11:31 update ...... if i recall correctly, MISSOURI DOT is in the works (or in the planning stages) of upgrading the ENTIRE KC-TO-STL stretch of 70 to 3 lanes each way.
I have a revision for signs on I-70 ... West -- Morgantown (until I-68), Harrisburg (until I-76), Wheeling, Zanesville, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Effingham, St Louis, Kansas City, Topeka, Salina, Denver, Grand Junction, Green River, St George
East -- Green River, Grand Junction, Denver, Salina, Topeka, Kansas City, St Louis, Effingham, Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus, Zanesville, Wheeling, Harrisburg, Philadelphia (until I-76), Baltimore
@@ControlCityFreak I have a revision for I-70 East -- Green River, Grand Junction, Denver, Salina, Topeka, Kansas City, St Louis, Effingham, Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus, Zanesville, Wheeling, Harrisburg, Philadelphia (until I-76), Baltimore East -- Morgantown (until I-68), Harrisburg, Wheeling, Zanesville, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Effingham, St Louis, Kansas City, Topeka, Salina, Denver, Grand Junction, Green River, St George, UT
@@marcusamspaugh1504 Hard pass on a lot of these. Green River? And literally the only reason to sign Effingham is the I-57 junction, and both Chicago and Memphis traffic would have already taken 55.
Todd I just learned yesterday that PA is going to be fixing the whole Breezewood mess. They're gonna build a proper interchange and everything, no more stoplights!
That is a very apt description for this stretch. I drove it from KC to Columbia several years ago. A sad state of affairs indeed. I thought the truck stop just east of the Missouri River seemed abit out of place when I first saw it. But a welcome change from the fireworks and porn shops though!
I’ve never been on I-70 west of Indianapolis, but I’ve been on the entire route east of Indianapolis. I even remember getting a Indiana State Map from a Rest Stop on 70.
Mines the way it should be: Grand Junction-Denver Denver Kansas-Hays Topeka-Wichita Topeka Kansas City St Louis-Columbia St Louis Indianapolis-Effingham Indianapolis Dayton Columbus Zanesville-Pittsburgh Wheeling-Pittsburgh Harrisburg Baltimore-Washington Baltimore
I hitchhiked that road from St. Louis to the Penn Turnpike at least a dozen times. Spent a night in a snowstorm under an overpass in Richmond IN once. Back in early ‘70s.
14:52 These "Travel time to:" signs are found throughout Ohio in higher traffic areas of interstates, though they sometimes take different forms. One example is just outside of Columbus on i-70 E, showing travel times to i-71 on different routes (39.97872115209739, -83.18441386444684). This sign is messed up in the street view imagery, but it is fixed now. I know there's other points at which the same type of sign shown in the video are used, but I can't remember exact locations off the top of my head
The eastern end of I-70 as it enters Baltimore is hilarious and pathetic. Of course this is another case (much like I-95 in Boston and DC and I-40 in Memphis) where it proved to be to politically painful, costly, and unachievable to build an interstate through the heart of a city. In this case, I-70 was originally planned to continue east through Baltimore and terminate where it would have met I-95.
That is because it was not supposed to end there - blame the haterade of the 1970s. Interstate 70 was supposed to end at Interstate 895 (the western end of the Harbor Tunnel Thruway) - there even used to be a stub end there. It's not even the only Interstate with a wacky end in Baltimore - Interstate 83's southern end is President Street - just north of Camden Yards.
yes .... the I-40 through Memphis and I-70 into Baltimore stubs are hilarious and pathetic indeed. timing was poor in BOTH cases. and it makes LESS sense that I-95 isn't on I-93's roadway in Boston ... and I-93 isn't on I-95's around it ... but that's Boston. lol
It's sort of a monument to just how destructive the original plan would have been.... and was, by cutting off Louisville, Cincinnati, and even Memphis (the downtown portion) from their riverfronts.
Something interesting about that Park and Ride at the eastern terminus of 70. I-70 was originally planned to go into Baltimore and curve south to I-95 and intersect near the Caton Avenue exit on 95. In fact you can still see the ghost ramps there that the state built in preparation for it. I-170 was then going to sprout off and go into downtown and intersect with I-83. The State had already started construction on I-170 in West Baltimore, but abandoned the project after residents in West Baltimore fought against the projects. Leaving a mile long stretch of expressway signed as US 40 in West Baltimore that goes no where and the weird park and ride situation there at Security Boulevard on 70.
Oh, so that small section of expressway was supposed to be I-170? I always assumed it was supposed to part of I-70 proper. I can see the spot on Google Maps where you say I-70 and I-95 would have met, and it looks like I-70 would have basically gone through some parkland to get to I-95. Ii doesn't look like too many residences/businesses would have been affected by its construction (pretty much contained to the area around US 1 just to the north of I-95), so why the uproar to stop it? I guess they really like those parks? (Obviously I can see the uproar over I-170 - it's basically plowing its way through a densely populated neighborhood).
I can see the uproar over running I-70 through that massive park to get it to I-95 .... and the cleanest alternative would essentially put 70 on the same line that US 40 currently lays on to about Hilton St .... and that never was gonna get past residents back then, neither. it's the same kinda uproar that shut down a lot of interstate paths back then (see I-40 in downtown Memphis). and I-170 probably was worse ...
Traveling west on I-70 passed Frisco I encountered an electronic sign saying I-70 was closed both directions at Vail. Between that sign and where the traffic stopped there were no exits. I sat there parked with the engine off for about 45 minutes until traffic started to move. A few miles down the road the state police were directing all traffic across the median and eastbound. I tuned in a Denver radio station and the traffic guy advised to go back eastbound then south to Leadville and back to I-70. It took 3 hours but it worked. When I stopped for the night about 6 hours later I-70 was stilled closed. A risk to traveling on I-70 in Utah and Colorado is that if it gets closed there is no alternate route.
16:06 While I understand not wanting to sign a city that no mainline interstates enter, I don’t think Washington is control city worthy. Since the state has to be said anyway, why can’t it be the control? Why not sign 70 east and 79 north for “Pennsylvania”?
19:28 I always thought that Hagerstown should be signed on 70 but now that I'm thinking about Hagerstown doesn't really make sense on 70 like it does on 81 because you have 2 ginormous cities that are just a bit past Hagerstown and plus we don't even get into the city limits of Hagerstown on 70
Fun fact: When 70 East splits off from 55 North in Illinois towards Effingham, the mile markers (and exit numbers) from this point eastward, are actually a continuation of I-270's mileage instead of I-55's mileage (or I-70's mileage from the Stan Span). So there is a 5-mile offset between I-70's shown mileage and I-70's true mileage in Illinois
Just think of the Illinois part of I-270 and I-70 east of the 55/70/270 interchange as being one continous freeway (since there's no turning off involved) and the mile markers make a lot more sense. This is probably the best route to take if you're going from, say, KC to Indy (and vice versa)
yeah ..... 70's mileage in ILLINOIS used to throw me off back in the day til i realized this. and OTR traffic not going to St. Louis definitely would stay on 270.
11:50 There's 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it, and the only problem of our generation is finding a good way to spend it like maybe...
I'm not sure if I can remember this accurately, but I think I 70 was meant to run further into Baltimore but a Freeway Revolt put and end to most of the expressway except for a small portion that had already been built. Otherwise things may have been completely different
7:14 - if I was going to Lake Wilson on I-70, I’d welcome this sign for Dorrance. But, 70 is way out of the way of that lake from Great Bend. But I just usually took the back roads from GB, through Hoisington, past Hoisington High School on Susank Road. This very winding road eventually hits I-70 at Dorrance. :) I used jump off the cliffs at Lake Wilson all the time as a kid. But, K-156 is a joy to drive in Ellsworth County. It does go past Cheyenne Bottoms in Barton County. :)
At the interchange with I-70 and I-77, Marietta is in Ohio along the Ohio River... never drove there, but was part of a riverboat crew taking our vessel from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati for a festival, so we sailed past Marietta en route. Perhaps ODOT made Marietta a control city because it was within the state’s boundaries, but other cities like Parkersburg and Charleston in West Virginia could possibly have been more immediate control cities.
