Worst Control Cities by State

Рет қаралды 21,278

Ай бұрын

We're shifting gears in this gimmick and talking about the WORSt control cities in every state. Not the smallest, but the overall most useless for long distance traffic on major Interstates. Let's get roasting!
Check out my Patreon and support the channel directly! / controlcityfreak
Upcoming episodes:
U.S. 301 Northbound - 5/30
Washington Highway 99 - 6/6
495 LIE - 6/13
US 75 North - 6/20
Control City Freak is updated weekly and covers every two digit Interstate Highway in America as well as other roads. I'll be showing control city signs on each 1 and 2 digit (2di) Interstate Highway in the continental United States and will strive to make as complete a record as possible, as well as various other highways. I'll also be getting into the roadgeek weeds here and there, showing downtown skylines and state border crossings, and making corny jokes. I welcome all to join my geeky tour of every primary Interstate in the country!
All images of roads and signs come from Google Street View unless otherwise specified.
Maps used in this video come from Google Maps www.google.com/maps/
Music: Acoustic Sunrise, from the Apple iMovie sounds library
Theme from "Benson"
Control City Freak Episodes mentioned in this video:
Interstate 95 New England • Interstate 95 New England
Interstate 95 NY-DC • Interstate 95 NY to DC
Interstate 65 South • Interstate 65 South
Interstate 94 East • Interstate 94 East
Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use.
Patreon: patreon.com/ControlCityFreak
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Website: controlcityfreak.com
Contact: controlcityfreak@gmail.com
Interstates, Interstate Highways, Control Cities, Signs, road signs, highway nerdery, geography, roads, roadgeek, worst control cities, United States, 50 states

Пікірлер: 640

@fordsmobile1672 Ай бұрын

When life gives you limons, make limonade.

@deez8769 Ай бұрын

Limon is the smallest major city in the US with its own metro area

@anidnmeno Ай бұрын

LIMON 😖🤢😫

@deez8769 Ай бұрын

@@anidnmeno da most important historical town in Colorado

@Mathman2021 16 күн бұрын

lol

@LowgaenSchmidt Ай бұрын

The fact that I just drove through Colorado and couldn't help but notice a crap ton of Limon exit signs around Denver just makes this quite funny to me.

@josedenueces Ай бұрын

all roads lead to limon

@kosjeyr Ай бұрын

CCF's Mind: 'I hate Limon so much I'm gonna have it as the video cover'

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

for valid reasons 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

@InkaBall Ай бұрын

Colorado: Limon Wyoming: Lyman Maine: Lyman South Carolina: Lyman

@benjaminchandler7919 Ай бұрын

Lyman, Maine is not a control city

@dvferyance Ай бұрын

@@benjaminchandler7919I don't think it is in South Carolina either.

@Demondude321 Ай бұрын

Nebraska: Lyman

@mikeshumaker Ай бұрын

There is a Lyman in S. Dakota, but it isn't marked on the exit sign off I-90. It has almost no people.

@benjaminchandler7919 Ай бұрын

@@mikeshumaker I see your Lyman, South Dakota, and raise you Lyman, Idaho. It’s an unincorporated community near Rexburg without even a sign acknowledging its existence. According to google maps it does, but everyone there calls it “near South Fork elementary school”

@JoshGColorado Ай бұрын

Living in Colorado, cant help but laugh when i see a Limon sign after watching this channel

@dvferyance Ай бұрын

I don't think Limon is even the worst control city in Colorado. You also have fort Morgan and Trinidad.

@endingtasks8538 Ай бұрын

@@dvferyancewtf is the point of trinidad as a control city, that's like literally the southern end of i-25s part in colorado 😭

@dvferyance Ай бұрын

@@endingtasks8538 I don't know ask cdot.

@orlandoamesut Ай бұрын

Lllliiiiiiiimmmmoooonnnnnnn 😂 I bet Todd has nightmares about signs with limon on them

@thecasualcaribou Ай бұрын

I think the main reason states list a lot of cities/towns in their own state rather than a bigger more prominent city a little further up, is DOT works with the Tourism Boards of their states to draw more attention to their own cities/towns.

@Shrekowski Ай бұрын

Nebraska resident here. In defense of Sidney it's where Cabelas was headquarted before being bought out by Bass Pro Shops. So the city was an important city at one point along I-80, not so much anymore

@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Ай бұрын

When I was a kid, the best way for me to know that we were finally close to our destination is when it finally showed up as the control city lol.

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

Yes!

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

😂😂😂

@Biffcutwtright Ай бұрын

You truly are a freak for making a whole channel specifically about control cities but Ive been wracking my brain for years to even remember the term “control city” bc I have so many thoughts about them so very glad I found this. Subscribed

@Kane26510 Ай бұрын

Easton, PA is also the home of Crayola Crayons. Certainly doesn’t mitigate their choice, but Pennsylvania is notorious for poor signage. Just figured I’d share.

@mbdg6810 Ай бұрын

It’s odd for it to be signed on either side of 78 right before the PA-NJ border or itself.

@DNSKansas Ай бұрын

Breezewood!

