# The farthest city on a highway exit sign that you have seen **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 9, 2023, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912 "2023-03-09T07:21:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/21 "2023-03-09T21:45:46Z")
I don’t know about signs, but I-90 is the longest interstate, not any highway. Interstates tend to take much straighter route than the old US highway system, so it shouldn’t be a surprise that there’s a longer one in the latter group. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/22 "2023-03-09T23:50:39Z")
There’s another one in Barstow, CA near the west end of Interstate 40 that says Wilmington, NC 2,554 miles Its westbound sister “Barstow, CA 2,554” at the east end of I-40 on the Michael Jordan Fwy kept getting stolen so it was not replaced after about the fourth theft a few years ago ---
**Author:** ![Tabco](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tabco/32/7644_2.png) [@Tabco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tabco)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/23 "2023-03-10T02:29:27Z")
That’s the one I was gonna mention. I remember first seeing it when I left Newport to return to Corvallis (about a one hour drive). I was amused. It’s probably also the case that most everyone knows about Boston, but I bet Newport is not nearly as well-known. As a kid, when I used to live in Redding, CA, there was an I-5 on-ramp sign that pointed the way north to Portland, OR. It seemed so far away to me. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/24 "2023-03-10T11:55:52Z")
North Carolina’s western and easternmost cities are Murphy and Manteo, and both are connected by highway 64. Both towns have signs on 64 indicating the other is 545 miles away. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/25 "2023-03-10T12:09:00Z")
> [@Asuka](#): > > I passed by a sign in Barstow California that said LAS VEGAS 180 MILES, SALT LAKE CITY 575 MILES Was that before or after [the drugs began to take hold](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_and_Loathing_in_Las_Vegas)? 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Die\_Capacitrix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/die_capacitrix/32/9_2.png) [@Die\_Capacitrix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Die_Capacitrix)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/26 "2023-03-10T19:51:23Z")
> [@KCB615](#): > > Its twin is in Oregon: Saw it last year. Didn’t know there was a sign in Boston as well. ---
**Author:** ![KCB615](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ea666f/32.png) [@KCB615](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KCB615)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/27 "2023-03-10T21:53:00Z")
> [@Die\_Capacitrix](#): > > Saw it last year. Didn’t know there was a sign in Boston as well I had a project in Kenmore Square a couple of years ago where I walked past the sign a couple times a week, and chuckled every time. Never took a photo, though, so off to wiki - where they show the Oregon one. Kinda funny more dopers seem to have seen the Oregon one than the Boston one (given a pretty small sample size, but still). ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2023, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/28 "2023-03-10T22:07:51Z")
Driving into Beamont TX I saw a sign that said something like “Beamont 4, El Paso 800” (paraphrased roughly). I don’t question the mileage but I’ve got to think somebody was having a laugh with that one. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 2:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/29 "2023-03-11T14:15:15Z")
The policy is or was to include the next (closest) municipality and the furthest one served by the same route. Off the OP but the Barstow, CA 2,554 miles sign on I-40 was just downstream of NC mile marker 420 which were also not replaced after multiple thefts. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/30 "2023-03-11T14:45:03Z")
Having a hard time making sense of that. Most signs on I-40W don’t list Barstow as the endpoint, most signs on I-95S don’t list Miami as the endpoint, most signs on I-35S don’t list Laredo TX as the endpoint, most signs on I-10W don’t list Santa Monica as the endpoint. I routinely travel on interstates that extend more than 300 miles, and apart from the outliers mentioned in this thread by me and others, I can’t remember seeing one with a mileage over 300 miles. In fact I can’t even think of one over 150 miles at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![Bayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bayaker/32/3454_2.png) [@Bayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/31 "2023-03-11T14:53:05Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Driving into Beamont TX I saw a sign that said something like “Beamont 4, El Paso 800” (paraphrased roughly). I don’t question the mileage but I’ve got to think somebody was having a laugh with that one. Not sure if it’s the sign you are thinking of, but just west of Orange there is a sign that reads “Beaumont 23, El Paso 857” A few years back I had to drive up to Baton Rouge (too)frequently for work, so I remember it well. ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [March 11, 2023, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/32 "2023-03-11T14:54:46Z")