It's like normally-responsible Ohio decided to take a dabble in how provincial NC or MS lives. Also I can't read Marietta without hearing my Atlantan friend telling me to pronounce their suburb May-retta.
ODOT could do to I-77 what they've done to US 35, where if there aren't any major cities in the area to sign from south of Cambridge, they could sign Marietta only on mileage signs, and do Charleston W Va on SB 77, and I think Parkersburg could be feasible on WVDOT part, as they do it with Point Pleasant on US 35.
It could definitely be worse. Imagine coming out of the park and ride in Baltimore and seeing a 70 West Limon pull through. Or a firework store listed on a mileage sign.
I-70 can also be used for a cross country road trip from Los Angeles to New York and vice versa, when used in combination with I-15, I-76, and I-78. On this route, one drives from the west end of 70 in Cove Fort, UT all the way to the end of 70's concurrency with the PA Turnpike near Breezewood (or vice versa), nearly 95% of 70 is driven on this route between LA and New York.
I-77 South from I-70 heads just east of Marietta, on the Ohio border in Ohio. Once into West Virginia, it bypasses Parkersburg, and continues south into Charleston, where a long concurrency with I-64 happens until Beckley, WV. If I had to choose between control cities for I-77 South on eastbound I-70, I would either go Parkersburg or Charleston.
There is an overhead sign on mainline 70 a little bit east of Columbus in Hebron that is signed for Wheeling and Pittsburgh. Not sure if there are others.
The scenery on I-70 in Utah and Colorado is absolutely stunning, I have to drive that stretch someday and film some dashcam footage. I-70's stretch thru the Appalachians in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland also doesn't look too bad either.
The Billboard situation on I-70 seems to have improved somewhat. However the traffic is still way to congested. I really wish they would designate US-36 as a continuation of I-72 west of Hannibal. That may take some of the pressure off I-70 through Missouri. If not, I-70 needs to be 6 lanes across the entire state. I'm just not sure how they could possibly pull that off in Columbia.
U.S. 36 in Missouri is not engineered to Interstate standards. In many (most?) cases, the highway was twinned, and the original alignment was left as is, so one side of the highway is graded properly, but the other side is not, and follows the lay of the land instead. The most glaring example of this is in Linn County between the Marceline interchange and the Macon County line. Both directions of U.S. 36 will have to be graded properly before it can be designated as I-72.
4:26 Speaking of no pull through of I-70,... 4:34 This is the moment of truth that we are signed for Limon instead of Kansas. 5:19 As we talk about Limon in this video, it's like a hub of routes linking to multiple major cities, even though its a small town. As we discuss westbound I-70, "We don't talk about Limon." I like saying that because I like to reference "We Don't Talk About Bruno" in Encanto.
I could be biased, having grown up in the Pennsylvania countryside, living here for 20+ years, and never been on Interstate 70 west of Bedford but I completely disagree with 10:25. That honor goes to the mountains east of Breezewood on your way to the Maryland border, at least for me :)
It's Washington, Pennsylvania; it's a small college town south of Pittsburgh, and the last large community, if you drive south on 79, before you enter West Virginia. BTW, when you enter West Virginia on 79, Morgantown (U. of WV - Mountaineers) is the first city.
The part where there was 105 miles without services in Utah is the longest stretch of interstate without services. The Marietta referred to on I-77 is in Ohio, it is signed because it is the border with West Virginia. Parkersburg and Charleston are more populous cities that should be signed instead (preferably Charleston but either would work).
I think Charleston is the way to go after looking at the comments. Kinda weird that ODOT would be concerned with signing a border town that one time when they are pretty good about signing out of state cities elsewhere
@@ControlCityFreak the issue might be that since US-33 and I-79 are shortcuts between I-70 and Charleston that vehicles on I-70 likely aren’t taking 77 to get to Charleston, but it should at least be signed when on I-77 south (it isn’t).
Co-signing Parkersburg AND Charleston could work. Parkersburg by itself is okay. Charleston, however, is the bigger draw for long-distance traffic. Anyhow, Marietta is a very provincial control city. It shouldn't be signed on I-77 South. The Interstate Highway System was meant for long-distance traffic, but in this instance Ohio is just focusing on in-state traffic (for whatever reason).
@@samseddmedia Marietta used to be a stop for the riverboats that had tours on the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers. That was probably the other reason for signing Marietta (tourism)
The main part of I-70 ends at I-695 ( the Baltimore beltway ) . Supposedly 70 was to go to downtown Baltimore but was not constructed past the park and ride.
4:26 I checked on Google Street View, and Colorado DOT put up a pull-through for I-70 East/Airport/Denver/Aurora. I think Aurora is kinda bigger than Limon. They don't sign Limon until I-225.
ODot does have "Travel Times to:" in other parts of the state as well as other freeways. 75 has one just south of 675 announcing travel times to OH. 63 (Which is where Traders World is and the former Touchdown Jesus statues was) and 275. I think 75 has one towards Toledo as well that I can recall on the top of my head at the moment.
I went thru breezewood PA on my way to DC. I was confused as all hell when the interstate dumped me into an intersection surrounded by fast food chains
Personally I think it's deliberate. What better way to tempt people into spending money in your town other than by forcing them to go right through it?
@@ianb9851 it was. breezewood fought tooth and nail to keep their junction. it happened with other small towns along freeways (ex: wallace idaho along 90), but breezewood stayed successful
I've travelled that area quite a bit. Just keep your eye on the 70 EAST sign, even though you're going WEST for not even a mile. BTW... that truck stop is a nice and clean joint. Good fueling, snacks and soda, and a restaurant if you want to relax and eat for a while.
I have travelled to and from Denver from my house in Amarillo TX, taking 287 saves time and there is less mountain grades and better roads than in New Mexico on 87.
Funny you should mention Danville, MO. I never heard of it either, until 2006 when I was 24 years old, and I met a guy named Dan Bob Martin, both of us in the same platoon in the Army, stationed in Germany. I'm from a pretty obscure place too. My hometown is exit 386 of i75 in Michigan, at M28.
At 13:30 the control cities in western Illinois are Effingham and E. St. Louis. Not shown here, but you can see at least E. St. Louis on his I-55 video, south of Springfield.
Those are the secondary control cities on the milage signs, but they're also signed at most interchanges because IDOT signs the secondary at on ramps for whatever reason.
odot does keep up those travel time signs, especially in the Cincinnati area as there are signs for I-75 SB north of I-275 and before SR 126, along with being in other large metropolitan areas in Ohio.
Don't know if you've seen the travel time sign on 71 for SR 435 and I-270, but i see it going from Lebanon to Jamestown in Ohio. (The sign is in Clinton County, past the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge).
Its a little strange in Breezewood,Pa.where its a 2 lane road and interesting from Mcdonalds that I-70 East continues from there.Also its strange where I-70 ends at park and ride.
I'm from the Dayton, Ohio area. I have family in the Columbus area and as a child, (I'm 30 now) the beltway around Columbus used to have control cities. I'd come from the western interchange with 270. 270 was marked north: Cleveland and south: Cincinnati. It would give 70s and 71s control cities.
Yeah, that's what I always thought. Like I've heard you say in the 64, 65, and 71 videos, I agree with you in 264 and 265 that they need control cities. I always think those signs look dumb without any in the 3 diget routes.
I wonder if theres an argument for Colby KS to be the Control city after Limon , as its probably the biggest thing between Limon and Hayes. (Had stopped in Colby on our way to and from Manitou Springs over the weekend )
Couple years ago I was driving eastbound on 70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado, and they were using the freeway as a firebreak for a wildfire to the north. They had the westbound side of the freeway completely shut down, and were running a counterflow on the eastbound side - so one-lane in either direction, all the exits and rest areas closed. All the way up to and in fact *THROUGH* the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnel. They were only running traffic one direction at a time through the Johnson Tunnel side., and switching back to two-direction operation on the east side No idea why they made that particular choice, because they could have easily used both tubes and used the counterflow switchover on the west side instead of the east side. Easily one of the more surreal ways I've spent an afternoon's drive.