@lancehammons5918 Ай бұрын

Reason why Easton is signed is a holdover from when pa611 was a us highway

@CodyWhite210 Ай бұрын

This is the kinda niche rant I love. P.S. Limon Gang, we will rise

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

Lol

@deez8769 Ай бұрын

@@ControlCityFreakwe might as well make limon a more populated place so it can have a reason to be a good control city

@PhyllisJerry Ай бұрын

Having driven I-80 from its starting point near NYC to the Chicago area, I got a kick out of Pennsylvania’s insistence on using only PA towns as control cities. You end up with some pretty ridiculous ones since I-80 was routed specifically to bypass Philly and Pittsburgh. The funniest thing came the next morning after we stopped for the night at the first or second exit over the border in Ohio. The signs at the entrances said, I kid you not, “80 West-Chicago” and “80 East-New York City”.

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

it makes sense that I-80 was routed to bypass Pittsburgh and Philadelphia ... while I-80 does go cross-country, it skirts just north of Denver and Kansas City ... and slips just south of Chicago and Cleveland too. there is a LOT of intentionally desolate space along the highway.

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

and EVERY interchange on I-80 from the PA Turnpike to the Ohio/Pennsylvania state line has NEW YORK/NEW YORK CITY as the control city for I-80 East, and CLEVELAND for I-80 West (unless Ohio JUST changed the signs for I-80 West).

@blazingbattlehawk9626 Ай бұрын

Rolla being used as the midway between St. Louis and Springfield is alot better then Louisiana being shown between St. Louis and Hannibal

@VASparky Ай бұрын

I expected to hear the horn when you mentioned I-68.

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

D'oh!

@seminolefan45 Ай бұрын

I paused the video at 18:50 when he got to Vermont, because I realized he hasn't done Colorado yet.... I have turned down my speakers and sent up a prayer because I think I know what's coming... Ok, time to continue the video lol.

@nlpnt Ай бұрын

Florida Exit 351A: I-10 West - Los Angeles.

@craigceecee8762 Ай бұрын

Tallahassee would be the ideal control city there.

@BBQPorkSandwich3 Ай бұрын

Where’s the love for New Orleans, Houston, San Antonio, El Paso, and Phoenix?

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

This I need to see proof of .... ain't no way Florida DOT would do that 😂😂

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

@@craigceecee8762 Tallahassee should be 10's contol city from the 95 split westward .... Florida is pretty disrespectful to its own state capital, and (i believe) its most populated city in the Gulf portion of the Panhandle.

@josedenueces Ай бұрын

The reason Bay St Louis is a control city in Louisiana is because it's the closest beach to New Orleans and Slidell

@EliWCoyote Ай бұрын

Before I learned you were focusing on x0 and x5 interstates, I came in here convinced that you would mention Hennepin 🙂

@JessicaKasumi1990 Ай бұрын

Worst of them all: Limon and various spellings of it.

@jkfecke Ай бұрын

When I was a little kid I thought Albert Lea must be really important because it was on all the signs. (North of Owatonna it should be Owatonna, and south of Owatonna it should be either Des Moines or Ames.)

@CrystalClearWith8BE Ай бұрын

Who on earth signs Albert Lea? For southbound I-35, sign Des Moines. For northbound I-35, sign Minneapolis-St. Paul. For westbound I-90, sign Sioux Falls. For eastbounf I-90, sign either Rochester, MN and after that, sign La Crosse.

@littlepizzaboy64 Ай бұрын

Don’t even need to watch, Louisiana - Bay St. Louis

@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 Ай бұрын

I 10 west in Mobile is signed for Pascagola, which it should be signed for either Biloxi or New Orleans.

@asatsumaorange9296 Ай бұрын

Yeah, it should be I-10 East to Gulfport and/or Biloxi. MS only has 77 miles of I-10, so we shouldn't be talking about 4 different control cities. Slidell & Hammond mostly get to be control cities bc they're the 2 biggest cities in the Northshore, 2nd and 3rd biggest on I-12, and each has a major interchange.

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

@@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 I-10 West in Mobile definitely should have a Biloxi control city, cuz Alabama's DOT ain't gonna sign New Orleans, anymore than Louisiana's DOT will sign Mobile.

@jordanjones5751 Ай бұрын

I know a bad mileage sign in Tennessee. On I-26 when you leave Johnson City only Erwin is on the mileage sign to where Asheville should be on there!!

@cforcat1005 Ай бұрын

I agree. I've lived in the Tri-Cities for a little while now, and every time I come into Johnson City from Elizabethton, I see that overhead sign on 321 for Erwin and I’m just like WHYYY?! And it's just ridiculous because on I-26 itself going east out of Johnson City, there’s an overhead sign for Asheville literally at that interchange with 321. I know former I-181 used to end there and it was US-23/US-19W south of there, but if you can change the overhead signs, you can change the interchange signs also. COME ON TENNESSEE. AHH!! P.S., Thanks for bringing this sign to our attention.

@jordanjones5751 Ай бұрын

Maybe if Todd reboots I-26 he might show that mileage sign

@aaronswink8554 Ай бұрын

I hope to take a driving tour of some of Colorado's best mountain roads this summer, and if I do, I feel that a good Limon picture must be taken! 😁

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

Please do!

