoning River to Beaver River to Ohio River to Mississippi.
A. Bellefonte is pronounced (Bell-font) B. DuBois is pronounced (Do-boys) C. PennDOT is working on constructing a high-speed interchange for I-99, though it is taking forever because it has to be done in steps. Step one is to build a local interchange two miles northeast of I-99, step two is to improve Jacksonville Road in preparation for detouring I-99/I-80 traffic onto it, and finally they can work on the high-speed interchange itself. The entire project is expected to be complete by 2026, with the local interchange being completed this fall.
@@ControlCityFreak Not to mention that once the I-99/I-80 interchange is finished, PennDOT is planning on finishing I-99 to the NY border. This project involves another high-speed interchange, making about 4 miles of 220 Interstate standard, and building a 5 mile bypass around Larrys Creek and Linden.
@@brucetelfeyan They have to do it this slow because of the way the interchange is currently designed. Once the local access interchange and Jacksonville Road improvements are complete, they can route vehicles getting on and off of I-99 through that exit instead of having to create special temporary ramps, which ultimately saves money.
In Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, there should consistently be two control cities “SLC” and “Reno” are short enough words to fit other city names on there. Also Rock Springs and Elko are 10x the size of the town that Colorado insists on signing obsessively
And to anyone wondering if I’m advocating for Rawlins and Lyman as control cities, the simple answer is “not really.” The only way I can see them being singed is as secondaries on the way to rock springs. Lyman’s a farm town and I’ve only heard of Rawlins because of this video. I would rather see Rock Springs be a secondary on the way to Salt Lake and Cheyenne
Exit 222 in Nebraska where Interstate 80 meets Nebraska 21 in South Cozad Township marks the symbolic halfway point on the highway. The township only has three businesses (one gas station, a Cobblestone hotel, and a former motor inn that was demolished) and is located 1.1 miles south of the Cozad city line. The Cobblestone hotel which we stayed at twice on our cross country road trip between New York and Las Vegas in the summer of 2021 was built on top of the former motor inn’s footprint.
16:44 update from an Iowan - they changed this sign to just be Omaha for 880 vs North Omaha. I always thought North Omaha was a suburb 480 served, but it's actually just the main city
In the Northeast, especially from Trenton northeast, the pattern is more akin to smaller independent cities orbiting big cities. Places like Paterson, White Plains, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Worcester, and Lowell really aren't suburbs (and were even less so at the time the Interstates were being built)... they'd have their own economies/commute patterns/etc.
I-80 once had five suffixed routes, tied with I-35 for the most. The three I-80N's became western I-84, the I-680 segment that is now called I-880, and a section of mainline I-80 in Ohio. Interestingly, the two I-80S routes were changed into the western and eastern I-76s. I-35's total trimmed to four suffixed routes when I-35W in Kansas switched into I-135.
Appreciate you saying State College should be the main control city signed in eastern Pennsylvania and south on 99 at the junction as a native of that town :) Looking forward to I-81 next week, am very curious to see if you'll do separate North/South videos or just do it all in one go.
I think it should be Youngstown west of Paterson. The road really should not exist as there are no cities it needs to connect in PA, but since it exists, Youngstown should be the control city.
@@zeroone8800 Well, I don't know how I neglected to mention this for so long, but not too long after 80 meets 380, there's an exit for 476 that Todd didn't talk about for some reason (maybe he either forgot or just decided that the video was long enough without it already) which goes to Allentown and Wilkes-Barre. You could potentially sign one of those cities instead of State College, although I think even once you get past that interchange I still think 80 should be signed for SC because I personally don't think it makes any sense for Youngstown, a city of only 50K people, to be signed from nearly 300 miles away across almost the whole state of Pennsylvania, and besides, State College is not even really THAT far off of 80 anyways, definitely being closer than going to Williamsport on 180 from it. That's just my two cents though.
Yep, there's a divide there. If I'm not mistaken, that sign is in Portage County, so named because those traveling by canoe and other early watercraft would "portage" (carry their boats) between the rivers leading to the Ohio River and those leading to Lake Erie. This is a rare divide running east and west, rather than north-south divides like the Continental Divide... and yes, this divide runs near Chicago, too.
There’s some 80 signs from local roads that have weird control cities too. Like Dover or Parsippany. Jersey just wants to tell you about all of our “great” places 😂
19:47 that is the old 76/80 interchange view .... since its reconstruction, it's now 76 WEST, not SOUTH .... and the 76W ramp itself is to the RIGHT, not the LEFT (and about ½ mile to the east).
and it still says 76 SOUTH!? 🤔🤔 I swear I don't remember it saying THAT ... I just rolled through there. but the video clip I shot CLEARLY does say 76 SOUTH for both overheads right before and at the interchange ...... go figure 🤔🤔
I live in Reno, and have driven on every mile of I 80 due to using it as a divider between north and south for my 21/22 road trips. I think Elkhart should be added as a control city, as its a decent sized metro (200k). Also I’d add Iowa City: it’s decent sized (180k), provides access to Cedar Rapids, and is home to the University of Iowa. Also, as you get closer to Reno, you start seeing distance signs for Sparks, a smaller city of about 110k just east of US 395.
traveling from sw suburbs to iowa city i was baffled that it wasnt a control city on almost any signs! i think at very few points nearby it's a top-line control city and about 60 miles away it shows up on the second line but it feels so absent when it just shouldn't be
Illinois Tollways Oasises have really be scaling back on them. 3 of them have closed their buildings, and one even closed the gas station. South Holland and Lake Forest are still open completely on the Tri-State, Belvedere on the Adams (I90) and DeKalb on the Reagan (I88). Hinsdale and OHare still have gas stations open on Tri-State. Des Plaines completely closed on Adams
I really think my only complaint in almost all of Ohio signage ( other than the Marietta ridiculousness) is that after the first junction with 480, the secondary should be Sandusky for Cedar Point.
I had an internship in college in Charleston SC then the next summer I interned outside of Minneapolis. I remember being like wait… 52 same road? It felt like I was on the other side of the world.
I grew up around Cincinnati, so I've been on that part of US 52 many times. It definitely is a weird feeling when I was on it on trips to Charleston SC and Minot ND!
I can't wait for I-81. I currently live in Syracuse so I'm on that interstate nearly everyday and I have family in Virginia so I've driven the entire length several times.
10:01 at the Sturgis exit you can actually see the Michigan state line sign from 80/90! 17:10 that interchange is presently missing (they tore it down and are rebuilding it)
16:03 Omaha native here, and of course I'm biased but I dislike Council Bluffs as a control city. I guess it's chosen because it's in the same state, but honestly more people are gonna know what/where Omaha is.
Iowan here- Iowa likes to sign it's river cities. They do it East for Davenport. The only thing is that Davenport is the largest city in the area, so it makes sense. Council Bluffs serves Omaha.
A possible solution for the 376 New Castle vs Pittsburgh situation could be to sign it for the Pittsburgh International Airport. 376 is the main way that people get to the Airport, as opposed to I-79, which connects to Pittsburgh itself via I-279. Of course, it’s a bit far from the Airport at its intersection with I-80. If I had to guess though, it is probably signed for New Castle since it used to be part of a state route until 2009, and since I-376 meets US-224 and US-422 in New Castle.
A the sign at 10:33 has to be temporary due to construction. I'm pretty sure that the permanent signage will have Gary/Toll Road and Indianapolis as the control cities for 65, and Chicago as the control city for 80/94/US6
@@spellcast1391 Joliet & Gary are suburban Chicago, Thus they would make terrible choices for Primary controls on I-80. Joliet works for I-355 though. As does Gary on I-294.
In West Sacramento on eastbound I-80 Business/US 50, just after the split from I-80, is the longest control city mileage sign in the US. It's for Ocean City, Maryland at 3073 miles. I think there is a similar sign in Ocean City for Sacramento
Good luck driving though Wyoming on Interstate 80 in the winter. It can be bad. Just look up all the pileups. Elk Mountain is notorious for being wicked in the winter. Lincoln is looking at the old 66 route that went through Wyoming.
Bloomsburg, PA, has the unique honor of being the only incorporated “town” in Pennsylvania. Every other municipality in PA is a city, borough, or township. But Bloomsburg is a town. Is that enough to get control city status? Who’s to say?
At 15:52, having Cedar Rapids & Waterloo signed on the I-380 interchange in Iowa are the correct choices in both directions, however are both only signed on westbound I-80. More people are going to be taking I-380 than US-228, Cedar Rapids & Waterloo are the two major cities that 380 passes through. Also, kind of surprised about no mention of Iowa City, which is where the University of Iowa is.