Hey Control City Freak, have you ever heard of the AARoads Forum? There's a thread right now on your favorite city, "Limon" .... lol. Also, I know a stretch (maybe multiple stretches) of US 40 is cosigned with I-70. Maybe Limon is a carryover from when the section of road was just US 40?
This is also my favorite route to date; Terra Haute and Junction City are underrated but that stretch from Grand Junction to Denver is phenomenal. If you'll indulge some "bookends", most of old US 40 remains on either end of 70! To the west, it found and still parallels the Bonneville stretch of 80 and exists as intermittent sideage all through Nevada... Both go within yards of old wagon ruts. Historic 40 goes through CA to Vallejo at least; a great ride. Where it re-emerges from under 70 on the East end, freeway protests stopped 70 a mile North of 40. That car park is often a favorite for renegade horticulturalists tending the nearby Glen and on the other side of that a long abandoned and disused section of elevated roadway surrounded by access roads that merge onto that to form a freeway that ends in another 2. Then it's straight across town past the library& cathedral to where 70 was supposed to terminate into 95. But "America's Main Street" US 40 keeps on, going by old Powhatan trails parallel to 95 and both alongside 2 train trestles in a fantastic set of bridges over the Susquehanna. It even goes through Wilmington to Atlantic City IIRC. Great content!
I went to Washington DC about a week ago for a school trip and I drove I-70 through Maryland and Pennsylvania I got to go through Breezewood as well and yes the taco bell closed there and I got a picture lol
Imo through Kansas city eastbound 70 should be signed as "Downtown Kansas City", at least until we're in downtown and 670 as "St Louis", because that's how the traffic is designed to flow, specifically at the 70/670 split
I've been on I-70 once in my life. My biggest memory of it was breaking down just outside of Terre Haute, IN in a 1980 VW Rabbit pickup. While waiting for the tow truck, the pickup got literally covered with ladybugs. I've never seen so many insects in one place like that. It was like a plague of locusts.
Todd, I think Goodland should be the control city in that area Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas. A lot of people stop there for the night on a big trip.
I’ve been to Goodland so I get the argument, but I just don’t think it’s well known enough to be useful for long distance traffic. Great as a secondary control tho
the "Limon" thing is so spot on. I'm from Hays and I find it weird it's a control city all the way to the KS/CO border (despite that university being there). I'm grateful my home is even a control city at all; we never had an overhead gantry from I-70 (I wish we did, dunno why lol) but our exit for US-183 used to have a traffic light made in 2008. Sadly it's now a roundabout, so there are no diamond interchanges with traffic lights on I-70 in between E-470 in Denver and 9th Street in Salina (in addition to there being no overhead exit signs between E-470 and I-135 except for that one westbound sign in Burlington at the Rose Avenue exit), and the Hays exit 159 is now the westernmost diamond with a roundabout until the Pecos Street exit in Denver. Some of the overhead signs on 135 in Salina also appear to have been temporarily removed. In comparison, the overhead signs for Lawrence on I-70 are relatively new and I can't get over the fact I-75 in Georgia has overhead signs for every freaking exit.
4:10 Control city for the beginning of I-76 in Denver is Fort Morgan. While that and Sterling are about the only two cities worth a mention on that 185 mile highway, I think the proper choice for a control city would actually be Nebraska, after thinking about it for a few weeks. I mean, it ends 3 miles into that state and blends into I-80, which goes to Lincoln and Omaha, some 500 miles from Denver, which is why neither might be considered for a control city from I-70 here. Oh, and control cities at interchanges are all over the place, too, like Denver, Ft. Morgan, Sterling, and even Julesburg, near the Nebraska line. Some interchanges don't have signs for control cities at all.
Yeah I think I agree with Nebraska. And yeah weird how CDOT does it, sign Limon for a million miles and then no control cities on the actual Limon interchanges.
@@mxderateprod Agree. But knowing Colorado, don't count on that ever. They won't sign anything over 100 miles except for Grand Jct. going the other way.
Just an interesting note. In Washington PA, it’s actually faster to take i79 to i68 to get to the Baltimore/Washington area, rather than i70 itself. So you essentially get off i70 for an two hours just to get back on it later.
Yes-- always shunpike the PA Turnpike for 68. Done both and 68 just seems faster if you're DC/Philly bound, to me at least. That may be why New Stanton is on the sign like he mentioned. Unlike some other states (Oklahoma), maybe Pennsylvania doesn't want to trap people on their turnpike. Lol
I think Zanesville should be signed again for a couple of reasons. The population is a hair under 50,000 & Ohio is modernizing I-70 through Downtown Zanesville
I think another good way to solve the Denver-KC control city problem is to pull an Ohio move and sign KC from across the state, but once you are in Salina, sign Topeka.
Eastbound is actually signed for Topeka and westbound for Salina on side roads. But Salina is signed rather haphazardly though between the two cities on those side roads though.
@@ControlCityFreak I’d sign it Kansas City from Denver but Kansas isn’t too bad of a choice either. By the way here’s my opinion of the way it should be for I-70 eastbound Denver Kansas City St. Louis Illinois Indianapolis Dayton Columbus Wheeling Pittsburgh Baltimore/Harrisburg Baltimore/Washington Baltimore
I believe the pronunciation is sah-LEE-na for some strange reason. I only know this because I had a transmission go out halfway through that 105 mile stretch and spent the entire next day there getting it fixed. Edit-I’m speaking about the one in Utah, don’t know about Kansas.
On East Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) after the I-70 split, there are three more tunnels to go through. I know a couple have been bypassed in the past, but you still have the Tuscarora, Kittatinny and Blue Mountain Tunnels.
Going east from Breezewood to Frederick, Washington, DC and Baltimore should be co-control cities, then after Frederick just Baltimore while Washington is control city for I-270 South
I do agree with you Todd I-70 East out of Denver should be Kansas.maybe one of the milege signs should have Kansas City,Missouri. Also from Indianapolis i know Dayton is has gotton bigger now I remember in the old days it had columbus for its pull through.i do think now it should be for Dayton Columbus for its pull through
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has multiple tunnels, though this is the only one 70 goes through. Other notable tunnels include the Tuscarora Tunnel between Fort Littleton and Willow Hill, and the Kittatinny and Blue Mountain tunnels between Willow Hill and Blue Mountain.
The part of 70 between 695 and the park and ride in Baltimore used to be considered part of I-70, but it no longer legally is part of 70 - although there are some old signs, obviously. I-70 legally ends at 695.
My Control Cities for I-70: Denver Aurora Limon Topeka / Kansas City Kansas City Saint Louis Indianapolis Dayton / Columbus Columbus Wheeling Pittsburgh Baltimore / Washington DC Baltimore
I-70 was originally supposed to go through Downtown Baltimore and end at I-95, but Baltimore residents at the time severely opposed because of being displaced from their neighborhoods which is why you have the weird ending at a Park and Ride.
That is also why I-83 ends suddenly where it does. It was the only one partially completed into Baltimore. It should have ended at the Caton Avenue exit. These days, I-70 doesn’t even enter Baltimore officially (it now ends at the 695 beltway). I-70 is no longer signed east of I-695.
5:08 I think you are incorrect. US-287 is the better route to Amarillo because avoids the mountains at Raton Pass and the horrendous traffic between Denver and Colorado Springs on I-25. I know it's not really relevant to the video, but related to my point above, I can't believe you omitted the best signs on the whole Interstate system: "Truckers Don’t Be Fooled, You’re Not Down Yet", and similar. They are at once both very humorous and, quite sadly, literally deadly serious.
I live in Colorado I-70 is a beautiful drive west of Denver. Was also in Baltimore last year and was on I-70 in Maryland and got to experience the weird ending. I've yet to experience the rest of I-70 between Denver and Frederick, MD.