@ursusarctos0 Ай бұрын

Few of Colorado's best mountain roads lead to Limon.....

@mattl6948 Ай бұрын

No mountains in Limon, that’s for sure.

@bagenstb Ай бұрын

Here's a sentence I never thought I'd type: I'm going to defend Ritzville. Remember, that sign is seen by traffic coming out of Spokane airport. How many people are flying into Spokane to drive to Seattle? Given that Seattle has a much bigger airport with flights to many more destinations and generally cheaper fares, that number is almost certainly very, very low. If Ritzville were on any other sign, I'd agree Seattle would be a far better control city, but because it's on the on-ramp coming from the airport, Ritzville makes sense over Seattle.

@lancehammons5918 Ай бұрын

Reason why Ritzville is on there is more for a jct for us395 going south towards the tri cities

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

🤔🤔 That is a fair point ...

@Nemofishman Ай бұрын

so sign ritzville+seattle.

@reavisjeff Ай бұрын

Amazing video Control City Freak! You should do the best control cities in each state next.

@jonathanpereira3490 Ай бұрын

In Virginia, Lexington makes sense. Have you seen the signs on 95 south in Petersburg for Atlanta and Miami?

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

are those overhead signs still up? 🤔🤔 I seem to think Virginia took them down.

@YTUBE508 Ай бұрын

Virginia signing Lexington, VA right before the I-64 junction isn’t the most egregious thing since it does connect with I-64 W which does go to Lexington, Kentucky :)

@901craft5 Ай бұрын

I would have never thought this channel existed , I love it keep up the good work

@stevenfarnesi9126 Ай бұрын

I don’t know how I feel about my city being named worst control city of Pennsylvania, but I appreciate the shoutout.

@TheMW2informer Ай бұрын

Beloit is the worst control city in Wisconsin by the stats not Janesville. I personally lobbied the project manager of the 39-90 expansion to include Janesville on control signs and include a downtown Janesville sign since Beloit had one and is a smaller city.

@grahamturner2640 20 күн бұрын

2:10 in defense of that sign in Arizona, the control city for I-17 southbound is Tucson, which is also the control city for I-10 eastbound, when you’re on I-10. Barely anyone uses the on-ramp from I-17 northbound to I-10 eastbound. Also, there’s probably a worse sign along I-10 eastbound at the same interchange (the closest thing to a control city for I-17 southbound and US-60 eastbound is just “I-10 Truck Route” in small letters).

@grahamturner2640 19 күн бұрын

Also, many of the state highways in the Phoenix area have no control cities. The only time any are mentioned for those is along AZ-202 E in Tempe approaching the AZ-101, where the control city for AZ-101 N is Scottsdale, and the control city for AZ-101 S is Chandler. However, it’s only mentioned on a sign around the McClintock Dr interchange, as it’s not mentioned on the signs for the off-ramps. I’m surprised ADOT doesn’t use Los Angeles as a control city for AZ-202 W in south Phoenix, as that part of the 202 is meant to be a bypass around downtown. Another arguably weird decision is on I-40 west of Flagstaff. For the westbound stretch, the control city is Los Angeles. However, the 40 ends in Barstow, and even as a branch of the 15, that freeway goes nowhere near Los Angeles, so you’d have to take the 10, a branch of the 10, or some other highway to get to Los Angeles.

@danielpendry5625 Ай бұрын

I totally agree that Salt Lake City is the way to go on the I-80 sign in Wyoming, but Rock Springs is the junction for U.S. 191, which goes north from there to Yellowstone National Park. I would say that Yellowstone being the most famous national park in the U.S., if not the world, justifies Rock Springs as a major junction, and presumably a lot of motorists would be getting off the Interstate there to go to Yellowstone? I agree with the below commenter who said that Sidney at that same junction might be the "better" worst choice for Wyoming, especially since Sidney isn't even in Wyoming. That's like Louisiana saying Bay St. Louis. Good job on the video and the selections overall; most of them are pretty fair.

@Yeagermeister08 10 күн бұрын

Hancock definitely should never be signed as a control city. If you're going to sign for the I-68 junction, it should be signed as Cumberland/Pittsburgh.

@drivingbritt9617 Ай бұрын

16:00 Oh my god I laughed so hard when you said NEW YORK CITY!!! You said it so loud that it echoed. lol

@gregorywright3012 Ай бұрын

In New Jersey, New York City disappears. It is signed in Pa. and Del. but once you cross the Delaware River, the Big Apple vanishes, usually in favor of Newark.

@ggplatinum16 5 күн бұрын

The reason Mississippi doesn’t sign New Orleans for 55 is because, while McComb isn’t a good control city, Hammond would be better than New Orleans. Also I’d say Grenada is worse than McComb. Grenada has less than 7,000 people. McComb has almost double that. Grenada doesn’t even have anything notable. So signing the 69 interchange with 55 south for Grenada is much worse.

@Bobspineable Ай бұрын

The only reason why New London is signed is because there is a naval base there, specifically a submarine base, although technically it’s in Groton, not New London.

