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[bzakharin]

I see NJ Turnpike only issues logo signs for hotels as it don’t want to compete with its vendors at the service areas.

I think most toll roads with service plazas handle specific service signs the same way.

The Atlantic City Expressway does have fuel (and I think food) logos. I don't think it hurts the SJTA financially assuming the motorist intends to get back on the roadway afterward fueling up (or eating) since they'll pay at least an extra 75 cents in tolls for the privilege (Exit 9 even has fuel logos, and that one will set you back $1.50). For that matter, someone who knows all this will realize that sticking to the service plaza is actually cheaper factoring in the extra tolls.

[jeffandnicole]

I see NJ Turnpike only issues logo signs for hotels as it don’t want to compete with its vendors at the service areas.

I think most toll roads with service plazas handle specific service signs the same way.

The Atlantic City Expressway does have fuel (and I think food) logos...

Yep. Exit 41 (Cross Keys Road) for example has 2 blue signs dedicated to food with 10 - 12 logos.

At the end of the Expressway there's blue signage as well.  Since they're intersections and not exits, they guide you when to make a left or right. https://goo.gl/maps/tfxfQK2jNTHEQhc46 & https://goo.gl/maps/FdA1P813j1EEH9it8

[akotchi]

On the Interchange 2 on ramp gore between the ramps to the Northbound and Southbound Turnpike, the NJTA replaced the traditional NEW YORK and NORTH/DELAWARE and SOUTH sign with this sign, which I quite like. Reminds me a lot of the style sign NJDOT likes to use when the road you're on meets up with a state highway. In fact, the sign on the other end for route 322 looks like it was actually erected by NJDOT (squared off edges, backplate on the shield which means it's from before like 2018 or whenever they stopped using them), and you can see the similarities.

The sign on the other end was done probably cause the intersection  at the end of the ramp was modified as a NJDOT project. 

The project to modify the intersection (and install the signal) was an NJTA project.

[odditude]

https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9
This always got me. I think if Florida had these right side toll booths, my job would have been very difficult.

...that's an E-ZPass lane.

[bluecountry]

On the Interchange 2 on ramp gore between the ramps to the Northbound and Southbound Turnpike, the NJTA replaced the traditional NEW YORK and NORTH/DELAWARE and SOUTH sign with this sign, which I quite like. Reminds me a lot of the style sign NJDOT likes to use when the road you're on meets up with a state highway. In fact, the sign on the other end for route 322 looks like it was actually erected by NJDOT (squared off edges, backplate on the shield which means it's from before like 2018 or whenever they stopped using them), and you can see the similarities.

Love it, though I think the DEMB needs to be on the SB sign.

IMO SB from 18 to 6 needs to be Philadelphia, then from 6 DEMB/Wilmington.
NB, NYC over NY, then at I-78, NYC via Holland Tunnel, at 495 NYC via Lincoln Tunnel, with the WB spur saying NYC via GWB.

[1995hoo]

https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9
This always got me. I think if Florida had these right side toll booths, my job would have been very difficult.

...that's an E-ZPass lane.

Now. But in the past, New Jersey did have toll lanes where you had to pay out the passenger-side window.

[roadman65]

https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9
This always got me. I think if Florida had these right side toll booths, my job would have been very difficult.

...that's an E-ZPass lane.

Now. But in the past, New Jersey did have toll lanes where you had to pay out the passenger-side window.

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

[SignBridge]

Right side toll lanes were common at many toll plazas in the NYC area in the 1950's. I remember as a little kid sometimes watching as my Mom sitting in the right-front seat would pay out the right side window.

[jeffandnicole]

https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9
This always got me. I think if Florida had these right side toll booths, my job would have been very difficult.

...that's an E-ZPass lane.

Now. But in the past, New Jersey did have toll lanes where you had to pay out the passenger-side window.

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

Most if not all of the original plazas had dual-sided lanes. Of all the great innovations the Jersey Turnpike brought to limited access roadways, they completely f'ed that one up.

[1995hoo]

That would be incredibly annoying, this ain't England.

If you had a front-seat passenger, it was often kind of nice. People who knew what they were doing avoided those lanes if they were driving solo, so those lanes were often faster due to having shorter lines.

Like roadman65, I remember my mom paying when my dad was driving–and I remember my paying as a kid when I was in the front seat, usually because my mom was driving when my dad wasn’t with us.

[jeffandnicole]

https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9

BTW, you'll notice the automated ticket disbursing machines are in those metal toll booths, not the original toll booths.  When they designed this ticket machine which went into service around 2003, they didn't take into consideration the older toll plaza buildings that were still in use, which had slightly narrower doorways.  They had to install these metal booths, which meant rebuilding the concrete bullnose barrier, to fit the tollbooth to house the ticket machine.