Get a chance to see the Interstate video by CPG Grey? Also I love your videos dude. I can't wait to see all the interstates and then what content ideas you have next.
I-70 could run concurrent with I-695 from the junction with current I-70 to I-95. The stub between i-695 and the park and ride could either be decommissioned at that point or could become a three digit spur.
True but I’m never a fan of ending a road on a concurrency. I do think 70 should be mentioned on 95 at 695 though, I don’t remember offhand if it is or not.
I’ve read that the stretch from 695 to the Park and Ride is in the process of being downgraded to an expressway/parkway. I don’t know if that’s actually being done.
From Denver Limon (first real services)/Colorado Springs (via 24) Colby (First real services in Kansas) Hays (Ft. Hays State University/blizzard closures) Salina -I-135 to Wichita Manhattan/Junction City (Kansas State University, Fort Riley)K-177 Topeka (Kansas State Capital) Lawrence (University of Kansas) US 73 to Leavenworth ( Federal Prison and Fort Leavenworth) Kansas City These are essential stops within the state (as you should know) for services and important Towns and Cities. Not too many and no unsavory porn stops like in Missouri.
When I drove from KCK to Great Bend in 13, my stops were the Topeka travel plaza on the turnpike and Salina. The small gas station at the K-156 exit north of Ellsworth was a welcome sight though.
It was mind blowing to a friend in Pittsburgh that I-70 though Denver was the same road continued from near Pittsburgh! I have driven or been on much of I-70 in different times, from DC all the way through Colorado. PS: I have family in Wheeling but now in NC I pass thru Marietta OH (I-77) all the time. It’s on the OH river across from WV. PPS: The original National road now route 40 follows much of the same route from DC to Wheeling, Columbus, St Louis, Denver and beyond, but not sure of its route after that.
US 40 turns north after Denver and ends in Salt Lake City, I believe it used to continue all the way out to San Francisco but has now been replaced by I-80.
What I would like to see is the return of dual mileage signs, especially for rural areas. For example, the first mileage sign would say "Joseph 24 Richfield 35 Salina 55” and then about a quarter mile later have "Denver 507" on its own sign. Outside of Denver, it might say "Strasbourg 6 Limon 55 Kansas State Line 143" with a sign saying ”Kansas City 568" just afterward. Those used to be the norm in the 1970s & I have no idea why they went away.....
I will say this though in the past decade the part between Washington PA and Breezewood has been getting better even though that was the last part to open of the 70 freeway back in the early '80s and '90s and it connects to 43 now too
@@nathanbrandli6827 I-70 in Pennsylvania from Washington to New Stanton was originally built as PA 71, and subsequently grandfathered into the Interstate Highway System. As a result, there were no "Interstate standards" to engineer it to, and it was built with zero federal tax dollars, during a time that post-war suburban sprawl hadn't happened on a large scale yet, so there were no right-of-way considerations. It doesn't help that much of the area was heavily undermined for coal as well, so subsidence has been a problem in some areas. In spite of it all, PennDOT has been slowly but surely upgrading that segment of I-70 to Interstate standards, including full 4' inner shoulders and 12' outer shoulders, and the reconfiguration of several interchanges, including much longer acceleration and deceleration ramps. There's still a ways to go, but it's reached the point now where obvious progress has been made. Unfortunately, Pennsylvania went on a highway-building binge after the Turnpike was constructed but before the Interstate Highway System was enacted, so PennDOT still has a few hundred miles of pre-Interstate Interstate segments to modernize, including, but not limited to, I-83 from York to Harrisburg, and I-70 from Breezewood to the Maryland state line.
11:31 update ...... if i recall correctly, MISSOURI DOT is in the works (or in the planning stages) of upgrading the ENTIRE KC-TO-STL stretch of 70 to 3 lanes each way.
CCF: You can't defeat me.
Statesville: I know, but *he* can.
****LIMON****
lol
I have a revision for signs on I-70 ... West -- Morgantown (until I-68), Harrisburg (until I-76), Wheeling, Zanesville, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Effingham, St Louis, Kansas City, Topeka, Salina, Denver, Grand Junction, Green River, St George
East -- Green River, Grand Junction, Denver, Salina, Topeka, Kansas City, St Louis, Effingham, Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus, Zanesville, Wheeling, Harrisburg, Philadelphia (until I-76), Baltimore
@@ControlCityFreak I have a revision for I-70
East -- Green River, Grand Junction, Denver, Salina, Topeka, Kansas City, St Louis, Effingham, Indianapolis, Dayton, Columbus, Zanesville, Wheeling, Harrisburg, Philadelphia (until I-76), Baltimore
East -- Morgantown (until I-68), Harrisburg, Wheeling, Zanesville, Columbus, Dayton, Indianapolis, Effingham, St Louis, Kansas City, Topeka, Salina, Denver, Grand Junction, Green River, St George, UT
@@marcusamspaugh1504 Hard pass on a lot of these. Green River? And literally the only reason to sign Effingham is the I-57 junction, and both Chicago and Memphis traffic would have already taken 55.
Todd I just learned yesterday that PA is going to be fixing the whole Breezewood mess. They're gonna build a proper interchange and everything, no more stoplights!
Your description of 70E from KC to STL is spot on. Fireworks and Porno stores!!!
That is a very apt description for this stretch. I drove it from KC to Columbia several years ago.
A sad state of affairs indeed.
I thought the truck stop just east of the Missouri River seemed abit out of place when I first saw it. But a welcome change from the fireworks and porn shops though!
I’ve never been on I-70 west of Indianapolis, but I’ve been on the entire route east of Indianapolis. I even remember getting a Indiana State Map from a Rest Stop on 70.
16:00... It's Marietta, OH. Across the water from there is Parkersburg, WV.
Gotcha
Mines the way it should be:
Grand Junction-Denver
Denver
Kansas-Hays
Topeka-Wichita
Topeka
Kansas City
St Louis-Columbia
St Louis
Indianapolis-Effingham
Indianapolis
Dayton
Columbus
Zanesville-Pittsburgh
Wheeling-Pittsburgh
Harrisburg
Baltimore-Washington
Baltimore
Solid
I hitchhiked that road from St. Louis to the Penn Turnpike at least a dozen times. Spent a night in a snowstorm under an overpass in Richmond IN once. Back in early ‘70s.
Sounds rough but also pretty awesome
14:52 These "Travel time to:" signs are found throughout Ohio in higher traffic areas of interstates, though they sometimes take different forms. One example is just outside of Columbus on i-70 E, showing travel times to i-71 on different routes (39.97872115209739, -83.18441386444684). This sign is messed up in the street view imagery, but it is fixed now.
I know there's other points at which the same type of sign shown in the video are used, but I can't remember exact locations off the top of my head
The eastern end of I-70 as it enters Baltimore is hilarious and pathetic. Of course this is another case (much like I-95 in Boston and DC and I-40 in Memphis) where it proved to be to politically painful, costly, and unachievable to build an interstate through the heart of a city. In this case, I-70 was originally planned to continue east through Baltimore and terminate where it would have met I-95.
That is because it was not supposed to end there - blame the haterade of the 1970s. Interstate 70 was supposed to end at Interstate 895 (the western end of the Harbor Tunnel Thruway) - there even used to be a stub end there. It's not even the only Interstate with a wacky end in Baltimore - Interstate 83's southern end is President Street - just north of Camden Yards.
yes .... the I-40 through Memphis and I-70 into Baltimore stubs are hilarious and pathetic indeed. timing was poor in BOTH cases.
and it makes LESS sense that I-95 isn't on I-93's roadway in Boston ... and I-93 isn't on I-95's around it ... but that's Boston. lol
It's sort of a monument to just how destructive the original plan would have been.... and was, by cutting off Louisville, Cincinnati, and even Memphis (the downtown portion) from their riverfronts.
It's weird why freeway revolts happenes like that.