It’s because Moline and Davenport are closer along with the former being in-state for Illinois. Although the Iowa City-Coralville area is good with the I-380 junction and things like that. I’ve heard of Iowa City before.
For Interstate 80 as a whole, it should be: Eastbound - Oakland/Sacramento, just Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Lincoln/Omaha, just Omaha, Des Moines, Davenport/Chicago, just Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown/New York City, and just New York City (No random Pennsylvania cities :) Westbound - Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Reno, Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco
I got no big issue with using Denver as a secondary from Omaha to North Platte. Then cosign it with Cheyenne to the 76 cutoff. Nebraska really should use 3 places for the milage signs. The last city line between Omaha and I-76 should alternate among Lincoln, North Platte, Denver and Cheyenne.
the reason 480 and 80 are signed both for cleveland is because 480 is the way to take for the central-northern most suburbs of the city (parma, brooklyn, north olmsted, etc.) while 80 covers the southernmost suburbs like strongsville
I’ve thought for years now that I-80 should actually have its eastern terminus at the eastern end of the Long Island Expressway near Riverhead, NY. It should go west across Long Island to the interchange with I-295, then head over the Throgs Neck Bridge and run concurrently with I-95 through south Bronx and over northern Manhattan and across the George Washington Bridge. This would make I-80 more truly coast to coast and not require any new highway construction.
From the George Washington Bridge to the I-80/I-95 split, only I-80's WB control cities are listed (Paterson, with Hackensack listed on the local lanes).
I 80 west (starting in NJ) needs to be Patterson (NJ). Scranton PA, Youngstown OH, Cleveland, Toledo. Chicago, Moline-Rock Island, Des Moines, so forth.
A question about the I-80/90 concurrent section in Indiana and Ohio: when you do I-90, will you be using different pictures than the ones in this video?
Thanks for mentioning Streetsboro while on I-80 West...the little town where I grew up. I-80 does not go through or touch the Cleveland city limits at all, as the Ohio Turnpike was designed and built not to go through any major city. Regarding the sign in Portage County, Ohio designating the Eastern Continental Divide...there IS a divide between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. As pointed out, west of the divide is the Cuyahoga River (I-80 goes over it twice) which flows to Lake Erie. East of the Divide is the Mahoning River - I-76 crosses over it, and it flows to the Beaver River, then to the Ohio River.
I live in Des Moines and I remember when all the signs said both Omaha and Council Bluffs. I sorta understand why they sign it, since Council Bluffs is considered a major city in Iowa, but it mostly piggybacks off of Omaha's metro. Davenport makes sense because it's actually the largest city of the Quad Cities unlike Moline and Rock Island, and has the most city-esque downtown and feel. Signing Council Bluffs without Omaha would be like signing Mason City for I-35 north without Minneapolis, or Albert Lea even. And the North Omaha for 880 is probably just a leftover of when it was signed with 680, since 680 itself did take you to North Omaha.
@@ControlCityFreak I agree, I do like the skyline and the downtown is pretty compact for a Midwestern city. I-235 is one of the coolest interstate architecture I have seen in a metro, next to Peoria's I-74.
@@spellcast1391 Des Moines was originally designed to be bypassed entirely because at the time it was a small city of only 100k. The idea for 235 was stated when they wanted a spur to Downtown but redesigned it to be a full loop.
@@spellcast1391 that rule has since been changed so that a 3 digit interstate starting with an even number essentially connects to another interstate either as a bypass or a main thoroughfare through the metro area. There are exceptions like I-380 in PA, which actually used to be I-81E.
I live in Hollidaysburg PA near Altoona. I-99 South from 80 into Centre and Blair counties is a beautiful ride through mountains. Worth checking out. Also I-81 north through Wilkes Barre and Scranton is pretty also Route 15 North to Mansfield and Wellsboro is an amazing drive. PA has its own Grand Canyon in Wellsboro. Bellefonte is the county seat of Centre, it is a quaint little town that is the actual center of PA; it is an equal distance N,S,E,W between all the borders
I partly agree with that. I’d feel better if at the 294 split it was Joliet and Quad Cities. Joliet is the 3rd largest city in Illinois population wise so why not put both it and Quad Cities since 80 goes through both? It didn’t used to bother me them putting Des Moines on the 80 West signs but that was 30 years ago, a lot has changed since then. Where the Chicago suburbs end is actually a heated topic so I won’t get into it here but I do have an opinion on that.
The signage between the GWB and the 80/95 split could definitely be done better (can't wait for the I-95 video). I think it's important to remember that a lot of interstate traffic in this region is freight and cargo. Northern New Jersey used to be a mighty industrial center, and is a major logistics point not just for NYC but for a lot of commerce serving New England too. From the GWB heading westbound, I understand Paterson as a control city because more than a suburb it's a major industrial center. An aside: if they were ever going to reroute I-80 for some reason, I would want them to extend it over the GWB and then follow 678 all the way to JFK airport. Those x78s in NYC are so annoying since 78 doesn't enter NYC, can't wait to see you cover them in a future video.
It should be again. The removed the I-580 designation because the interchange with 480 did not meet interstate standards. Instead of using funds to upgrade it, they built the Storz Expressway to provide a better road to the airport. But some years later, the 480/North Freeway interchange was upgraded to interstate standards, so I-580 should be in place again.
@@brucetelfeyan I think the JFK Freeway/US75 makes sense for a revival of 580. though personally speaking, I think having either Bellevue or Plattsmouth (or by some reason Nebraska City) having the terminus probably would have its benefits
I always wondered this, but how would you feel if I-80 east of Des Moines signed Iowa City instead of Davenport? I wonder this since Iowa City is where 380 starts and connects 2 other larger iowa major cities.
Illinois doesn’t put Iowa City on their interchanges interestingly(I’m not complaining mind you). I thought they would considering they put Terre Haute Paducah & Evansville.
@@RFE812 Iowa City is both smaller than Davenport and Des Moines, even in metro size. It's only 100k people. It's why I-70 skips Zanesville to Wheeling. Although Iowa City is signed for 380 south.
@@RFE812 True but TH and Evansville are always secondaries or signed at interchanges. IDOT isn’t going to sign Iowa City anywhere over Rock Island/Moline
@@ControlCityFreakI was actually referring to I-80 in Rock Island/Moline but yes. Illinois would not go to Iowa City before the quad cities. Also Illinois doesn’t put Janesville on I-39/I-90’s interchanges so I do give my home state props for that.
The control cities on the overhead signage for 80 at the 355 interchange should be Gary and Des Moines, but I believe the Tollway would have to update that (not IDOT). The control cities for 80 at the 57 and 55 interchanges should have been updated at some point in the last 30 years. lol
I-80 West is the direction of 80 that I have the most mileage on. Took it from Cleveland all the way to I-76 which I took to Denver. Would still like to take it further one of these days. Safe to say this will be your longest video until you get to I-90. 90 will be a chore to get through compared to 80. And now that I-80 is done, looks like we’ll be getting another 2-part video! I-81 is a very long North-South route and it’ll be the last time we go into West Virginia too. We’ll also be going into upstate New York for the first time on I-81 too. Can’t wait to see that one.
I think 90 will be a shorter vid because it doesn't go through as much big cities and it doesn't have as much bad control cities other than the Wyoming section.
I-90 has a lot of good control cities. I’ve been on the Tomah to Gary(Indiana) portion and it’s well signed. Wisconsin uses Tomah West for the I-90 I-94 split. Gary is never signed and rightly so.
The I-25 interchange in Wyoming and the I-180 interchange in Nebraska both do something unique that I’m not used to seeing. On I-80 meeting I-25, the exits are 359A and 359C and on I-25, the exits are 8B and 8D. And on I-80 meeting I-180 in Nebraska, the whole interchange is Exit 401 with A and B being on I-80 and C and D being on I-180. It’s kind of interesting, but also bizarre and I’ve never understood it
The interstates that end at I-80 in Nebraska (180, 480, 680) all use I-80 exit numbering. I-76 used to use I-80 exit numbering as well, but that was changed when they redid the interchange. BTW I-76 is now signed east-west in Nebraska. Some other drivers showed this on some TH-cam videos.