@tylermarchand2996 Ай бұрын

@Bobspineable The area is actually deceivingly big. Including communities slightly upriver, the immediate urban area is roughly 100k. This is comparable to Danbury along the 84 corridor…

@user-li6es1so1k Ай бұрын

And the Electric Boat shipyard is located in Groton, where many nuclear submarines are built. There used to be a Navy research lab located in downtown New London. But that was BRAC'd a couple of decades ago.

@photoguytn Ай бұрын

For New York, I-95 at that location should just be signed "New England" going north and going south both "New Jersey" and "Pennsylvania" on the bottom line. Most drivers at that point will end up going those directions.

@tysonstransitcam2190 Ай бұрын

No cuz AASHTO doesn’t like regions being signed, it used to be that way. I’d honestly sign it for GWB of course, but after that just the immediate suburbs (Newark, Paterson, Bear Mountain (via Palisades)).

@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Ай бұрын

All the interstates in NYC are maintained by the city and their DOT likely doesn't care in the slightest about control cities.

@naptime0143 Ай бұрын

There's a sign on the Cross Island Pkwy approaching the Throggs Neck Bridge that says New England 🤷‍♂️

@tysonstransitcam2190 Ай бұрын

@@naptime0143 That should change to New Haven per AASHTO. Honestly for the Throgs Neck it should just be Bronx since that’s the decision point for NJ, upstate, or New England

@tysonstransitcam2190 Ай бұрын

@@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Well usually there isn’t much else to sign. The city doesn’t have much mileage of primary interstate. Just 95 which is signed pretty well (except for the Trenton exit on 87), 78 (which is just signed NJ for the Holland Tunnel, and 87 with Albany signage

@highoctanecards Ай бұрын

Great video as always. Leaving Limon for the end was perfect.

@matthewfriar4793 Ай бұрын

Having lived in Oregon, I never realized how ridiculous that I84/I82 interchange is with the signage. I drive by it semi frequently and know where those towns are, but if I was a tourist I would be so confused!

@Nemofishman Ай бұрын

how i would do it 82 tri cities/spokane (via 395) or seatte if westbound on 84 and 84 ontario/boise

@mattciscool Ай бұрын

I still stand by new London to this day, big port, 100,000+ people in the metro if you include norwich. Also lots of traffic getting off to use US 1 to get to Rhode Island shoreline and Newport. I don’t think providence would apply to most of the traffic going east on 95 out of New Haven.

@tylermarchand2996 Ай бұрын

@mattciscool The 100k number is just the portion of continuous sprawl at the core of the metro. For some reason, Connecticut replaced their counties with Planning Regions. The new boundaries actually made the Norwich-New London metro bigger (280k), mostly due to the inclusion of Willimantic in the north…

@mattciscool Ай бұрын

@@tylermarchand2996I’m not including willimantic I am simply adding together the towns in that region, willimantic is in windham county, new London county is east of the ct river and it has 268,000 people, and the largest casino in the USA is in montville and the second largest is In Preston, also major port in new London and ferry port. Also lots of important junctions there for people going to southern Rhode Island .

@tylermarchand2996 Ай бұрын

@mattciscool Starting this year, it looks like Connecticut is changing from counties to nine “Planning Regions”, which help to define metropolitan boundaries. A lot of the boundaries look similar to the old map with eight counties, but there are some noticeable changes. In the new Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Willimantic is now within the same metro as Norwich and New London. The most noticeable change you’ll see is that New Haven and Waterbury are no longer in the same metro area; a significant portion of the old New Haven County makes up a new “Naugatuck Valley Planning Region”, along with other cities and towns from the surrounding old counties (mostly Litchfield, but some Fairfield and Hartford as well).

@roderickmilner5202 Ай бұрын

I-59 North from Birmingham should have Chattanooga instead of Gadsden IMO

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

That's pretty provincial by Alabama's DOT.

@anhvu-yp9vs Ай бұрын

*L I M O N*

@vdubproductions2646 Ай бұрын

We don’t even need to watch to know that

@cforcat1005 14 күн бұрын

AAHHH!!!!

@drivingbritt9617 Ай бұрын

I love this video, especially the way you roast Bay St. Louis. lol Great video, this one of your best yet. :) 👍👍

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

Thanks!

@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 Ай бұрын

I 10 east coming out of New Orleans should be signed for either Biloxi or Mobile, not Slidell or Bay St. Louis.

@drivingbritt9617 Ай бұрын

@@norfolksouthernrailfan2006 Gulfport could work too.

@CSXEK Ай бұрын

Joplin was hit by a massive EF-5 tornado back in 2011

@AdamSmith-gs2dv Ай бұрын

Most deadly and destructive tornado in the modern era

@ethanellis4662 Ай бұрын

Makes it famous for sure, but not control city worthy

@andrewhaywood1262 Ай бұрын

1:13 I remember that sign, passing by it on our way to a seafood joint in Spanish Fort back in 2013.

@meganizonda Ай бұрын

For California I'd argue Blythe is worse than Santa Ana. Granted, Santa Ana does mislead from LA but it is a fairly large city, while Blythe is at best a brief stopover for weary travellers.