I was in Baltimore this weekend ( I drove on i 70 after missing my turn onto 695, I love Baltimore to death, but the potholes messed my tire up 😢
Something interesting about that Park and Ride at the eastern terminus of 70. I-70 was originally planned to go into Baltimore and curve south to I-95 and intersect near the Caton Avenue exit on 95. In fact you can still see the ghost ramps there that the state built in preparation for it. I-170 was then going to sprout off and go into downtown and intersect with I-83. The State had already started construction on I-170 in West Baltimore, but abandoned the project after residents in West Baltimore fought against the projects. Leaving a mile long stretch of expressway signed as US 40 in West Baltimore that goes no where and the weird park and ride situation there at Security Boulevard on 70.
Oh, so that small section of expressway was supposed to be I-170? I always assumed it was supposed to part of I-70 proper. I can see the spot on Google Maps where you say I-70 and I-95 would have met, and it looks like I-70 would have basically gone through some parkland to get to I-95. Ii doesn't look like too many residences/businesses would have been affected by its construction (pretty much contained to the area around US 1 just to the north of I-95), so why the uproar to stop it? I guess they really like those parks? (Obviously I can see the uproar over I-170 - it's basically plowing its way through a densely populated neighborhood).
Great info!
@@thomasrinschler6783 That's what I don't get either. I'm not sure what the exact route would have been.
I can see the uproar over running I-70 through that massive park to get it to I-95 .... and the cleanest alternative would essentially put 70 on the same line that US 40 currently lays on to about Hilton St .... and that never was gonna get past residents back then, neither. it's the same kinda uproar that shut down a lot of interstate paths back then (see I-40 in downtown Memphis). and I-170 probably was worse ...
Traveling west on I-70 passed Frisco I encountered an electronic sign saying I-70 was closed both directions at Vail. Between that sign and where the traffic stopped there were no exits. I sat there parked with the engine off for about 45 minutes until traffic started to move. A few miles down the road the state police were directing all traffic across the median and eastbound. I tuned in a Denver radio station and the traffic guy advised to go back eastbound then south to Leadville and back to I-70. It took 3 hours but it worked. When I stopped for the night about 6 hours later I-70 was stilled closed.
A risk to traveling on I-70 in Utah and Colorado is that if it gets closed there is no alternate route.
True, sounds like a rough detour
16:06 While I understand not wanting to sign a city that no mainline interstates enter, I don’t think Washington is control city worthy. Since the state has to be said anyway, why can’t it be the control? Why not sign 70 east and 79 north for “Pennsylvania”?
19:28 I always thought that Hagerstown should be signed on 70 but now that I'm thinking about Hagerstown doesn't really make sense on 70 like it does on 81 because you have 2 ginormous cities that are just a bit past Hagerstown and plus we don't even get into the city limits of Hagerstown on 70
8:08 Lawrence, Kansas is actually where history TH-camr Mr. Beat lives.
Love his channel
4:35 Control City Freak roasts Limon for being a control city
NOT A MAJOR CITY!!! LEAVE LIMON OUT OF THE PRIMARY CONTROL CITY LIST!!! IT'S NOT BIG ENOUGH TO BE CONTROL CITY WORTHY!!!
Fun fact: When 70 East splits off from 55 North in Illinois towards Effingham, the mile markers (and exit numbers) from this point eastward, are actually a continuation of I-270's mileage instead of I-55's mileage (or I-70's mileage from the Stan Span). So there is a 5-mile offset between I-70's shown mileage and I-70's true mileage in Illinois
Oh interesting!
Just think of the Illinois part of I-270 and I-70 east of the 55/70/270 interchange as being one continous freeway (since there's no turning off involved) and the mile markers make a lot more sense. This is probably the best route to take if you're going from, say, KC to Indy (and vice versa)
yeah ..... 70's mileage in ILLINOIS used to throw me off back in the day til i realized this. and OTR traffic not going to St. Louis definitely would stay on 270.
11:50 There's 104 days of summer vacation and school comes along just to end it, and the only problem of our generation is finding a good way to spend it like maybe...
Congratulations on being here for one year!!!!!🥳🥳🎁🎊🎉🎁🎊🎉. It has great content. Every time a video gets made I watch it.
Thanks!
I'm not sure if I can remember this accurately, but I think I 70 was meant to run further into Baltimore but a Freeway Revolt put and end to most of the expressway except for a small portion that had already been built. Otherwise things may have been completely different
7:14 - if I was going to Lake Wilson on I-70, I’d welcome this sign for Dorrance. But, 70 is way out of the way of that lake from Great Bend.
But I just usually took the back roads from GB, through Hoisington, past Hoisington High School on Susank Road. This very winding road eventually hits I-70 at Dorrance. :)
I used jump off the cliffs at Lake Wilson all the time as a kid.
But, K-156 is a joy to drive in Ellsworth County. It does go past Cheyenne Bottoms in Barton County. :)
At the interchange with I-70 and I-77, Marietta is in Ohio along the Ohio River... never drove there, but was part of a riverboat crew taking our vessel from Pittsburgh to Cincinnati for a festival, so we sailed past Marietta en route. Perhaps ODOT made Marietta a control city because it was within the state’s boundaries, but other cities like Parkersburg and Charleston in West Virginia could possibly have been more immediate control cities.
Agreed
It's like normally-responsible Ohio decided to take a dabble in how provincial NC or MS lives. Also I can't read Marietta without hearing my Atlantan friend telling me to pronounce their suburb May-retta.
ODOT could do to I-77 what they've done to US 35, where if there aren't any major cities in the area to sign from south of Cambridge, they could sign Marietta only on mileage signs, and do Charleston W Va on SB 77, and I think Parkersburg could be feasible on WVDOT part, as they do it with Point Pleasant on US 35.
Marietta is the county seat of Washington County, Ohio
It could definitely be worse. Imagine coming out of the park and ride in Baltimore and seeing a 70 West Limon pull through. Or a firework store listed on a mileage sign.
Lol
Hilarious. Same amount of miles as people in Limon
LIIIIIIIIMON ....
I took a street-view tour of Danville, MO. There is nothing there but a mechanic shop and 6 dirt roads.
I-70 can also be used for a cross country road trip from Los Angeles to New York and vice versa, when used in combination with I-15, I-76, and I-78. On this route, one drives from the west end of 70 in Cove Fort, UT all the way to the end of 70's concurrency with the PA Turnpike near Breezewood (or vice versa), nearly 95% of 70 is driven on this route between LA and New York.
I-77 South from I-70 heads just east of Marietta, on the Ohio border in Ohio. Once into West Virginia, it bypasses Parkersburg, and continues south into Charleston, where a long concurrency with I-64 happens until Beckley, WV. If I had to choose between control cities for I-77 South on eastbound I-70, I would either go Parkersburg or Charleston.
There is an overhead sign on mainline 70 a little bit east of Columbus in Hebron that is signed for Wheeling and Pittsburgh. Not sure if there are others.
The scenery on I-70 in Utah and Colorado is absolutely stunning, I have to drive that stretch someday and film some dashcam footage. I-70's stretch thru the Appalachians in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland also doesn't look too bad either.
Literally just did it, will post about it before long!
@@ControlCityFreak You just got done driving all of I-70?
@@drivingbritt9617 The western half
@@ControlCityFreak NICE!!!
The Billboard situation on I-70 seems to have improved somewhat. However the traffic is still way to congested. I really wish they would designate US-36 as a continuation of I-72 west of Hannibal. That may take some of the pressure off I-70 through Missouri. If not, I-70 needs to be 6 lanes across the entire state. I'm just not sure how they could possibly pull that off in Columbia.
U.S. 36 in Missouri is not engineered to Interstate standards. In many (most?) cases, the highway was twinned, and the original alignment was left as is, so one side of the highway is graded properly, but the other side is not, and follows the lay of the land instead. The most glaring example of this is in Linn County between the Marceline interchange and the Macon County line. Both directions of U.S. 36 will have to be graded properly before it can be designated as I-72.