Todd, If PennDOT decided to change the control city signs in PA: I'd suggest maybe having 2 of them? Eastbound: Clarion/NYC Du Bois/NYC Bellefonte/NYC Hazelton/NYC Stroudsburg/NYC Westbound: Stroudsburg/Cleveland, OH Hazelton/Cleveland, OH Du Bois/Youngstown, OH Clarion / Youngstown, OH Sharon / Youngstown, OH
Here's how I-80 in Pennsylvania "should be": Eastbound State College/New York City Williamsport/New York City Wilkes-Barre - Scranton/New York City New York City Westbound Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Wilkes-Barre/State College Williamsport/State College State College Youngstown As for Sharon, Clarion, DuBois, Bellefonte, Bloomsburg and Stroudsburg, compensate for their exclusion as control cities by pairing up mileage signs all along I-80. Imagine an eastbound mileage sign half a mile east of I-79 that reads Clarion 44 DuBois 79 Bellefonte 141 followed a quarter of a mile later by Grove City 7 State College 155 New York City 364 Or, imagine a westbound mileage sign half a mile west of I-81 that reads Bloomsburg 26 Bellefonte 102 DuBois 161 followed a quarter of a mile later by Nescopeck 11 Williamsport 74 State College 114
Regarding your upcoming I-81 video(s). Just in case you are not aware, I-81 through downtown Syracuse, NY is in the process of being decommissioned (freeway elimination program to reintegrate downtown neighborhoods) and will be re-routed to the current I-481 bypass after some interchange reconstruction. So perhaps one of your segments should include 481.
7:19 That sign marks the St. Lawrence River Divide. It divides the Great Lakes Basin with the southerly Atlantic Ocean watersheds. Yes, there are a lot of watershed divides all around the world. The most notable is the Continental Divide of the Americas and another is the European Watershed which have more watersheds which link seas of the Atlantic. Plus, Chicago is also split with the divide and most Chicagoans don't know which portions of Chicagoland is part of the divide and even the highways in Chicagoland don't mark the St. Lawrence River divide.
@crystalclearwith8be292 Throughout Northern Nevada, there are brown signs that mark boundaries between different river watersheds (Truckee, Carson, Walker) However, since none of them lead to the Pacific, it really isn’t worth it in my opinion. I’d like to see signs indicating the boundaries of the Great Basin (i.e. ENTERING SACRAMENTO RIVER WATERSHED after passing Donner Summit, or ENTERING COLORADO RIVER WATERSHED after heading out of Evanston).
You can't do Street View on the GWB due to security reasons. Same reason you can't view select bridges in the NYC area. Security reasons were raised due to 9/11.
I-80 doesn't go near Scranton though. 380 is a totally seperate road that branches off and it's still another 30-40 miles north to get there. It's kind of like if they signed I-80 for Allentown because it's 30-40 miles south. Williamsport is only a couple miles off of I-80 so it makes more sense than Scranton. Bloomsburg is also a popular university in PA and a big destination point along 80 so it would make sense to have it on a sign. Bellefonte (pronounced "Bellfont") is another popular suburb outside of State College and most people from the region have heard of it.
Y'know, living in PA it was something I didn't really notice as much, but uh, PennDOT is indeed extremely provincial. There's a part of me that suspects that there's a deliberate effort to de-emphasize Philly, Pittsburgh, and to a lesser extent Harrisburg, Scranton, Altoona, and the other cities in-state.
@@ControlCityFreak But they seem to sign Carlisle every chance they get. I've been through Carlisle many times. Warehouses, office parks, a few homes, and freeways. Harrisburg does seem to be left out.
PennDOT gives its districts A LOT of autonomy, which probably explains some of the weird control city decisions, and definitely explains the inconsistency in pattern-accurate signage from one district to the next (Districts 3, 6, 8, 11 good; districts 1, 4, 5, 9 bad). There probably should be more state-level coordination than there is.
the 29/480 interchange is undergoing a massive overhaul to make it high-speed. the left-hand ramps off 29N onto 480W, and from 480E onto 29N are both going away. I think it will be done in 2025 🤔
Wow, I feel like this is the longest Todd's The Way It Should Be so far in this channel. Honestly longer than the EB video. I-80 is a truly an American coast-to-coast route.
@Nemofishman I actually think I 95 will be longer. I 95 does have some desolate stretches (Savannah-Richmond), but that’ll be cancelled out by an extremely dense area between Washington and Portland.
Illinois goes by states as the control city for I-80 & I-294. Going westbound on I-80 through the Chicago suburbs, the control cities are Iowa or Moline-Rock Island. Going eastbound, it’s Indiana. It changes to Des Moines after I-39. It does still show the mileage to Des Moines though, from Chicago. Nebraska’s control cities for I-80 is no problem. I-80 is the only interstate in the state, and most of the big towns in Nebraska are along I-80. Plus, Cheyenne is miles away and I-80 doesn’t go through Denver. Kansas goes by their towns as control cities on I-70, since Denver is far away.
spoken as a local, I-80 West in NJ should be Patterson, Parsippany (which has both I-280 and the exit for I-287, which has that mini local/express config), there has to be another city in NJ, and then Delaware Water Gap (spell it out). But Delaware Water Gap is an actual borough in PA, and being on the border, it does make sense to be there, but maybe should say "Delaware Water Gap, PA".
Todd, next week when you're doing I 81. When you're in Virginia, go to Exit 84 and look at the control city I 81 North has. I genuinely want to hear comment about my Favorite place. I won't be mad.
What's the plan for I-90 with the concurrency? Treat it as eastern and western separate highways (90 is definitely the junior partner in the concurrency)? Link to the 80 videos? Splice in the 80 videos? Or duplicate but with 90-specific commentary?
Yes. I’ve always thought of 80 as the junior member though, the entire Indiana Toll Road is 90 whereas 80 joins later. 90 is the one that actually makes it to Cleveland too
@@ControlCityFreak at the ends, more traffic probably takes 90, but I think that's more local traffic. NYC+Philly+Pittsburgh+BaltWash+New England shunpikers vs. upstate NY on the east end and on the west end, unless you're going to The Loop, 80/94 is likely a better choice.
Besides which eastern I-90 basically gets the control cities right. Cleveland/Erie/Buffalo (I think even PennDOT lacks the audacity to not sign Buffalo/Cleveland) into Albany/NYC/Boston as primary control cities eastbound. Worcester/NY/Springfield/Albany/Buffalo/Erie/Cleveland westbound... At least I don't remember any indefensible control cities from doing BOS-CLE a couple of times in the last year or so. All I'm saying is short video, mostly interesting for the largely pre-Interstate designs and maybe debate about the merits around Albany (stay on 90 or stay on the Thruway?)... And there's the best of the highest point in the East signs (even if MA doesn't say Oacoma any more)
Actually, MA does consistently put West Stockbridge and Albany, NY as westbound control cities on 90 from Springfield onwards. This made sense in the days of toll tickets: the ticket listed *every* exit, so listing the final toll barrier (itself an exit, as far as the turnpike is concerned) primarily serves to orient you with respect to the ticket. Likewise, NY signs Buffalo as the WB control city basically starting at the Hudson, because that was the ending toll barrier for the mainline ticket section (and Jersey largely uses Del Mem Br and Geo Washington Br as control cities on the Turnpike to match the tickets). With the move to all electronic tolling and tearing down the barriers, MA and NY might revise their control cities in the next sign-replacement cycle (and NY might even be able to go to mileage exits, as MA has done!)
At the junction with I-76 west of North Platte, NE, the signs should show: for I-76 - Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and for I-80 - Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. This is a major interchange with significant choices for those heading west. It is a shame that Nebraska DOT does not take advantage of this opportunity!
I think the Nebraska DOT won't sign I-80 for Denver because the main road doesn't go there. You'd have to take I-76 to get there. I think a better solution would be to put smaller Nebraska Cities as secondary (Grand Island, Kearny, North Platte) and Cheyenne as primary.
It is the way to Denver, and way more people are going to Denver than Cheyenne. System matters more than the number, and plus that road used to be 80 South
@@ControlCityFreak I'd have to check traffic counts but I'm sure the vast majority of traffic stays on I-80 west past the I-76 split. So most traffic is going through Wyoming. Signing I-80 west for Denver in most of Nebraska just doesn't make sense. I-76 doesn't deserve to be a 2DI (it even shares a duplicate number with a more prominent I-76 on the east coast). I-76 really should be I-170 or I-370.