@ryannichols2046 Ай бұрын

Blythe is a really bad one. Phoenix should be signed from Downtown LA arguably....which Phoenix does for LA on 10 West!

@acoronado2728 Ай бұрын

I live in Denver….right off of I-70. Im just used to seeing Limon signs lol…Its not so bad of a town! Nice people. When im driving back from Texas I actually LOVE it when I get to Limon. Means I’m almost home ❤

@bartphlegar8212 Ай бұрын

The knock isn't on Limon. Truckers love Limon, and for good reason. The complaint is that CDOT makes it the center of the universe on their signage. It's typical Colorado homerism...

@acoronado2728 Ай бұрын

@@bartphlegar8212well Colorado just doesn’t sign anything outside of the state. I never understood that.

@choporchubbzda1 Ай бұрын

Kentucky one is ironic cause I’m in Ashland right now 🤣🤣🤣

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

Lol

@lancehammons5918 Ай бұрын

Ashland does have a purpose due to the fuel refinery right off the the exit

@john.m.shukites Ай бұрын

I think some of these control cities are chosen for being service hubs for truckers and travelers. Being a son of a trucker and from Illinois, I can understand why Effingham and Mount Vernon show up on some signs. But when accessing I-57 south of Mt Vernon, Cairo is the control city on the signs. Cairo has a population under 2,000 and virtually no services for travelers. IDOT definitely needs to reconsider I-57 signage.

@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Ай бұрын

Yeah, some control cities are essentially business and commercial hubs for particular regions of the state and while those places may not see much tourist traffic, they see a decent number of business travelers (not truckers). And while I see some reasons for excluding some places, the mindset that interstates should only cater to tourists is kinda mind boggling.

@josedenueces Ай бұрын

Sometimes control cities are purely hisotrical, Cairo was selected as a control city due to at the time I-57 was completed, it was the location of federal court house with jurisdiction over East St Louis

@BrendenFriers 7 сағат бұрын

Some of the signs in Chicago sign for Memphis not Cairo at least Illinois needs to be consistent

@j.s.7335 Ай бұрын

I see what you did at 3:30. Clever to put in intro just before a certain state alphabetically-- then skip the state!

@danhobson2879 8 күн бұрын

CA - I'm not even sure I would do Santa Ana as a secondary when Anaheim is the more known place and tourist destination.

@shsav2012 Ай бұрын

Drove 70 entirely from Denver to St. Louis early April and I think the lineman signs are slowly going away However, there’s still Lyman signs on 25 coming from Cheyenne. For some of the radial toll roads.

@TR-wm3sg Ай бұрын

Born and raised in Illinois, two of my biggest control city beefs were: 1) As you alluded to in your video, East Saint Louis. I will never understand IDOT's fascination with ESL, literally a mile away from ST LOUIS. Most people try to *avoid* ESL. 2) Using Memphis on SB I-57. You mentioned a couple of control cities as being bad choices because the interstate didn't go anywhere near them. I-57 ends *140 miles* away from Memphis. Yes, I know it feeds I-55 south to Memphis, but there are plenty of towns in Illinois that could be used. On the positive side, I like how Illinois Toll Roads around Chicago just throw up their hands and use Wisconsin/Indiana/Iowa for their control cities. "Screw it" -- Illinois State Toll Highway Authority. Living in Kentucky now, it does bug me a little that Louisville doesn't use control cities on I-265 and I-264. I know they're just urban 3di's, but there are sooo many suburbs, some of decent size, that could be used.

@kedwards4377 Ай бұрын

4:00 I agree with you on all of Florida’s wacky control cities. As a Fort Myers native and resident, I always appreciate you pushing for Fort Myers to be an I-75 control city in your videos. I've always thought it should be over Naples. Maybe some day.😂

@jimgorycki4013 Ай бұрын

I scratch my head on that one. I was on I-75 a few weeks ago, coming from Miami International. I see that sign North 75 Alligator Alley Naples

@craigceecee8762 Ай бұрын

For 75 in Florida, it should be Gainesville, Tampa, Sarasota, Fort Myers, Miami. Naples is now smaller so it shouldn't be seen as a primary site.

@johnwiesner9590 Ай бұрын

Really surprised that Gainesville, home of the University of Florida, isn't a control city.

@colbymaxheidke7607 Ай бұрын

The choice of Bradenton but not Sarasota id wild to me

@nc5958 Ай бұрын

@@colbymaxheidke7607 Bradenton is the control city on I-275 south in St. Petersburg.

@huskerhank9896 Ай бұрын

Every body likes to yuk it up over Limon but I think its a valid choice, From a historical point the first part of I70 east was out of Denver to Limon and it took at least a decade for I70 to continue beyond Limon so it was good to know when I 70 was going to stop and two lane roads would begin. And back in the 50s there were no services between the edge of Aurora and Limon it was a comfort to know that if can only make it to Limon we can get gas. Finally SOME PLCE had to be designated and as small as Limon may be there is even less going to the Kansas border. And nothing significant in western or central Kansas. So Kansas City a full day drive away. So the choice is going to be arbitrary and as small and "insignificant" as Limon may be its the best of "bad" choices. So its just one f those quirky Colorado things to befuddle tourists.