4:26 Speaking of no pull through of I-70,... 4:34 This is the moment of truth that we are signed for Limon instead of Kansas. 5:19 As we talk about Limon in this video, it's like a hub of routes linking to multiple major cities, even though its a small town. As we discuss westbound I-70, "We don't talk about Limon." I like saying that because I like to reference "We Don't Talk About Bruno" in Encanto.
I was just in 70 about 2 weeks ago in MO. Didn’t see almost any porn billboards. But you know what I saw a ton of? Weed store billboards
I could be biased, having grown up in the Pennsylvania countryside, living here for 20+ years, and never been on Interstate 70 west of Bedford but I completely disagree with 10:25. That honor goes to the mountains east of Breezewood on your way to the Maryland border, at least for me :)
It's Washington, Pennsylvania; it's a small college town south of Pittsburgh, and the last large community, if you drive south on 79, before you enter West Virginia.
BTW, when you enter West Virginia on 79, Morgantown (U. of WV - Mountaineers) is the first city.
Drive a few miles south on 79 from Morgantown and you get to Fairmont, home of Joe Manchin and Nick Saban
The part where there was 105 miles without services in Utah is the longest stretch of interstate without services.
The Marietta referred to on I-77 is in Ohio, it is signed because it is the border with West Virginia. Parkersburg and Charleston are more populous cities that should be signed instead (preferably Charleston but either would work).
I think Charleston is the way to go after looking at the comments. Kinda weird that ODOT would be concerned with signing a border town that one time when they are pretty good about signing out of state cities elsewhere
@@ControlCityFreak the issue might be that since US-33 and I-79 are shortcuts between I-70 and Charleston that vehicles on I-70 likely aren’t taking 77 to get to Charleston, but it should at least be signed when on I-77 south (it isn’t).
Signing Marrietta, SR 7 will take you to US 23 & Portsmouth, going north on 77, SR 7 will take you to Bridgeport (Wheeling) & I-70
Co-signing Parkersburg AND Charleston could work. Parkersburg by itself is okay. Charleston, however, is the bigger draw for long-distance traffic. Anyhow, Marietta is a very provincial control city. It shouldn't be signed on I-77 South. The Interstate Highway System was meant for long-distance traffic, but in this instance Ohio is just focusing on in-state traffic (for whatever reason).
@@samseddmedia Marietta used to be a stop for the riverboats that had tours on the Mississippi & Ohio Rivers. That was probably the other reason for signing Marietta (tourism)
Theory on qhy on Marrietta...SR 7 is a major highway & a direct route to US 23 & Portsmouth
The main part of I-70 ends at I-695 ( the Baltimore beltway ) . Supposedly 70 was to go to downtown Baltimore but was not constructed past the park and ride.
There was a proposal to extend the US 22 freeway to SR 93 & Zanesville
Chapter One: Utah
Chapter Two: Colorado
Chapter Three: Kansas
Chapter Four: Missouri
Chapter Five: Illinois
Chapter Six: Indiana
Chapter Seven: Ohio
Chapter Eight: West Virginia
Chapter Nine: Pennsylvania
Chapter Ten: Maryland
4:26 I checked on Google Street View, and Colorado DOT put up a pull-through for I-70 East/Airport/Denver/Aurora. I think Aurora is kinda bigger than Limon. They don't sign Limon until I-225.
"Kinda" bigger??? Aurora has 200 times the people of Limon lol
ODot does have "Travel Times to:" in other parts of the state as well as other freeways. 75 has one just south of 675 announcing travel times to OH. 63 (Which is where Traders World is and the former Touchdown Jesus statues was) and 275. I think 75 has one towards Toledo as well that I can recall on the top of my head at the moment.
I didn't realize that it was 1000 miles from Limon to the western I-70/I-65 split in Indianapolis until today. How about signing that?
I went thru breezewood PA on my way to DC. I was confused as all hell when the interstate dumped me into an intersection surrounded by fast food chains
Personally I think it's deliberate. What better way to tempt people into spending money in your town other than by forcing them to go right through it?
@@ianb9851 it was. breezewood fought tooth and nail to keep their junction. it happened with other small towns along freeways (ex: wallace idaho along 90), but breezewood stayed successful
I was definitely confused the first time I drove it. Way before Google Maps and the old Rand McNally didn’t prepare me for what was about to go down
All the ma and pa restaurants and motels have shut down.
I've travelled that area quite a bit. Just keep your eye on the 70 EAST sign, even though you're going WEST for not even a mile.
BTW... that truck stop is a nice and clean joint. Good fueling, snacks and soda, and a restaurant if you want to relax and eat for a while.
I have travelled to and from Denver from my house in Amarillo TX, taking 287 saves time and there is less mountain grades and better roads than in New Mexico on 87.
Funny you should mention Danville, MO. I never heard of it either, until 2006 when I was 24 years old, and I met a guy named Dan Bob Martin, both of us in the same platoon in the Army, stationed in Germany. I'm from a pretty obscure place too. My hometown is exit 386 of i75 in Michigan, at M28.
At 13:30 the control cities in western Illinois are Effingham and E. St. Louis. Not shown here, but you can see at least E. St. Louis on his I-55 video, south of Springfield.
Those are the secondary control cities on the milage signs, but they're also signed at most interchanges because IDOT signs the secondary at on ramps for whatever reason.
@@ControlCityFreakSDDot does the same too.
I-70 is one of my home interstates, nice to see a video being done on it!
Thanks!
14:55 There are similar such signs along I-90 east of Cleveland...
16:45 70 doesn’t serve Pittsburgh though. It serves the outer portions of the metro, yes, but 70 is quite far from Pittsburgh itself, so…
I am from NJ, and I drove I-70 across Missouri last year. Literally explained exactly as I remember. 🤣🤣
Pork roll or Taylor ham
Would it be fine if I-70 inbetween Breezewood and Frederick just "Washington"
As a comic nerd, Kansas is also the Homestate of Wally West, kid Flash/ Flash
Yep Keystone City Kansas
I was on I-70 East after we left Grand Canyon around the end of July. My favorite part of I-70 was the tunnel! I forgot which way is which but. Ya.
odot does keep up those travel time signs, especially in the Cincinnati area as there are signs for I-75 SB north of I-275 and before SR 126, along with being in other large metropolitan areas in Ohio.
Nice!
Yeah I've always enjoyed those.
Don't know if you've seen the travel time sign on 71 for SR 435 and I-270, but i see it going from Lebanon to Jamestown in Ohio.
(The sign is in Clinton County, past the Jeremiah Morrow Bridge).
18:30 this is where we went sheets to get stuff July 27th while we’re going back to Ohio
Its a little strange in Breezewood,Pa.where its a 2 lane road and interesting from Mcdonalds that I-70 East continues from there.Also its strange where I-70 ends at park and ride.
70's gotta have the most quirks.
@@ControlCityFreak it sure does it really should end at I-95 I-695 interchange I love watching your channel I'll watch more of there
I'm from the Dayton, Ohio area. I have family in the Columbus area and as a child, (I'm 30 now) the beltway around Columbus used to have control cities. I'd come from the western interchange with 270. 270 was marked north: Cleveland and south: Cincinnati. It would give 70s and 71s control cities.
Weird, wonder why they changed it. Seems like a better way to go.
Yeah, that's what I always thought. Like I've heard you say in the 64, 65, and 71 videos, I agree with you in 264 and 265 that they need control cities. I always think those signs look dumb without any in the 3 diget routes.
I wonder if theres an argument for Colby KS to be the Control city after Limon , as its probably the biggest thing between Limon and Hayes. (Had stopped in Colby on our way to and from Manitou Springs over the weekend )
I’d say there isn’t
Couple years ago I was driving eastbound on 70 through Glenwood Canyon in Colorado, and they were using the freeway as a firebreak for a wildfire to the north. They had the westbound side of the freeway completely shut down, and were running a counterflow on the eastbound side - so one-lane in either direction, all the exits and rest areas closed. All the way up to and in fact *THROUGH* the Eisenhower/Johnson tunnel. They were only running traffic one direction at a time through the Johnson Tunnel side., and switching back to two-direction operation on the east side No idea why they made that particular choice, because they could have easily used both tubes and used the counterflow switchover on the west side instead of the east side. Easily one of the more surreal ways I've spent an afternoon's drive.