Late to the party here. But signing 376 for New Castle is the right call imo. If you are going westbound on 80 from New Jersey and you want to get to Pittsburgh, there are several options available from Rt. 28 all the way through to I-79. Going to 376 from the East and signing it Pittsburgh doesn't make sense especially considering 376 is also a toll road. I'd even argue signing it Eastbound doesn't make sense because it's quicker to get to Pittsburgh taking 79 and no toll. New Castle also population of over 21,000 and biggest city in the area.
No one is using it for Pittsburgh except for Sharon-area traffic. So New Castle makes a fine secondary. Pittsburgh should be on the sign though BECAUSE THAT IS where I-376 goes. It will connect back with I-76 in Pittsburgh. Is it a spur route from Pittsburgh to Sharon(I-80)
Todd, this gives me an idea for signing Pennsylvania and New Jersey cities in both directions without a need of montage for long distances. Nice suggestion for signing Pennsylvania cities. I even edited my comment of signing cities in the I-80 video. Eastbound: •State College, PA •Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA •Stroudsburg, PA •New Jersey | New York City •New York City Westbound: •Patterson, NJ •Stroudsburg, PA •Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA •State College, PA •Youngstown, OH
I think the lists for both directions are fine. The idea is to have control cities that people go to or know well enough as guideposts for travel. States can get into "advertising" cities as opposed to listing true control cities.
For me, westbound I-80 must sign cities as these follows: -Patterson, NJ •Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA •State College, PA •Youngstown, OH •Cleveland •Toledo, OH •Indiana | •Chicago •Chicago •Quad Cities (Moline-Rock Island, IL) •Iowa City, IA •Des Moines, IA -Council Bluffs, IA | •Omaha, NE •Omaha, NE •Lincoln, NE •North Platte, NE •Cheyenne, WY | >Denver •Cheyenne, WY •Larmie, WY •Salt Lake City -Elko, NV | •Reno, NV •Reno, NV •Sacramento, CA •San Francisco
I should've mentioned this earlier but here is my Way it Should Be for I-80 West. Only to Chicago though because I'm not super well versed in western geography and those arguments have been made already by people who know what they're doing better lol Parsippany (A bit farther west than Paterson and still somewhat substantial with a bunch of junctions) Scranton Allentown (476 junction) State College Youngstown Cleveland Toledo Chicago
I-88 should be Aurora for Westbound out of the I-290 intersection. The CKC 110 does use I-290 to go downtown. I think I-88 should be co-signed with I-290 because to get it to downtown Chicago.
Since 580 isn’t accessible from WB 80, and because it is used to get from the Bay Area to I-5, it should not be an off branch of 80. 238 and 580 east of it can be 705, and the Richmond-San Rafael bridge should be part of a whole new interstate that replaces 101. It can either start in Richmond and head northward as I-3, or start down in LA as I-1 with CA 1 as it’s bypasses. The issue with it as I-1 is how would I-1 get through SF
On second thought, build a bridge connecting current 238 and 380, and have both be part of 705, and give the 380 designation to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and 101 between San Rafael and Santa Rosa. There is no reason to upgrade 101 north of Cloverdale to interstate standards. As for 101 south of the Golden Gate Bridge, the freeway between the 80 junction and Market Street can be part of I-80. Van Ness and Lombard can continue being a highway. The freeway south from the 80 junction should be an interstate, but I’m unsure if it should just be “I-480” to Gilroy, or “I-3” to L.A. If 101 is made a mainline then 280 should be redesigned as one of its child routes, but that would make 880 starting with an even number make no sense
19:36 I live in Ogallala, and whenever I drive back home from Indiana, I always encounter that sign at about 1am and am so happy to see it. 50 to go!...after about 12 hours of driving.
There are not enough roadfans on TH-cam. Thank you for your service. o7
Thanks!
When I was a kid, my family moved from Paterson, NJ to Sacramento, CA. So I have been end to end on Interstate 80, but I know the areas around the opposite ends best. Thanks for a brief trip down memory lane!
i don't have a big problem with signing the water gap as a control city, it's a huge tourist destination and well known as the NJ-PA border
Maybe sign the area as Poconos? That’s the general name for the Monroe County area…
East Stroudsburg is the largest community there, but all hotels mention the Poconos.
I'd sign it as a secondary, not a primary. I'd sign along with Scranton or Cleveland.
Good control states. I’m from IL so we use a lot of them. Wisconsin/Indiana.
Maybe WB but EB it should be New York City no question.
The Mississippi/Great Lakes watershed divide is backwards from what people may think. You travel westbound into the Great Lakes watershed and eastbound into the Mississippi watershed. Cleveland and Akron are on the Cuyahoga River which flows to Lake Erie and Youngstown is in the Mississippi watershed via the Mahoning River to Beaver River to Ohio River to Mississippi.
A. Bellefonte is pronounced (Bell-font)
B. DuBois is pronounced (Do-boys)
C. PennDOT is working on constructing a high-speed interchange for I-99, though it is taking forever because it has to be done in steps. Step one is to build a local interchange two miles northeast of I-99, step two is to improve Jacksonville Road in preparation for detouring I-99/I-80 traffic onto it, and finally they can work on the high-speed interchange itself. The entire project is expected to be complete by 2026, with the local interchange being completed this fall.
Wow, didn't realize it was that big of a project
@@ControlCityFreak Not to mention that once the I-99/I-80 interchange is finished, PennDOT is planning on finishing I-99 to the NY border. This project involves another high-speed interchange, making about 4 miles of 220 Interstate standard, and building a 5 mile bypass around Larrys Creek and Linden.
I guess that they are not in any kind of hurry on this project. So much for Build Back Better!
@@brucetelfeyan They have to do it this slow because of the way the interchange is currently designed. Once the local access interchange and Jacksonville Road improvements are complete, they can route vehicles getting on and off of I-99 through that exit instead of having to create special temporary ramps, which ultimately saves money.
@@appalachianenthusiast9499 where can you view these future plans for I-99 north?
In Wyoming, Utah, and Nevada, there should consistently be two control cities “SLC” and “Reno” are short enough words to fit other city names on there. Also Rock Springs and Elko are 10x the size of the town that Colorado insists on signing obsessively
And to anyone wondering if I’m advocating for Rawlins and Lyman as control cities, the simple answer is “not really.” The only way I can see them being singed is as secondaries on the way to rock springs. Lyman’s a farm town and I’ve only heard of Rawlins because of this video. I would rather see Rock Springs be a secondary on the way to Salt Lake and Cheyenne
Exit 222 in Nebraska where Interstate 80 meets Nebraska 21 in South Cozad Township marks the symbolic halfway point on the highway. The township only has three businesses (one gas station, a Cobblestone hotel, and a former motor inn that was demolished) and is located 1.1 miles south of the Cozad city line. The Cobblestone hotel which we stayed at twice on our cross country road trip between New York and Las Vegas in the summer of 2021 was built on top of the former motor inn’s footprint.
Oh cool!
Cozad itself is also the 100 degrees west line which I thought was pretty cool
16:44 update from an Iowan - they changed this sign to just be Omaha for 880 vs North Omaha. I always thought North Omaha was a suburb 480 served, but it's actually just the main city
I appreciate you taking the scenic route through my hometown of Omaha
In the Northeast, especially from Trenton northeast, the pattern is more akin to smaller independent cities orbiting big cities. Places like Paterson, White Plains, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Worcester, and Lowell really aren't suburbs (and were even less so at the time the Interstates were being built)... they'd have their own economies/commute patterns/etc.
th-cam.com/video/yfLnrTRXtGU/w-d-xo.html
th-cam.com/video/4aCXkl_Lsps/w-d-xo.html
I-80 once had five suffixed routes, tied with I-35 for the most. The three I-80N's became western I-84, the I-680 segment that is now called I-880, and a section of mainline I-80 in Ohio. Interestingly, the two I-80S routes were changed into the western and eastern I-76s.
I-35's total trimmed to four suffixed routes when I-35W in Kansas switched into I-135.
Its worth noting that I-270 in Maryland used to be called I-70S.
Appreciate you saying State College should be the main control city signed in eastern Pennsylvania and south on 99 at the junction as a native of that town :)
Looking forward to I-81 next week, am very curious to see if you'll do separate North/South videos or just do it all in one go.
4:47 A sign for 'Stae College' could be confusing of which state college. -- maybe Stroudsburg,
Bloomsburg, Lycoming, Clarion, ...
I think it should be Youngstown west of Paterson. The road really should not exist as there are no cities it needs to connect in PA, but since it exists, Youngstown should be the control city.