@zimz1096 Ай бұрын

20:58 US 24 for Limon is prolly ok actually

@ElyseHorvath Ай бұрын

Staunton should be the control north of Roanoke on I-81 bigger metro area that also crossing with 64

@simplykarma5480 26 күн бұрын

Here is my opinion with Trenton NJ. Keep Trenton as a secondary from NYC. Sign Newark and then Philly as a primary. Once we meet 195 is when we stop. Then sign Baltimore because of the NJ turnpike as it leads a big shortcut to Baltimore. Then sign Philly after the split from the NJ turnpike. After that. Once 95 crosses to Pennsylvania. Keep sign Harrisburg for 276 and Philly for 95. Will you agree with this?

@ControlCityFreak 26 күн бұрын

Yeah totally.

@codewriter3000 Ай бұрын

I would break your interstate-only rule for NJ by including the Garden State Parkway. If you're at around exit 100ish going southbound, you're gonna see Toms River as a control city. Nobody who's a tourist goes to Toms River. The tourists go to Seaside, Island Beach State Park, Lavalette, or Mantoloking. What it should be is either Seaside or Atlantic City.

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

Oh yeah I did a vid on GSP, should definitely be AC there. I still think Trenton is worse though, ignoring Philly is the greater sin here imo

@ztl2505 15 күн бұрын

Seeing some of these weird choices I increasingly appreciate how much Illinois DOT loves to just use whole states as control “cities”.

@eljefecom Ай бұрын

I thought you would show Ellensburg for Washington, I forgot about that Ritzville sign.

@eaglescout1984 Ай бұрын

For Virginia, I would argue Staunton makes sense over Lexington or DC. Staunton isn't that big, but it's culturally significant and has a few tourist draws. It's also where 64 East intersects for Charlottesville, Richmond, and Norfolk. Meanwhile, DC is 2 1/2-3 hours away and does require getting on a separate interstate as you said.

@anidnmeno Ай бұрын

just started... calling Benson, NC now WAS RIGHT!

@BBQPorkSandwich3 Ай бұрын

I was the same way for Lake City, FL

@Yeagermeister08 10 күн бұрын

Same here with Hancock, MD

@ronenson1023 Ай бұрын

just found this channel but I disagree for Virginia: growing up in Virginia the way they use Rocky Mount NC on their signs for 95S made me think it was some bustling metropolis and not some podunk town. use Fayetteville instead!

@ianb9851 Ай бұрын

Agreed. Lexington isn't a huge place but there isn't a whole lot else in the area, Rocky Mount definitely feels worse.

@TheMW2informer Ай бұрын

Agree, this channel talks like he is the definite, end all be all source.

@ianb9851 Ай бұрын

@@TheMW2informer To be fair he's right on most of the things he says, only a small handful I disagree with. There's some nitpickyness here and there but some signs out there are absolutely atrocious.

@Handle_Needs_3_Or_More_Charact Ай бұрын

Rocky Mount is considered the halfway point between New York and Florida.

@afewminutesanyway Ай бұрын

I’m shocked for Jersey you didn’t pick the Route 80 West signage for Netcong.

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

pretty much ALL the control city signs for I-80 West from I-95 clear through Pennsylvania are horrible, TBH 😂😂 there was a LOT to choose from ...

@GabeHandle Ай бұрын

Sounds like I can continue to just ignore these signs.

@TimEric4d3d3d3 Ай бұрын

Sprite (Coca-Cola) must have influenced Colorado's decision on making Limon a control city so often

@williamnicks2148 Ай бұрын

I drove on 695 over the beginning of I-70 last week. It should be signed west for Hancock, Breezewood, Effingham, and Limon.

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

lol

@ryannichols2046 Ай бұрын

don't give Maryland ideas, they'd actually do that

@lancehammons5918 Ай бұрын

With the exception of Limon Those serve a purpose Interstate jcts

@jdyer4858 Ай бұрын

It figures that your opening background photo would show “Limon” on it.

@danhobson2879 8 күн бұрын

NJ - Trenton on 95 from NYC & Newark makes sense since it is the capital and not that far off 95. At the very least it should be Trenton / Philadelphia.

@jeffanderson3962 Ай бұрын

The amount of people who got the Benson theme reference are probably the same as people setting out on I-70 for a Limon trip before this channel existed.

@Ramiestar Ай бұрын

16:07 for Rhode Island's "worst overhead signage", it would have to be on I-95 south at a left exit for RI state route 4. 95 south is signed without a control city here, whereas several miles ago in downtown Providence you get a nice big (and awesome) "95 South New York" pull-through.

@JohnnyHikesSW Ай бұрын

Help why is this so interesting

@charcasc7462 Ай бұрын

My mom's side of family is from Fairmont WV so I've a soft spot for that sign. I was expecting you to name White river Jct. as worse control for Vermont!

@byrongreene6234 Ай бұрын

My In-laws were from Fairmont, home of the pepperoni roll.

@charcasc7462 Ай бұрын

@@byrongreene6234 That's right, home of the pepperoni roll. Love them. That alone makes Fairmont worthy of being an Interstate highway control city!