> [@Bayaker](#): > > Not sure if it’s the sign you are thinking of, but just west of Orange there is a sign that reads “Beaumont 23, El Paso 857” I’m sure that’s the one. Only passed it once, so I don’t remember the exact mileages. But I do remember most of the signs after that didn’t list mileages for El Paso, so I think there was something special going on with that one. ---
**Author:** ![Ignatz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/3be4f8/32.png) [@Ignatz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ignatz)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/33 "2023-03-12T18:08:15Z")
Intercity mileage signage standards can be seen in the latest edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices for Streets and Highways (2009) here: > **[part2e.pdf](https://mutcd.fhwa.dot.gov/pdfs/2009r1r2r3/part2e.pdf)** > > 3.10 MB in Sections 2E.39 and 2E.40 on site page 43 or book page 223. It does not fully explain the cross-country applications. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/34 "2023-03-12T19:37:09Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Driving into Beamont TX I saw a sign that said something like “Beamont 4, El Paso 800” (paraphrased roughly). I don’t question the mileage but I’ve got to think somebody was having a laugh with that one. If you approach El Paso from the west, you will see a similar sign, with the numbers reversed. I suspect it is to let you know how far it is to the opposite end of the state. (741 miles as the crow flies, 828 miles on I-10) ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/35 "2023-03-12T20:16:14Z")
Technically, El Paso is about 20 miles inside the state line. There is a little town called Anthony, right on the border, but few people outside the region have ever heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![PhillyGuy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@PhillyGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PhillyGuy)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2023, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/36 "2023-03-12T22:43:34Z")
In the Philadelphia area, there are fewer highway signs indicating number of miles to a destination than I recall in the twentieth century. But there are now several directional signs, in center city Philadelphia, pointing the way to rather distant New York City. You can see here a “New York” label pasted over what was there before, and I’m sure the earlier destination was someplace closer (Trenton?): [Interstate 676 Signage in Central Philadelphia](https://www.aaroads.com/pa/676/i-676-e-exit-001-12.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/37 "2023-03-14T06:05:02Z")
Exits for I-80 in eastern Ohio use New York City as the eastbound destination. It’s about 400 miles away. And, unusually for that length of highway east of the Mississippi River, there really isn’t anything else of note on I-80. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/38 "2023-03-14T07:11:32Z")
Well, there’s the [world’s worst apple pie](https://wtov9.com/amp/features/road-trippin/road-trippin-at-the-plaza-restaurant-home-of-the-worlds-worst-apple-pie)… ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/39 "2023-03-14T08:29:01Z")
> [@Edward\_The\_Head](#): > > Both sides of US 50 has a sign saying it’s [3073 miles to Ocean City/Sacramento](https://www.capradio.org/articles/2016/05/06/two-coasts-two-cities-two-signs-the-story-behind-the-ocean-city-md-3073-sign/). > > And here’s one near Baltimore on I-70 saying [Denver is 1700 and Cove Fort is 2200.](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I-70_mileage_sign_near_eastern_terminus_in_Maryland.jpg) This is commonly the case. When you enter one end of a highway, the first mileage distance sign will show the city at the other end, thousands of miles away. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2023, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912/40 "2023-03-14T08:34:21Z")
I knew I had a picture of one example. The west end of US-20, in Newport OR, is 3,365 miles from Boston MA. I took this picture back in November 2019. Through my dirty windshield. I think I took one of, IIRC, US-6 too, and its east end is Provincetown MA. Again, that’s IIRC. [![](https://i.imgur.com/r4ZdtJO.jpeg) ](https://i.imgur.com/r4ZdtJO.jpeg) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-farthest-city-on-a-highway-exit-sign-that-you-have-seen/980912.md?page=3)