@@zeroone8800 Well, I don't know how I neglected to mention this for so long, but not too long after 80 meets 380, there's an exit for 476 that Todd didn't talk about for some reason (maybe he either forgot or just decided that the video was long enough without it already) which goes to Allentown and Wilkes-Barre. You could potentially sign one of those cities instead of State College, although I think even once you get past that interchange I still think 80 should be signed for SC because I personally don't think it makes any sense for Youngstown, a city of only 50K people, to be signed from nearly 300 miles away across almost the whole state of Pennsylvania, and besides, State College is not even really THAT far off of 80 anyways, definitely being closer than going to Williamsport on 180 from it. That's just my two cents though.
@@zeroone8800Youngstown is too small to be signed from far away. It should be Cleveland from I-95
I saw your I-80 east bound yesterday and I loved it
Yep, there's a divide there. If I'm not mistaken, that sign is in Portage County, so named because those traveling by canoe and other early watercraft would "portage" (carry their boats) between the rivers leading to the Ohio River and those leading to Lake Erie. This is a rare divide running east and west, rather than north-south divides like the Continental Divide... and yes, this divide runs near Chicago, too.
There’s some 80 signs from local roads that have weird control cities too. Like Dover or Parsippany. Jersey just wants to tell you about all of our “great” places 😂
19:47 that is the old 76/80 interchange view .... since its reconstruction, it's now 76 WEST, not SOUTH .... and the 76W ramp itself is to the RIGHT, not the LEFT (and about ½ mile to the east).
Good that they finally switched the west/south thing. The new ramp isn’t on GAC yet
and it still says 76 SOUTH!? 🤔🤔 I swear I don't remember it saying THAT ... I just rolled through there. but the video clip I shot CLEARLY does say 76 SOUTH for both overheads right before and at the interchange ...... go figure 🤔🤔
@@dhinton1 I’ve heard it’s west now. GSV still doesn’t show the reconfigured interchange
I live in Reno, and have driven on every mile of I 80 due to using it as a divider between north and south for my 21/22 road trips. I think Elkhart should be added as a control city, as its a decent sized metro (200k). Also I’d add Iowa City: it’s decent sized (180k), provides access to Cedar Rapids, and is home to the University of Iowa.
Also, as you get closer to Reno, you start seeing distance signs for Sparks, a smaller city of about 110k just east of US 395.
traveling from sw suburbs to iowa city i was baffled that it wasnt a control city on almost any signs! i think at very few points nearby it's a top-line control city and about 60 miles away it shows up on the second line but it feels so absent when it just shouldn't be
The interchange between I-76 and I-80 in Nebraska was reconstructed between 2019 and 2022
Illinois Tollways Oasises have really be scaling back on them. 3 of them have closed their buildings, and one even closed the gas station. South Holland and Lake Forest are still open completely on the Tri-State, Belvedere on the Adams (I90) and DeKalb on the Reagan (I88). Hinsdale and OHare still have gas stations open on Tri-State. Des Plaines completely closed on Adams
I really think my only complaint in almost all of Ohio signage ( other than the Marietta ridiculousness) is that after the first junction with 480, the secondary should be Sandusky for Cedar Point.
I can't wait till next week to see your thoughts on Bristol as a control city
Being a good friend of the webmaster of alpsroads, I mentioned your shout out of him to him. He was very appreciative!
Love the videos by the way!
Awesome, thanks! I really appreciate him letting me use the pic and getting back to me so quickly
US-52 end-to-end is one of the drives I've had an unreasonable fascination with for a couple of decades.
I had an internship in college in Charleston SC then the next summer I interned outside of Minneapolis. I remember being like wait… 52 same road? It felt like I was on the other side of the world.
Ideally, it would be part of a Key West to Inuvik or Tuktoyaktuk drive.
Same!
I grew up around Cincinnati, so I've been on that part of US 52 many times. It definitely is a weird feeling when I was on it on trips to Charleston SC and Minot ND!
U.S. 62 is another screwy one, from El Paso to Niagara Falls.
I can't wait for I-81. I currently live in Syracuse so I'm on that interstate nearly everyday and I have family in Virginia so I've driven the entire length several times.
10:01 at the Sturgis exit you can actually see the Michigan state line sign from 80/90!
17:10 that interchange is presently missing (they tore it down and are rebuilding it)
I may have gone back a couple years on Street View to get it
9:41 You should see the new Indiana welcome signs
I’ve got it in the 275 vid
I don’t care for the new one. The old one and even the one before that was better.
Heads up, there's a Lyman in Maine that I-95 goes through.
There's one in SC too.
16:03 Omaha native here, and of course I'm biased but I dislike Council Bluffs as a control city. I guess it's chosen because it's in the same state, but honestly more people are gonna know what/where Omaha is.
Totally agree
Iowan here- Iowa likes to sign it's river cities. They do it East for Davenport. The only thing is that Davenport is the largest city in the area, so it makes sense. Council Bluffs serves Omaha.
A possible solution for the 376 New Castle vs Pittsburgh situation could be to sign it for the Pittsburgh International Airport. 376 is the main way that people get to the Airport, as opposed to I-79, which connects to Pittsburgh itself via I-279. Of course, it’s a bit far from the Airport at its intersection with I-80. If I had to guess though, it is probably signed for New Castle since it used to be part of a state route until 2009, and since I-376 meets US-224 and US-422 in New Castle.
Perfect thing to sit and watch while my oil gets changed and tires get rotated
The salt flats near Salt Lake City again reminds me of good old Crait that the Resistance went to where Luke seemingly popped out of nowhere
A the sign at 10:33 has to be temporary due to construction. I'm pretty sure that the permanent signage will have Gary/Toll Road and Indianapolis as the control cities for 65, and Chicago as the control city for 80/94/US6
Des Moines is a awful pick.
Gary should be the I-65 Control City once I-80/I-94 is reached from the south(Lafayette, Indy).
Joliet I’d prefer more over Des Moines. I prefer closer places that aren’t provincial
@@spellcast1391 Joliet & Gary are suburban Chicago, Thus they would make terrible choices for Primary controls on I-80. Joliet works for I-355 though. As does Gary on I-294.
I miss fall in NJ now cool pics. There’s 2 ways to leave jersey free, north or the secret non toll bridge in Trenton
In West Sacramento on eastbound I-80 Business/US 50, just after the split from I-80, is the longest control city mileage sign in the US. It's for Ocean City, Maryland at 3073 miles. I think there is a similar sign in Ocean City for Sacramento
There is, I’ve seen it
The beginning of US 20 in Newport, Oregon eastbound has a sign for Boston.
Good luck driving though Wyoming on Interstate 80 in the winter. It can be bad. Just look up all the pileups. Elk Mountain is notorious for being wicked in the winter. Lincoln is looking at the old 66 route that went through Wyoming.
6:18 So the fireworks capital of America is "not a significant place," eh? Then again, I'm biased, as I have family and went to college in the area.
Bloomsburg, PA, has the unique honor of being the only incorporated “town” in Pennsylvania. Every other municipality in PA is a city, borough, or township. But Bloomsburg is a town. Is that enough to get control city status? Who’s to say?
lol
Bloomsburg is the biggest population center in that section of the state so that is why.
@@ControlCityFreak Also after I81 can you do an I15 reboot? There is a US30 in Idaho, but you didn't bring it up in the I15 video
Murrysville and Monroeville, outside Pittsburgh, are called "Municipalities".
At 15:52, having Cedar Rapids & Waterloo signed on the I-380 interchange in Iowa are the correct choices in both directions, however are both only signed on westbound I-80. More people are going to be taking I-380 than US-228, Cedar Rapids & Waterloo are the two major cities that 380 passes through.
Also, kind of surprised about no mention of Iowa City, which is where the University of Iowa is.
It’s because Moline and Davenport are closer along with the former being in-state for Illinois. Although the Iowa City-Coralville area is good with the I-380 junction and things like that. I’ve heard of Iowa City before.
University of Iowa is a good college city. I have Iowa family there and in west Des Moines. There is a lot of road construction in Des Moines now.
For Interstate 80 as a whole, it should be:
Eastbound - Oakland/Sacramento, just Sacramento, Reno, Salt Lake City, Cheyenne, Lincoln/Omaha, just Omaha, Des Moines, Davenport/Chicago, just Chicago, Toledo, Cleveland, Youngstown/New York City, and just New York City (No random Pennsylvania cities :)
Westbound - Cleveland, Toledo, Chicago, Des Moines, Omaha, Lincoln, Denver, Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, Reno, Sacramento, Oakland and San Francisco
Solid
At least Lyman doesn't get the Todd Treatment! lol
Nice informative video
I subscribed
There is now a PA exit 163, called Jacksonville/ Howard. It is for local access once the I-80/I-99 high speed interchange is finished in 2030.