Wow that would be pretty weird. I suppose if you’re going to be stuck in traffic, it’s one of the more scenic places to be
How would we feel about signing “Wichita, KS” on EB 70?
Over presumably KC? Nah, it’s an hour closer but WAY off 70, and a quarter the size
Hey Control City Freak, have you ever heard of the AARoads Forum? There's a thread right now on your favorite city, "Limon" .... lol. Also, I know a stretch (maybe multiple stretches) of US 40 is cosigned with I-70. Maybe Limon is a carryover from when the section of road was just US 40?
I’m on the forum quite a bit but I haven’t seen that thread yet
20:19 That sign used to be one with a white background for many years. I did not know they had changed it with a green sign.
This is also my favorite route to date; Terra Haute and Junction City are underrated but that stretch from Grand Junction to Denver is phenomenal.
If you'll indulge some "bookends", most of old US 40 remains on either end of 70!
To the west, it found and still parallels the Bonneville stretch of 80 and exists as intermittent sideage all through Nevada... Both go within yards of old wagon ruts. Historic 40 goes through CA to Vallejo at least; a great ride.
Where it re-emerges from under 70 on the East end, freeway protests stopped 70 a mile North of 40. That car park is often a favorite for renegade horticulturalists tending the nearby Glen and on the other side of that a long abandoned and disused section of elevated roadway surrounded by access roads that merge onto that to form a freeway that ends in another 2. Then it's straight across town past the library& cathedral to where 70 was supposed to terminate into 95. But "America's Main Street" US 40 keeps on, going by old Powhatan trails parallel to 95 and both alongside 2 train trestles in a fantastic set of bridges over the Susquehanna. It even goes through Wilmington to Atlantic City IIRC.
Great content!
40 content coming soon! NFL Week 1.
@@ControlCityFreak wow, excellent!!!
I went to Washington DC about a week ago for a school trip and I drove I-70 through Maryland and Pennsylvania I got to go through Breezewood as well and yes the taco bell closed there and I got a picture lol
Imo through Kansas city eastbound 70 should be signed as "Downtown Kansas City", at least until we're in downtown and 670 as "St Louis", because that's how the traffic is designed to flow, specifically at the 70/670 split
I’d sign “Kansas City” or “Dowtown” for every road going into the alphabet loop and to the next control coming out
Happy birthday!
I've been on I-70 once in my life. My biggest memory of it was breaking down just outside of Terre Haute, IN in a 1980 VW Rabbit pickup. While waiting for the tow truck, the pickup got literally covered with ladybugs. I've never seen so many insects in one place like that. It was like a plague of locusts.
Wow!
EB or WB
@@BFUS_official East
Todd, I think Goodland should be the control city in that area Eastern Colorado and Western Kansas. A lot of people stop there for the night on a big trip.
I’ve been to Goodland so I get the argument, but I just don’t think it’s well known enough to be useful for long distance traffic. Great as a secondary control tho
Yeah, it's a small town about 4500 people. But other than that, nothing out that way.
Or you stop there for food or fuel.
Yeah but that's the definition of a secondary. Next substantial town with services.
All of us Kansans make fun of the few restaurants at the Goodland area, The last chance Steak and Shake.
the "Limon" thing is so spot on.
I'm from Hays and I find it weird it's a control city all the way to the KS/CO border (despite that university being there). I'm grateful my home is even a control city at all; we never had an overhead gantry from I-70 (I wish we did, dunno why lol) but our exit for US-183 used to have a traffic light made in 2008. Sadly it's now a roundabout, so there are no diamond interchanges with traffic lights on I-70 in between E-470 in Denver and 9th Street in Salina (in addition to there being no overhead exit signs between E-470 and I-135 except for that one westbound sign in Burlington at the Rose Avenue exit), and the Hays exit 159 is now the westernmost diamond with a roundabout until the Pecos Street exit in Denver. Some of the overhead signs on 135 in Salina also appear to have been temporarily removed. In comparison, the overhead signs for Lawrence on I-70 are relatively new and I can't get over the fact I-75 in Georgia has overhead signs for every freaking exit.
Forgot to mention, all the signs for Hays in Colorado used to be for Salina a few years ago.
There is a sign on 70 for Wheeling/Pittsburgh @ SR 79
4:10 Control city for the beginning of I-76 in Denver is Fort Morgan. While that and Sterling are about the only two cities worth a mention on that 185 mile highway, I think the proper choice for a control city would actually be Nebraska, after thinking about it for a few weeks. I mean, it ends 3 miles into that state and blends into I-80, which goes to Lincoln and Omaha, some 500 miles from Denver, which is why neither might be considered for a control city from I-70 here. Oh, and control cities at interchanges are all over the place, too, like Denver, Ft. Morgan, Sterling, and even Julesburg, near the Nebraska line. Some interchanges don't have signs for control cities at all.
Yeah I think I agree with Nebraska. And yeah weird how CDOT does it, sign Limon for a million miles and then no control cities on the actual Limon interchanges.
I think Omaha would be the correct choice coming out of Denver.
@ControlCityFreak i wonder if 76's control cities are leftovers from when it was "80S" back in the 60s and 70s
@@mxderateprod Agree. But knowing Colorado, don't count on that ever. They won't sign anything over 100 miles except for Grand Jct. going the other way.
Go 1 better than Nebraska, sign 76 to North Platte
Just an interesting note. In Washington PA, it’s actually faster to take i79 to i68 to get to the Baltimore/Washington area, rather than i70 itself. So you essentially get off i70 for an two hours just to get back on it later.
Whoa, never realized that
Yes-- always shunpike the PA Turnpike for 68. Done both and 68 just seems faster if you're DC/Philly bound, to me at least. That may be why New Stanton is on the sign like he mentioned. Unlike some other states (Oklahoma), maybe Pennsylvania doesn't want to trap people on their turnpike. Lol
@@darknessnight1115 KS does some very Turnpike-friendly signage too
Much cheaper than the pa turnpike. Just need to run up and down some big grades.
I think Harrisburg would be the correct choice then.
I think Zanesville should be signed again for a couple of reasons. The population is a hair under 50,000 & Ohio is modernizing I-70 through Downtown Zanesville
Hard pass. It’s too close to Columbus and the city proper is 24,000. Even Wheeling is questionable, should probably just be Pittsburgh
They added Cambridge to Zanesville's metro area so I-77 could be claimed as part of Zanesville's metro area
Zanesville is about 65 miles east of Columbus, Dayton is almost the same distance west of Columbus
Marrietta is Ohio's oldest city, it was settled in 1793, 10 years before Ohio became a state
Parkersburg, WV is on the other side of the Ohio River. Sign Parkersburg on I-77
Fun fact: Lawrence, KS is roughly midway between Baltimore, MD and Cove Fort, UT on I-70.
I did consider making the 70 videos east and west loops originating and ending in Lawrence
@@ControlCityFreak That sounds cool!
At the split with 64, 64 should be downtown St. Louis, and 70 should be St. Louis airport
👇People who came here for "LIMON!!!"
I didn’t but it’s funny AF
I think another good way to solve the Denver-KC control city problem is to pull an Ohio move and sign KC from across the state, but once you are in Salina, sign Topeka.
Yeah that could work too
Eastbound is actually signed for Topeka and westbound for Salina on side roads.
But Salina is signed rather haphazardly though between the two cities on those side roads though.
@@ControlCityFreak I’d sign it Kansas City from Denver but Kansas isn’t too bad of a choice either. By the way here’s my opinion of the way it should be for I-70 eastbound
Denver
Kansas City
St. Louis
Illinois
Indianapolis
Dayton
Columbus
Wheeling
Pittsburgh
Baltimore/Harrisburg
Baltimore/Washington
Baltimore
There are actually 4 tunnels on the PA Turnpike....Allegheny, Tuscarora, Kittatinny and Blue Mountain!