[Alps]

https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9

BTW, you'll notice the automated ticket disbursing machines are in those metal toll booths, not the original toll booths.  When they designed this ticket machine which went into service around 2003, they didn't take into consideration the older toll plaza buildings that were still in use, which had slightly narrower doorways.  They had to install these metal booths, which meant rebuilding the concrete bullnose barrier, to fit the tollbooth to house the ticket machine.

why have i been down there for work so many times and NEVER KNOWN THIS WAS ORIGINAL STUFF

[lepidopteran]

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

Wow, I have a distant memory from age 5 or 6, where I was sitting in the front passenger seat (a rare event at the time), and, while exiting at Interchange 8, my dad handed me a pile of coins -- don't drop them -- to give to the tollbooth operator.  Presumably, one of the old IBM-style, punch-card tickets went with it.  Even at that tender age, I was slightly puzzled as to how/why the toll window was on that side, or that I just never noticed it.

Of course, that whole interchange has since been moved to the other side of the pike.  Is there any way to get GSV imagery of a road that was up in previous years, but has since been excavated off the map?  That last half-mile or so of Milford Rd. also comes to mind.

Some Checkers drive-thru locations have the pick-up window on the passenger side.

[DrSmith]

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

Thankfully when EZ Pass came along they had the EZ Pass Lanes in those right side toll booths at the old Exit 1 plaza so there wasn't much active use of the booth. I worked there for a bit part time and very occasionally they would take one of the those lanes and turn off the EZ Pass and make it a regular pay lane. Back in those days is was not uncommon for the traffic to be locked up for 2-3 miles waiting to pay the toll.

You can see the old style double sided booths in the Exit 3 picture posted earlier by roadman65: https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9

I wonder if there was some thought about the ability to move the point where the toll lanes switch between inbound and outbound traffic. For example at Exit 3, there are three double-sided booths farthest from the building. Even if there was a need for many more inbound lanes, you would still need some outbound paying lanes.

Before the ticket machines, some of those lanes had to be operated by one person both ways. I did a tour up at Exit 2 and there were only 2 people scheduled there. So when one was on break, the other had to run both directions. There were 2 toll terminals inside the booth and you worked both directions.

[roadman65]

Yeah Checkers has right side drive through windows. Of course in the hey days of travel, the Turnpike here used them while the motoring public used to have crank windows as many years ago, electric windows were for Lincoln’s, Cadillacs, or an option on sports cars if you were willing to pay extra for it and accept the added responsibility.

Now with the power windows and driver console to operate all passenger windows, it would be more welcome to use these odd lanes.

Also Disneys Magic Kingdom Parking Toll Plaza used them as well as I remember them well just as I  remember the parking fee was fifty cents in 1978.

[Rothman]

The Cook Out I went to had right-side drive thru, too.

[jeffandnicole]

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

Thankfully when EZ Pass came along they had the EZ Pass Lanes in those right side toll booths at the old Exit 1 plaza so there wasn't much active use of the booth. I worked there for a bit part time and very occasionally they would take one of the those lanes and turn off the EZ Pass and make it a regular pay lane. Back in those days is was not uncommon for the traffic to be locked up for 2-3 miles waiting to pay the toll.

You can see the old style double sided booths in the Exit 3 picture posted earlier by roadman65: https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9

I wonder if there was some thought about the ability to move the point where the toll lanes switch between inbound and outbound traffic. For example at Exit 3, there are three double-sided booths farthest from the building. Even if there was a need for many more inbound lanes, you would still need some outbound paying lanes.

Before the ticket machines, some of those lanes had to be operated by one person both ways. I did a tour up at Exit 2 and there were only 2 people scheduled there. So when one was on break, the other had to run both directions. There were 2 toll terminals inside the booth and you worked both directions.

When did you work the Turnpike?  I was there from 2001-2004.  Since you mentioned it, I recall maybe once or twice at Interchange 1 when they switched lane 5 from a Northbound entering lane to a Southbound exiting lane.  Sundays were always the worst...upwards of 10 mile backups some days...namely all summer long, and around certain holidays, with Thanksgiving being the worst.

Interchange 3, the person in the left most exit lane would also have to hand tickets out to truckers entering the Turnpike in the left-most entering lane.  Or to car drivers that sped past the ticket machine.  Sometimes if I could tell there was no one behind them, I motioned for them to back up to the ticket machine.  I'm trying to think if they ever had to reverse direction of one of the lanes there, which would've been for construction purposes. I can't think of an occasion myself, at least when I worked there.

They now have posts installed at Interchange 3 rather than cones to keep traffic on their proper side.

[MultiMillionMiler]

Are their any interchanges where there are different toll plazas for each direction, or does every entrance and exit go through the same exact set of lanes?

[davewiecking]

Are their any interchanges where there are different toll plazas for each direction, or does every entrance and exit go through the same exact set of lanes?

Exit 13A-Liberty Airport, sort of.

[Steve D]

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

Thankfully when EZ Pass came along they had the EZ Pass Lanes in those right side toll booths at the old Exit 1 plaza so there wasn't much active use of the booth. I worked there for a bit part time and very occasionally they would take one of the those lanes and turn off the EZ Pass and make it a regular pay lane. Back in those days is was not uncommon for the traffic to be locked up for 2-3 miles waiting to pay the toll.