I got no big issue with using Denver as a secondary from Omaha to North Platte. Then cosign it with Cheyenne to the 76 cutoff. Nebraska really should use 3 places for the milage signs. The last city line between Omaha and I-76 should alternate among Lincoln, North Platte, Denver and Cheyenne.
the reason 480 and 80 are signed both for cleveland is because 480 is the way to take for the central-northern most suburbs of the city (parma, brooklyn, north olmsted, etc.) while 80 covers the southernmost suburbs like strongsville
I’ve thought for years now that I-80 should actually have its eastern terminus at the eastern end of the Long Island Expressway near Riverhead, NY. It should go west across Long Island to the interchange with I-295, then head over the Throgs Neck Bridge and run concurrently with I-95 through south Bronx and over northern Manhattan and across the George Washington Bridge. This would make I-80 more truly coast to coast and not require any new highway construction.
Yeah I agree. Plus, it would enter New York.
Same here, though I would rather have it end in Queens near LaGuardia International Airport.
I have been only to Chicago Westbound and Eastbound
Bloomsburg is home to Bloomsburg University
Marge vs the monorail is a wonderful episode
7:52 Such a weird arrow for the offramp, implies you’ll be making a right-angle turn (but somehow at 30mph, ehh?).
From the George Washington Bridge to the I-80/I-95 split, only I-80's WB control cities are listed (Paterson, with Hackensack listed on the local lanes).
I kinda wish Portland was still on the i84 sign
I 80 west (starting in NJ) needs to be Patterson (NJ). Scranton PA, Youngstown OH, Cleveland, Toledo. Chicago, Moline-Rock Island, Des Moines, so forth.
A question about the I-80/90 concurrent section in Indiana and Ohio: when you do I-90, will you be using different pictures than the ones in this video?
4:05 - In Bloomsburg and Clarion are Pennsylvania state colleges.
Your definitely right about 80 in Pennsylvania. I do love how Jersey makes you pay to leave. 😂😂😂
Yes, every crossing of the Delaware River or Hudson River is a one-way toll going out of NJ.
@@chuckonwubu1458 All but one. The privately owned Dingman's Ferry Bridge between Pike County, PA and Sussex County, NJ charges both directions.
Thanks for mentioning Streetsboro while on I-80 West...the little town where I grew up. I-80 does not go through or touch the Cleveland city limits at all, as the Ohio Turnpike was designed and built not to go through any major city.
Regarding the sign in Portage County, Ohio designating the Eastern Continental Divide...there IS a divide between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi River. As pointed out, west of the divide is the Cuyahoga River (I-80 goes over it twice) which flows to Lake Erie. East of the Divide is the Mahoning River - I-76 crosses over it, and it flows to the Beaver River, then to the Ohio River.
Can’t wait for my local interstate I-81.
Kinda cool 80 and 81 connect.
5:51 Sharon looks bigger than it sounds, but it’s almost like a suburb of Youngstown, so Sharon is a weird choice
I live in Des Moines and I remember when all the signs said both Omaha and Council Bluffs. I sorta understand why they sign it, since Council Bluffs is considered a major city in Iowa, but it mostly piggybacks off of Omaha's metro. Davenport makes sense because it's actually the largest city of the Quad Cities unlike Moline and Rock Island, and has the most city-esque downtown and feel.
Signing Council Bluffs without Omaha would be like signing Mason City for I-35 north without Minneapolis, or Albert Lea even.
And the North Omaha for 880 is probably just a leftover of when it was signed with 680, since 680 itself did take you to North Omaha.
Yeah that makes sense on 880. Des Moines is nice! I was there recently
@@ControlCityFreak I agree, I do like the skyline and the downtown is pretty compact for a Midwestern city. I-235 is one of the coolest interstate architecture I have seen in a metro, next to Peoria's I-74.
Why have the 3 digit interstate in the town? I thought that was to BYPASS the town?(I-294, I-894, I-270, I-640)
@@spellcast1391 Des Moines was originally designed to be bypassed entirely because at the time it was a small city of only 100k. The idea for 235 was stated when they wanted a spur to Downtown but redesigned it to be a full loop.
@@spellcast1391 that rule has since been changed so that a 3 digit interstate starting with an even number essentially connects to another interstate either as a bypass or a main thoroughfare through the metro area. There are exceptions like I-380 in PA, which actually used to be I-81E.
I live in Hollidaysburg PA near Altoona. I-99 South from 80 into Centre and Blair counties is a beautiful ride through mountains. Worth checking out. Also I-81 north through Wilkes Barre and Scranton is pretty also Route 15 North to Mansfield and Wellsboro is an amazing drive. PA has its own Grand Canyon in Wellsboro. Bellefonte is the county seat of Centre, it is a quaint little town that is the actual center of PA; it is an equal distance N,S,E,W between all the borders
Can vouch for all of this as someone who resides in Bellefonte and has spent pretty much all his life in central PA :)
If Illinois wasn't obsessed with signing other states, I would sign 80 west for Quad Cities when it splits from 294.
I partly agree with that. I’d feel better if at the 294 split it was Joliet and Quad Cities. Joliet is the 3rd largest city in Illinois population wise so why not put both it and Quad Cities since 80 goes through both? It didn’t used to bother me them putting Des Moines on the 80 West signs but that was 30 years ago, a lot has changed since then. Where the Chicago suburbs end is actually a heated topic so I won’t get into it here but I do have an opinion on that.
The signage between the GWB and the 80/95 split could definitely be done better (can't wait for the I-95 video). I think it's important to remember that a lot of interstate traffic in this region is freight and cargo. Northern New Jersey used to be a mighty industrial center, and is a major logistics point not just for NYC but for a lot of commerce serving New England too. From the GWB heading westbound, I understand Paterson as a control city because more than a suburb it's a major industrial center.
An aside: if they were ever going to reroute I-80 for some reason, I would want them to extend it over the GWB and then follow 678 all the way to JFK airport. Those x78s in NYC are so annoying since 78 doesn't enter NYC, can't wait to see you cover them in a future video.
@diasporagothic9544 I 78 technically does enter New York, but considering the major sin it commits in Jersey City, it really should just end there.
The North Freeway in Omaha was briefly signed as Interstate 580 in the 1980s.
It should be again. The removed the I-580 designation because the interchange with 480 did not meet interstate standards. Instead of using funds to upgrade it, they built the Storz Expressway to provide a better road to the airport. But some years later, the 480/North Freeway interchange was upgraded to interstate standards, so I-580 should be in place again.
@@brucetelfeyan I think the JFK Freeway/US75 makes sense for a revival of 580. though personally speaking, I think having either Bellevue or Plattsmouth (or by some reason Nebraska City) having the terminus probably would have its benefits
I always wondered this, but how would you feel if I-80 east of Des Moines signed Iowa City instead of Davenport? I wonder this since Iowa City is where 380 starts and connects 2 other larger iowa major cities.
I think Iowa City makes an ideal secondary
Illinois doesn’t put Iowa City on their interchanges interestingly(I’m not complaining mind you). I thought they would considering they put Terre Haute Paducah & Evansville.
@@RFE812 Iowa City is both smaller than Davenport and Des Moines, even in metro size. It's only 100k people. It's why I-70 skips Zanesville to Wheeling. Although Iowa City is signed for 380 south.
@@RFE812 True but TH and Evansville are always secondaries or signed at interchanges. IDOT isn’t going to sign Iowa City anywhere over Rock Island/Moline
@@ControlCityFreakI was actually referring to I-80 in Rock Island/Moline but yes. Illinois would not go to Iowa City before the quad cities. Also Illinois doesn’t put Janesville on I-39/I-90’s interchanges so I do give my home state props for that.
The control cities on the overhead signage for 80 at the 355 interchange should be Gary and Des Moines, but I believe the Tollway would have to update that (not IDOT).
The control cities for 80 at the 57 and 55 interchanges should have been updated at some point in the last 30 years. lol
I-80 West is the direction of 80 that I have the most mileage on. Took it from Cleveland all the way to I-76 which I took to Denver. Would still like to take it further one of these days.
Safe to say this will be your longest video until you get to I-90. 90 will be a chore to get through compared to 80.