But only one is I-70.
@@pghrpg4065True! The roadway designation through the Allegheny Tunnel is 70/76.
I believe the pronunciation is sah-LEE-na for some strange reason. I only know this because I had a transmission go out halfway through that 105 mile stretch and spent the entire next day there getting it fixed. Edit-I’m speaking about the one in Utah, don’t know about Kansas.
On East Pennsylvania Turnpike (I-76) after the I-70 split, there are three more tunnels to go through. I know a couple have been bypassed in the past, but you still have the Tuscarora, Kittatinny and Blue Mountain Tunnels.
Drive the Columbus part every day. Love it except the construction lol
Yeah that’s a pretty decent section
for some reason everyone out on 70 by 33 drives like an idiot
Going east from Breezewood to Frederick, Washington, DC and Baltimore should be co-control cities, then after Frederick just Baltimore while Washington is control city for I-270 South
I do agree with you Todd I-70 East out of Denver should be Kansas.maybe one of the milege signs should have Kansas City,Missouri. Also from Indianapolis i know Dayton is has gotton bigger now I remember in the old days it had columbus for its pull through.i do think now it should be for Dayton Columbus for its pull through
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary of your TH-cam videos
Thanks!
Respect to truckers coming into Golden from the mountains. I"m surprised there aren't runaway trucks everyday on that route.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has multiple tunnels, though this is the only one 70 goes through. Other notable tunnels include the Tuscarora Tunnel between Fort Littleton and Willow Hill, and the Kittatinny and Blue Mountain tunnels between Willow Hill and Blue Mountain.
Ah that’s what info I was looking for. Thanks!
This one is in Somerset county not far from the Flight 93 crash site.
@@erbewayne6868 That is the one referenced in the video.
The part of 70 between 695 and the park and ride in Baltimore used to be considered part of I-70, but it no longer legally is part of 70 - although there are some old signs, obviously. I-70 legally ends at 695.
My Control Cities for I-70:
Denver
Aurora
Limon
Topeka / Kansas City
Kansas City
Saint Louis
Indianapolis
Dayton / Columbus
Columbus
Wheeling
Pittsburgh
Baltimore / Washington DC
Baltimore
There are at least 2 more mileage and time signs between Dayton and Zanesville, one on each side of Columbus.
I-70 was originally supposed to go through Downtown Baltimore and end at I-95, but Baltimore residents at the time severely opposed because of being displaced from their neighborhoods which is why you have the weird ending at a Park and Ride.
That is also why I-83 ends suddenly where it does. It was the only one partially completed into Baltimore. It should have ended at the Caton Avenue exit. These days, I-70 doesn’t even enter Baltimore officially (it now ends at the 695 beltway). I-70 is no longer signed east of I-695.
Limon is the fart joke of this channel and I love it
Lol
Basically 😂😂
5:08 I think you are incorrect. US-287 is the better route to Amarillo because avoids the mountains at Raton Pass and the horrendous traffic between Denver and Colorado Springs on I-25.
I know it's not really relevant to the video, but related to my point above, I can't believe you omitted the best signs on the whole Interstate system: "Truckers Don’t Be Fooled, You’re Not Down Yet", and similar. They are at once both very humorous and, quite sadly, literally deadly serious.
Oh I missed those, it’s been a while since I’ve driven that stretch so I forgot about it
Maybe THAT'S why Limon is signed from Denver instead of Kansas City. Still, Limon is a terrible choice for long-distance traffic.
I'm from Missouri I also never heard of Danville MO
Right?
I live in Colorado I-70 is a beautiful drive west of Denver. Was also in Baltimore last year and was on I-70 in Maryland and got to experience the weird ending. I've yet to experience the rest of I-70 between Denver and Frederick, MD.
Nice, you’ve got the bookends!
Get a chance to see the Interstate video by CPG Grey? Also I love your videos dude. I can't wait to see all the interstates and then what content ideas you have next.
Thanks! I did see it, it’s really well done
I-70 could run concurrent with I-695 from the junction with current I-70 to I-95. The stub between i-695 and the park and ride could either be decommissioned at that point or could become a three digit spur.
True but I’m never a fan of ending a road on a concurrency. I do think 70 should be mentioned on 95 at 695 though, I don’t remember offhand if it is or not.
@@ControlCityFreak Yeah it should be I-695 TO I-70: Pittsburgh
I’ve read that the stretch from 695 to the Park and Ride is in the process of being downgraded to an expressway/parkway.
I don’t know if that’s actually being done.
70 & 270 should switch routes. Have 270 end @ the park & ride, & 70 curve east somewhere to 95
From Denver
Limon (first real services)/Colorado Springs (via 24)
Colby (First real services in Kansas)
Hays (Ft. Hays State University/blizzard closures)
Salina -I-135 to Wichita
Manhattan/Junction City (Kansas State University, Fort Riley)K-177
Topeka (Kansas State Capital)
Lawrence (University of Kansas)
US 73 to Leavenworth ( Federal Prison and Fort Leavenworth)
Kansas City
These are essential stops within the state (as you should know) for services and important Towns and Cities. Not too many and no unsavory porn stops like in Missouri.
When I drove from KCK to Great Bend in 13, my stops were the Topeka travel plaza on the turnpike and Salina. The small gas station at the K-156 exit north of Ellsworth was a welcome sight though.
None of them besides KC and maybe Topeka should be control cities.
It was mind blowing to a friend in Pittsburgh that I-70 though Denver was the same road continued from near Pittsburgh! I have driven or been on much of I-70 in different times, from DC all the way through Colorado. PS: I have family in Wheeling but now in NC I pass thru Marietta OH (I-77) all the time. It’s on the OH river across from WV. PPS: The original National road now route 40 follows much of the same route from DC to Wheeling, Columbus, St Louis, Denver and beyond, but not sure of its route after that.
US 40 turns north after Denver and ends in Salt Lake City, I believe it used to continue all the way out to San Francisco but has now been replaced by I-80.
I wish that you would have shown more of Illinois (my home state)like Effingham etc
A lot of big stuff to cover on 70, I talk about Effingham more in the 57 vid
I-77 where it's signed for Marietta SHOULD be either Parkersburg or Charleston, WV
What I would like to see is the return of dual mileage signs, especially for rural areas. For example, the first mileage sign would say "Joseph 24 Richfield 35 Salina 55” and then about a quarter mile later have "Denver 507" on its own sign. Outside of Denver, it might say "Strasbourg 6 Limon 55 Kansas State Line 143" with a sign saying ”Kansas City 568" just afterward. Those used to be the norm in the 1970s & I have no idea why they went away.....
AND WHY DID THEY GO WITH LIMON!!!???
I will say this though in the past decade the part between Washington PA and Breezewood has been getting better even though that was the last part to open of the 70 freeway back in the early '80s and '90s and it connects to 43 now too
Nice, good to hear. It's been a few years since I've driven it personally.
Better how?
@@nathanbrandli6827 I-70 in Pennsylvania from Washington to New Stanton was originally built as PA 71, and subsequently grandfathered into the Interstate Highway System. As a result, there were no "Interstate standards" to engineer it to, and it was built with zero federal tax dollars, during a time that post-war suburban sprawl hadn't happened on a large scale yet, so there were no right-of-way considerations. It doesn't help that much of the area was heavily undermined for coal as well, so subsidence has been a problem in some areas.
In spite of it all, PennDOT has been slowly but surely upgrading that segment of I-70 to Interstate standards, including full 4' inner shoulders and 12' outer shoulders, and the reconfiguration of several interchanges, including much longer acceleration and deceleration ramps. There's still a ways to go, but it's reached the point now where obvious progress has been made.
Unfortunately, Pennsylvania went on a highway-building binge after the Turnpike was constructed but before the Interstate Highway System was enacted, so PennDOT still has a few hundred miles of pre-Interstate Interstate segments to modernize, including, but not limited to, I-83 from York to Harrisburg, and I-70 from Breezewood to the Maryland state line.