BILLINGS - While driving on the interstate, you probably notice the green destination signs naming far off cities, even though there are quite a few in between. For instance, on the I-94 east, a sign reads Bismark, even though Miles City and Glendive, Montana are well before the North Dakota City. We spoke to folks at the Montana Department of Transportation to find out why certain towns not recognized on those signs.
There are three types of cities or exits that make it onto those signs; national and regional control points, and the local, next exit. There are only 3 listed at a time so that the sign is easy to read. Interstates are federally regulated so that all signs look and mean the same thing. Federal Regulators choose the cities and exits that make it on to the signs. Stan Jonutis, the district traffic engineer here in Billings, says, "They wanted to give international travelers who maybe have never been to this part of the country before information that when they see this sign, they know they're going to have a certain level of service. So that's why they picked those points". On the I-94 a major city is not listed between Billings and Bismark because you won't find services like a major airport between them. The control points were chosen some time ago for their services and population.