And now that I-80 is done, looks like we’ll be getting another 2-part video! I-81 is a very long North-South route and it’ll be the last time we go into West Virginia too. We’ll also be going into upstate New York for the first time on I-81 too.
Can’t wait to see that one.
Gonna be cool!
I think 90 will be a shorter vid because it doesn't go through as much big cities and it doesn't have as much bad control cities other than the Wyoming section.
@@mxderateprod the 80/90 concurrency saves a lot of time as well, think that one is the longest concurrency other than maybe 20/59
@@ianp1745 80/90 is longer. 20/59 is the longest even-odd numbered concurrency.
I-90 has a lot of good control cities. I’ve been on the Tomah to Gary(Indiana) portion and it’s well signed. Wisconsin uses Tomah West for the I-90 I-94 split. Gary is never signed and rightly so.
The I-25 interchange in Wyoming and the I-180 interchange in Nebraska both do something unique that I’m not used to seeing. On I-80 meeting I-25, the exits are 359A and 359C and on I-25, the exits are 8B and 8D. And on I-80 meeting I-180 in Nebraska, the whole interchange is Exit 401 with A and B being on I-80 and C and D being on I-180. It’s kind of interesting, but also bizarre and I’ve never understood it
Oh interesting, I didn’t notice that
The interstates that end at I-80 in Nebraska (180, 480, 680) all use I-80 exit numbering. I-76 used to use I-80 exit numbering as well, but that was changed when they redid the interchange. BTW I-76 is now signed east-west in Nebraska. Some other drivers showed this on some TH-cam videos.
Boss King you are right about that. Good catch.
I loved the I-80 videos. Great work todd!
Thanks!
Todd, If PennDOT decided to change the control city signs in PA: I'd suggest maybe having 2 of them?
Eastbound:
Clarion/NYC
Du Bois/NYC
Bellefonte/NYC
Hazelton/NYC
Stroudsburg/NYC
Westbound:
Stroudsburg/Cleveland, OH
Hazelton/Cleveland, OH
Du Bois/Youngstown, OH
Clarion / Youngstown, OH
Sharon / Youngstown, OH
That works as long as NYC and Cleveland are on there as well.
Here's how I-80 in Pennsylvania "should be":
Eastbound
State College/New York City
Williamsport/New York City
Wilkes-Barre - Scranton/New York City
New York City
Westbound
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre
Wilkes-Barre/State College
Williamsport/State College
State College
Youngstown
As for Sharon, Clarion, DuBois, Bellefonte, Bloomsburg and Stroudsburg, compensate for their exclusion as control cities by pairing up mileage signs all along I-80. Imagine an eastbound mileage sign half a mile east of I-79 that reads
Clarion 44
DuBois 79
Bellefonte 141
followed a quarter of a mile later by
Grove City 7
State College 155
New York City 364
Or, imagine a westbound mileage sign half a mile west of I-81 that reads
Bloomsburg 26
Bellefonte 102
DuBois 161
followed a quarter of a mile later by
Nescopeck 11
Williamsport 74
State College 114
@@dr4782 Mileage signs are after every exit. Also, I would just sign NYC.
@@mxderateprod I know they're after every exit. I was just giving two examples.
Regarding your upcoming I-81 video(s). Just in case you are not aware, I-81 through downtown Syracuse, NY is in the process of being decommissioned (freeway elimination program to reintegrate downtown neighborhoods) and will be re-routed to the current I-481 bypass after some interchange reconstruction. So perhaps one of your segments should include 481.
Thanks, appreciate the heads up!
7:19 That sign marks the St. Lawrence River Divide. It divides the Great Lakes Basin with the southerly Atlantic Ocean watersheds. Yes, there are a lot of watershed divides all around the world. The most notable is the Continental Divide of the Americas and another is the European Watershed which have more watersheds which link seas of the Atlantic. Plus, Chicago is also split with the divide and most Chicagoans don't know which portions of Chicagoland is part of the divide and even the highways in Chicagoland don't mark the St. Lawrence River divide.
There is a sign about the divide on the Oak Park side of North Ave between Ridgeland and Narragansett. It faces north so it's not obvious to traffic.
Nice!
@crystalclearwith8be292 Throughout Northern Nevada, there are brown signs that mark boundaries between different river watersheds (Truckee, Carson, Walker) However, since none of them lead to the Pacific, it really isn’t worth it in my opinion. I’d like to see signs indicating the boundaries of the Great Basin (i.e. ENTERING SACRAMENTO RIVER WATERSHED after passing Donner Summit, or ENTERING COLORADO RIVER WATERSHED after heading out of Evanston).
You can't do Street View on the GWB due to security reasons. Same reason you can't view select bridges in the NYC area. Security reasons were raised due to 9/11.
I was guessing it was because of that, but still seems weird since the tunnels have steetview
Just depends on the tunnel, especially if they're close to the World Trade Center site.
I-80 doesn't go near Scranton though. 380 is a totally seperate road that branches off and it's still another 30-40 miles north to get there. It's kind of like if they signed I-80 for Allentown because it's 30-40 miles south. Williamsport is only a couple miles off of I-80 so it makes more sense than Scranton. Bloomsburg is also a popular university in PA and a big destination point along 80 so it would make sense to have it on a sign. Bellefonte (pronounced "Bellfont") is another popular suburb outside of State College and most people from the region have heard of it.
Y'know, living in PA it was something I didn't really notice as much, but uh, PennDOT is indeed extremely provincial. There's a part of me that suspects that there's a deliberate effort to de-emphasize Philly, Pittsburgh, and to a lesser extent Harrisburg, Scranton, Altoona, and the other cities in-state.
Looking at 81 stuff now, they are weirdly squirrelly about Harrisburg
@@ControlCityFreak But they seem to sign Carlisle every chance they get. I've been through Carlisle many times. Warehouses, office parks, a few homes, and freeways. Harrisburg does seem to be left out.
PennDOT gives its districts A LOT of autonomy, which probably explains some of the weird control city decisions, and definitely explains the inconsistency in pattern-accurate signage from one district to the next (Districts 3, 6, 8, 11 good; districts 1, 4, 5, 9 bad). There probably should be more state-level coordination than there is.
When you finish every single interstate can you do us highways?
Check the Q&A vid, talked about it there
Fun fact: There is a mileage sign on I-80 that does mention Denver within 5 exits of the 76 junction, but there's no other mention.
Oh cool!
the 29/480 interchange is undergoing a massive overhaul to make it high-speed. the left-hand ramps off 29N onto 480W, and from 480E onto 29N are both going away. I think it will be done in 2025 🤔
No comments about the deepest Quarry near South Holland, Illinois between I-94 Leave I-80 and the I-80 Leaving I-294
I had something but cut it for time
Wow, I feel like this is the longest Todd's The Way It Should Be so far in this channel. Honestly longer than the EB video. I-80 is a truly an American coast-to-coast route.
Wait until 90 lol.
@Nemofishman I actually think I 95 will be longer. I 95 does have some desolate stretches (Savannah-Richmond), but that’ll be cancelled out by an extremely dense area between Washington and Portland.
Illinois goes by states as the control city for I-80 & I-294. Going westbound on I-80 through the Chicago suburbs, the control cities are Iowa or Moline-Rock Island. Going eastbound, it’s Indiana. It changes to Des Moines after I-39. It does still show the mileage to Des Moines though, from Chicago.
Nebraska’s control cities for I-80 is no problem. I-80 is the only interstate in the state, and most of the big towns in Nebraska are along I-80. Plus, Cheyenne is miles away and I-80 doesn’t go through Denver. Kansas goes by their towns as control cities on I-70, since Denver is far away.
Nah man. Denver from Lincoln. End of discussion.
I don’t like switching Control Cities? Would Quad Cities traffic go up to I-88 via I-39
spoken as a local, I-80 West in NJ should be Patterson, Parsippany (which has both I-280 and the exit for I-287, which has that mini local/express config), there has to be another city in NJ, and then Delaware Water Gap (spell it out). But Delaware Water Gap is an actual borough in PA, and being on the border, it does make sense to be there, but maybe should say "Delaware Water Gap, PA".
Why does there have to be another city in NJ? 80 only has 68 miles in the state.
Dang, you're up to ~4k subscribers already? I was following since around 700, nice to see you get some more popularity!
Thanks!
I was following since around 100.
Can't wait for I81, know that road very well
Todd, next week when you're doing I 81. When you're in Virginia, go to Exit 84 and look at the control city I 81 North has.
I genuinely want to hear comment about my Favorite place. I won't be mad.