@novationo Ай бұрын

for the longest time i thought limon was a nickname for DIA or someone near it, but it's a city, on i70, in the middle of the plains

@elevatingthemidwest2379 28 күн бұрын

Lol!

@mikeshumaker Ай бұрын

Hey, at 21:07 there was no overhead Denver/Aurora sign when you did the I-70 east video two years ago. Surprised it isn't The Big L, since 25 goes right into downtown Denver.

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

8:26 I-10 East should be Gulfport/Biloxi from the 12/59 interchange, if Louisiana isn't gonna sign Mobile as its control city.

@longinger50 Ай бұрын

In Re Cross Bronx Expressway - New Haven, CT - Trenton, NJ - this fail is more epic and egregious than at first look. The interchange in question is that between I-87 (Major Degan Expressway) and I-95 (Cross Bronx Expressway), one of the busiest in NYC if not the entire NY-NJ-CT region, and feeds tons of commuter traffic (along with sports traffic - Yankee Stadium is only 2-3 miles south of this interchange) coming from Queens and Manhattan into The Bronx and, via the nearby George Washington Bridge, New Jersey. The thing is that not only is this signed New Haven/Trenton at this spot, but every on-ramp on I-95 in The Bronx is signed for New Haven or Trenton, depending on direction of travel. If going southbound on I-95, one is likely headed for North NJ points (or even the Lower Hudson Valley, as the next crossing of the Hudson River going north is the Mario Cuomo/Tappan Zee Bridge which is tolled in both directions, whereas the GWB is tolled NY bound only) or perhaps down to Newark; Trenton is a long haul by NYC standards and, to get there, requires two connecting highways: I-195 and NJ 29. If going northbound on I-95, one is likely headed for New Rochelle or Stamford (maybe points north in Westchester County via the nearby Bronx River Parkway); New Haven is also a long haul by NYC standards and is the far NE egde of its commuter region. In Re NJ Turmpike "Trenton" - LOL! Again, same issue as in NY. If on the NJ Turnpike, you need I-195 to NJ 29 to get to Trenton. If you're going that far south, 10 to 1 you are headed for Philly (or its suburbs), or you're a long hauler headed for points south. The interesting thing is that south of the I-95 cutoff to PA at Exit 6, the Control City on the NJ Turnpike is WILMINGTON (Delaware). While that is technically correct, you need to backtrack on I-95 or I-495 after the DMB to get there, and not much traffic is doing that. Most traffic at this point is headed for Baltimore or DC (or much further south even).

@danielmerklin5082 Ай бұрын

#todd for secretary of the US transportation department

@elevatingthemidwest2379 Ай бұрын

Yes!!!

@matethiustransport1374 Ай бұрын

CT with new London is probably for the military people. You've got the submarine base (technically in Groton) and a major coast guard facility

@dylansmith9342 Ай бұрын

Limon's time to shine! Living in Colorado Springs I hear your voice anytime I drive by a US 24 Limon sign.

@DotheDew221 Ай бұрын

That Ritzville one on US 2 just of I-90 always gets me. WB 90 is signed as Seattle almost always from downtown Spokane on.

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

6:45 if I'm NOT mistaken, the reason that Angola is on that 69 sign for the Indiana Toll Road interchange is because there is an exit ramp other than the two directions of 69 in there (for Indiana 120). and while the Toll Road COULD have just included Indiana 120 on the signage itself (i won't argue against that) ... that ramp is essentially for Angola, and that ramp IS why Angola is listed on there.

@RobertCT86 Ай бұрын

Ill guess NY will be Jamestown for I-86, NY does a good job on control cities so that is my guess, PA on the other hand, boy that one is tough, you could almost due worst control city by interstate, if i had to guess, probably Valley Forge when Philly is right there, 2nd guess is bedford.

@BeltwayLandLion Ай бұрын

Easton is/was signed for I-78 from I-287 in NJ too.

@Ramiestar Ай бұрын

Proof that NJ and Penn DOTs were twins separated at birth!

@WestTexasCustomPC Ай бұрын

I think Rolla is a valid control city for Missouri because 1) I-44 runs mostly on top of Route 66 and that would have been a great control city for the US63 and US66 junction making it a nice little holdover from the good ol’ days; 2) Missouri S&T, a former Mizzou satellite campus, is located there; 3) US63 is the best way to get to Des Moines and Minneapolis from Springfield, although from Saint Louis you’d have likely just jumped on to US 61 and cut across the back 40 of Iowa; and 4) although Rolla itself isn’t that big, there’s a lot of smaller towns within a half hour of Rolla (including my hometown) that basically act as suburbs of Rolla and treat Rolla as the de facto “urban core”.

@jdyer4858 Ай бұрын

I won’t complain about Rolla as a control city for one selfish reason - “Rolla” was my dad’s first name, was my brother’s first name, and is my nephew’s first name.

@cartologist Ай бұрын

Wal-THAM is pretty big, a lot offices there. The next one is Providence, I think.