You can see the old style double sided booths in the Exit 3 picture posted earlier by roadman65: https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9

I wonder if there was some thought about the ability to move the point where the toll lanes switch between inbound and outbound traffic. For example at Exit 3, there are three double-sided booths farthest from the building. Even if there was a need for many more inbound lanes, you would still need some outbound paying lanes.

Before the ticket machines, some of those lanes had to be operated by one person both ways. I did a tour up at Exit 2 and there were only 2 people scheduled there. So when one was on break, the other had to run both directions. There were 2 toll terminals inside the booth and you worked both directions.

In the 1980s/90s Turnpike documents (such as the Annual Reports) they called these right-sided toll booths "off driver" lanes ("we are eliminating the off-driver lanes").  In looking at pictures of the original booths at many exits (and remembering many from the early 70s) they were everywhere  - were there fewer individual drivers back then?

[MultiMillionMiler]

Are their any interchanges where there are different toll plazas for each direction, or does every entrance and exit go through the same exact set of lanes?

Exit 13A-Liberty Airport, sort of.

So would there be a way for them to know if you got off in the same direction you got, after a U-turn?

[davewiecking]

Are their any interchanges where there are different toll plazas for each direction, or does every entrance and exit go through the same exact set of lanes?

Exit 13A-Liberty Airport, sort of.

So would there be a way for them to know if you got off in the same direction you got, after a U-turn?

You are welcome to fire up your favorite mapping app/website and answer whatever your question is yourself.

[Alps]

Are their any interchanges where there are different toll plazas for each direction, or does every entrance and exit go through the same exact set of lanes?

If 13A gets "sorta" counted so does 1 (the SB mainline plaza) which is divided by Express E-ZPass, and you could make the same case for other Express locations.

[DrSmith]

Correct, NJ Turnpike did have right side toll lanes.  I remember the original Exit 1 plaza had them going through on family vacations when we paid our tolls there.

Thankfully when EZ Pass came along they had the EZ Pass Lanes in those right side toll booths at the old Exit 1 plaza so there wasn't much active use of the booth. I worked there for a bit part time and very occasionally they would take one of the those lanes and turn off the EZ Pass and make it a regular pay lane. Back in those days is was not uncommon for the traffic to be locked up for 2-3 miles waiting to pay the toll.

You can see the old style double sided booths in the Exit 3 picture posted earlier by roadman65: https://goo.gl/maps/V6yHxtJo9BSmUqDz9

I wonder if there was some thought about the ability to move the point where the toll lanes switch between inbound and outbound traffic. For example at Exit 3, there are three double-sided booths farthest from the building. Even if there was a need for many more inbound lanes, you would still need some outbound paying lanes.

Before the ticket machines, some of those lanes had to be operated by one person both ways. I did a tour up at Exit 2 and there were only 2 people scheduled there. So when one was on break, the other had to run both directions. There were 2 toll terminals inside the booth and you worked both directions.

When did you work the Turnpike?  I was there from 2001-2004.  Since you mentioned it, I recall maybe once or twice at Interchange 1 when they switched lane 5 from a Northbound entering lane to a Southbound exiting lane.  Sundays were always the worst...upwards of 10 mile backups some days...namely all summer long, and around certain holidays, with Thanksgiving being the worst.

Interchange 3, the person in the left most exit lane would also have to hand tickets out to truckers entering the Turnpike in the left-most entering lane.  Or to car drivers that sped past the ticket machine.  Sometimes if I could tell there was no one behind them, I motioned for them to back up to the ticket machine.  I'm trying to think if they ever had to reverse direction of one of the lanes there, which would've been for construction purposes. I can't think of an occasion myself, at least when I worked there.

They now have posts installed at Interchange 3 rather than cones to keep traffic on their proper side.

I was there back in 2001 for a little bit before heading to grad school. I was assigned to Interchange 1 and only worked others when they specifically needed me to move for that tour.

Almost any weekend had delays for Interchange 1 back then. At least for working, it made it constant work and the time to fly by for me from the constant activity. A radio with some tunes and go. Many Sunday evenings they would ask me to stay after for an extra 2 hours because there was still that much traffic and some delays at 10pm.

Even before working there, you could hear on weekends there were 10 mile delays waiting for Interchange 1. Sometimes they would even close the Turnpike at Route 73 (Interchange 4) and have the traffic head to Route 295 to continue south to try and let the delays further south ease out some.

[jeffandnicole]

Even before working there, you could hear on weekends there were 10 mile delays waiting for Interchange 1. Sometimes they would even close the Turnpike at Route 73 (Interchange 4) and have the traffic head to Route 295 to continue south to try and let the delays further south ease out some.

Yeah, they used to do that a LOT!  About the only time they need to do it now is when there's a severe crash between Interchange 4 and 1.