Pulaski?
What's the plan for I-90 with the concurrency? Treat it as eastern and western separate highways (90 is definitely the junior partner in the concurrency)? Link to the 80 videos? Splice in the 80 videos? Or duplicate but with 90-specific commentary?
Yes.
I’ve always thought of 80 as the junior member though, the entire Indiana Toll Road is 90 whereas 80 joins later. 90 is the one that actually makes it to Cleveland too
@@ControlCityFreak at the ends, more traffic probably takes 90, but I think that's more local traffic. NYC+Philly+Pittsburgh+BaltWash+New England shunpikers vs. upstate NY on the east end and on the west end, unless you're going to The Loop, 80/94 is likely a better choice.
Besides which eastern I-90 basically gets the control cities right. Cleveland/Erie/Buffalo (I think even PennDOT lacks the audacity to not sign Buffalo/Cleveland) into Albany/NYC/Boston as primary control cities eastbound. Worcester/NY/Springfield/Albany/Buffalo/Erie/Cleveland westbound... At least I don't remember any indefensible control cities from doing BOS-CLE a couple of times in the last year or so.
All I'm saying is short video, mostly interesting for the largely pre-Interstate designs and maybe debate about the merits around Albany (stay on 90 or stay on the Thruway?)... And there's the best of the highest point in the East signs (even if MA doesn't say Oacoma any more)
Actually, MA does consistently put West Stockbridge and Albany, NY as westbound control cities on 90 from Springfield onwards. This made sense in the days of toll tickets: the ticket listed *every* exit, so listing the final toll barrier (itself an exit, as far as the turnpike is concerned) primarily serves to orient you with respect to the ticket. Likewise, NY signs Buffalo as the WB control city basically starting at the Hudson, because that was the ending toll barrier for the mainline ticket section (and Jersey largely uses Del Mem Br and Geo Washington Br as control cities on the Turnpike to match the tickets). With the move to all electronic tolling and tearing down the barriers, MA and NY might revise their control cities in the next sign-replacement cycle (and NY might even be able to go to mileage exits, as MA has done!)
You said "Laramie" so much I started jonesin' for a smoke.
lol
Is Gary a relevant control city anymore? It has such an infamous reputation as a crime-ridden ghost city.
I thought 101 was a spur route for US 1
At the junction with I-76 west of North Platte, NE, the signs should show:
for I-76 - Denver, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and for I-80 - Cheyenne, Salt Lake City, and San Francisco. This is a major interchange with significant choices for those heading west. It is a shame that Nebraska DOT does not take advantage of this opportunity!
That would be awesome!
I'd love to see that!
I like how they don't sign Lyman on I-80 Westbound.
It is on a mileage sign with nearby Ft. Bridger at one point, although I don’t know if it’s still there.
@@highway2heaven91 oh no
However, I saw an exit sign on I-85 Southbound past Spartanburg SC, and it signs US 29 LYMAN!!!
@@samseddmedia That's not bad for a US Highway.
Why should 80 be signed Denver? 80 is 100 miles north of Denver.
I think the Nebraska DOT won't sign I-80 for Denver because the main road doesn't go there. You'd have to take I-76 to get there. I think a better solution would be to put smaller Nebraska Cities as secondary (Grand Island, Kearny, North Platte) and Cheyenne as primary.
It is the way to Denver, and way more people are going to Denver than Cheyenne. System matters more than the number, and plus that road used to be 80 South
@@ControlCityFreak I'd have to check traffic counts but I'm sure the vast majority of traffic stays on I-80 west past the I-76 split. So most traffic is going through Wyoming. Signing I-80 west for Denver in most of Nebraska just doesn't make sense. I-76 doesn't deserve to be a 2DI (it even shares a duplicate number with a more prominent I-76 on the east coast). I-76 really should be I-170 or I-370.
Not I-180 because that’s Lincoln
@@ArtiePenguin1 faire
Yea
Todd, when u do I-81 in Syracuse, will u run the “old” route through Syracuse that’s being torn down or the “new route” which is using I-481.
I’ll probably do both
Late to the party here. But signing 376 for New Castle is the right call imo. If you are going westbound on 80 from New Jersey and you want to get to Pittsburgh, there are several options available from Rt. 28 all the way through to I-79. Going to 376 from the East and signing it Pittsburgh doesn't make sense especially considering 376 is also a toll road. I'd even argue signing it Eastbound doesn't make sense because it's quicker to get to Pittsburgh taking 79 and no toll. New Castle also population of over 21,000 and biggest city in the area.
No one is using it for Pittsburgh except for Sharon-area traffic. So New Castle makes a fine secondary. Pittsburgh should be on the sign though BECAUSE THAT IS where I-376 goes. It will connect back with I-76 in Pittsburgh. Is it a spur route from Pittsburgh to Sharon(I-80)
From NYC, Paterson, Poconos, Williamsport, DuBois, and Clarion it is a slower route
Todd, this gives me an idea for signing Pennsylvania and New Jersey cities in both directions without a need of montage for long distances. Nice suggestion for signing Pennsylvania cities. I even edited my comment of signing cities in the I-80 video.
Eastbound:
•State College, PA
•Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
•Stroudsburg, PA
•New Jersey | New York City
•New York City
Westbound:
•Patterson, NJ
•Stroudsburg, PA
•Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
•State College, PA
•Youngstown, OH
He was only talking about westbound. Eastbound he said it should be New York City all the way. And, I agree with him going EB.
I think the lists for both directions are fine. The idea is to have control cities that people go to or know well enough as guideposts for travel. States can get into "advertising" cities as opposed to listing true control cities.
For me, westbound I-80 must sign cities as these follows:
-Patterson, NJ
•Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA
•State College, PA
•Youngstown, OH
•Cleveland
•Toledo, OH
•Indiana | •Chicago
•Chicago
•Quad Cities (Moline-Rock Island, IL)
•Iowa City, IA
•Des Moines, IA
-Council Bluffs, IA | •Omaha, NE
•Omaha, NE
•Lincoln, NE
•North Platte, NE
•Cheyenne, WY | >Denver
•Cheyenne, WY
•Larmie, WY
•Salt Lake City
-Elko, NV | •Reno, NV
•Reno, NV
•Sacramento, CA
•San Francisco
@@CrystalClearWith8BE Solid.
I updated my idea. After Patterson, NJ, it's Stroudsburg, PA and then Scranton-Wilkes-Barre, PA. I can't believe I forgot to put Stroudsburg in there.
I should've mentioned this earlier but here is my Way it Should Be for I-80 West. Only to Chicago though because I'm not super well versed in western geography and those arguments have been made already by people who know what they're doing better lol
Parsippany (A bit farther west than Paterson and still somewhat substantial with a bunch of junctions)
Scranton
Allentown (476 junction)
State College
Youngstown
Cleveland
Toledo
Chicago
For I-90 you should include time zone signs (if they exist)!
lol
They exist. I40 has them, I know because I live just over the line in Tennessee
I’ve seen plenty of them. They look different depending on the state.
I-65 doesn’t have them.
@@spellcast1391 in Kentucky they do.
The only reason I like Sidney on that sign is because I live exactly one block off of US385…. Just like 10-11 hours south of it 😂
Can you do an I-90 east or west
It’s not Bo-hemoth, it’s behemoth.
I-88 should be Aurora for Westbound out of the I-290 intersection. The CKC 110 does use I-290 to go downtown. I think I-88 should be co-signed with I-290 because to get it to downtown Chicago.
Since 580 isn’t accessible from WB 80, and because it is used to get from the Bay Area to I-5, it should not be an off branch of 80.
238 and 580 east of it can be 705, and the Richmond-San Rafael bridge should be part of a whole new interstate that replaces 101. It can either start in Richmond and head northward as I-3, or start down in LA as I-1 with CA 1 as it’s bypasses. The issue with it as I-1 is how would I-1 get through SF
On second thought, build a bridge connecting current 238 and 380, and have both be part of 705, and give the 380 designation to the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge, and 101 between San Rafael and Santa Rosa. There is no reason to upgrade 101 north of Cloverdale to interstate standards.
As for 101 south of the Golden Gate Bridge, the freeway between the 80 junction and Market Street can be part of I-80. Van Ness and Lombard can continue being a highway. The freeway south from the 80 junction should be an interstate, but I’m unsure if it should just be “I-480” to Gilroy, or “I-3” to L.A.
If 101 is made a mainline then 280 should be redesigned as one of its child routes, but that would make 880 starting with an even number make no sense