@TheMW2informer Ай бұрын

Right, if your going to trash the town at least pronounce it correctly! 😂

@nwebster84 Ай бұрын

Umatilla may be even worse than you indicated; while the through traffic to Tri-Cities is likely to take I-84 to I-82, Umatilla-bound traffic is likely to use US-730 and not touch this exit. Also, on I-84 eastbound, ODOT can't seem to make up their mind on what the mileage control city should be. I've seen The Dalles, Hermiston, Pendleton, La Grande, Baker City, Ontario, and Boise...all west of The Dalles. (I've even seen ARLINGTON as the lone control city on junction signs at interchanges. Population 628. Though it is Doc Severinsen's hometown.)

@williethomas9953 Ай бұрын

I know you don't like it but Lake City 1-10 meets I-75 the second longest North South freeway in the country which gives you options for Atlanta king of the South and Tampa Second biggest Metro in Florida.

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

And they don't sign 75 for either

@williethomas9953 Ай бұрын

@@ControlCityFreak IKR, why some states don't like to only sign for major metropolitan areas only is beyond me. I get it for state routes. But US and Interstate route need to be better thought out or at least more uniform.

@cjs1982 Ай бұрын

I kinda figured you would use the Chester sign for Delaware. DelDOT actually signs Chester/Philadelphia from US 202. As long as Philly is on there, it's fine, but I think a better idea would be to start signing Philadelphia/New York City from US 202, because it's kinda pointless to travel on 95 South to get to 295; you're better off just staying on 95 North at that point.

@deez8769 Ай бұрын

Nah cuz if dey do philly and new york dey might as well sign trenton/new york on the I-95 & I-295 split which will make no sense maybe Philadelphia & Allentown but the only thing to make that happen is to change I-476 signage of Plymouth meeting into allentown

@freetime803 Ай бұрын

I've got a good city for you.. Springfield, Missouri.. Constantly being left out of signage inside it's own state. When you're in St. Louis about to head towards Springfield on I-44, there's no signage for Springfield, only after Rolla or sometime around Lebanon you start seeing signs for Springfield.. When you're leaving Kansas City towards Springfield, you have to head towards signage that says Harrisonville and then Clinton.. Sometime around or after Clinton, you start seeing signs for Springfield.. Springfield is the third biggest city in Missouri and should be well connected to the two larger cities.. 😂 You mentioned Springfield in your video but it's still a very ignored city all around the map...

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

I talked about it a lot in the I-44 and I-49 vids

@dhinton1 Ай бұрын

5:54 having been born in Illinois ... while it IS terrible, there is a reason for 88 EAST having Rock Falls as the bottom line control city. 80 EAST has Chicago as its control city for the 74/280/80 and 80/88 interchanges on BOTH sides of the Mississippi. while IDOT KNOWS that 88 takes the more direct path towards Chicago (and long-distance drivers know this too), IDOT simply is not going to sign Chicago as the control city for 88 EAST AND 80 EAST. not for 80 WEST traffic, as that "just" came from Chicago. certainly not for 80 EAST traffic going TO Chicago. not even 88 EAST traffic leaving East Moline. 74 traffic from EITHER direction can only get to 88 by way of 80 ... so defer back to what i said for 80 for that. and 280 EAST is a Quad Cities bypass to Chicago (even though Iowa leaves Chicago as the control city for 80 EAST for the 280 and 74 interchanges on the Iowa side), so that is that. but i can undeniably say that it ONLY is for the signage at the 80/88 interchange. the VERY FIRST roadside control city sign for 88 EAST (1 mile east of that interchange), and EVERY SINGLE ONE between through the start of the Ronald Reagan Memorial Tollway (i think there are only 4 or 5 of them), has Chicago on the bottom line (and Dixon as the secondary). I just found out that IDOT is gonna change the configuration of the 80/88 interchange (as part of the project to replace the 80 bridge over the Mississippi River), and while i HOPE that IDOT fixes the overhead control city signage for 88, my Illinois instincts tell me that IDOT WILL NOT.

@Mathman2021 16 күн бұрын

19:41 I am on your side Control City Freak! My family and friends keep begging them to change it to MADISON! It should be Madison! Since Milwaukee is already departing.

@hWat-Ever Ай бұрын

St Ignas being the worst for Michigan is pretty good

@danhobson2879 8 күн бұрын

KY - For the state though, Ashland is a good size (22k) and is as far off 64 as Rochester MN on 90 which you champion as a correct control. But that being said, KY is pretty good with the rest so by default it would be Ashland.

@louieatienza8762 Ай бұрын

Todd great episode. I'm wondering if many of these control city choices are political in nature - possibly a congressman or senator may be from, or lives in the town or suburb, or they're using the overhead signs to send (or misdirect) folks to a certain area...

@ControlCityFreak Ай бұрын

I'd imagine so

@kosjeyr Ай бұрын

2:34 - Marion is the town north of W. Memphis in Arkansas. 6:07 - Yes, that is exactly why they have Sterling / Rock Falls for I88 because some just go on US 30 as it's a straight line to get back onto I 88 via IL 56. The Dekalb Toll is not the most but one of the most expensive tolls in Illinois. 7:06 - Council Bluffs hosts more concerts than Omaha does because of the Mid-America Center