You are too old if you remember.......

[1995hoo]

I remember when US-29 in Virginia's only bypass route was the one in the Charlottesville area. You had to crawl through Warrenton and Culpeper stopping at a bunch of red lights. It was faster to take the rural two-lane VA-229 through Rixeyville because it eliminated some of the Culpeper portion even though it was out of the way.

There were 7 US 29 bypasses already in place by 1973...(unless you are not really 40!)

I'm 40 (as of this past May). But I sure don't remember any between Northern Virginia and Charlottesville, anyway! Not counting Madison.

[roadman65]

I stand corrected when I said I was too old to remember the exit gore signs on the Garden State Parkway in NJ as here is one where the present day NJTA is still maintaining old out of date signing practices. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Union,+NJ&hl=en&ll=40.695412,-74.260561&spn=0.006003,0.015278&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.761936,62.578125&oq=unio&t=h&hnear=Union,+New+Jersey&z=16&layer=c&cbll=40.695494,-74.260444&panoid=PHxME7Gybp91ayqLBqPmYg&cbp=12,315,,0,0
This is how the GSP was signed pretty much years ago when NJDOT maintained some sections of the GSP except the signing was all upper case then and the old style green coloring scheme.

Back on track

Delaware and Maryland

I am too old because I remember ramp tolls on both the Delaware Turnpike and JFK Memorial Highway.

[US71]

I remember:

-White on Black exit signs along US 66/Future I-44 in Missouri. Some of them even spelled the road(Business US 66)
-White square route shields with black outlines and numbers
-White guide signs with black lettering (sometimes the lettering squished to fit the sign blank
-4-Way traffic signals (and a few upside down)
-Double Red 4-Ways
-Flashing warning lights on the 2-Lane US71 Bypass in Fayetteville, AR
-The first car accident on the 71 Bypass (driving the unfinished road and hitting the end of the bridge)
-US 471 Exit signs

[hbelkins]

Are you sure it was a suffixed split and not merely northbound and southbound on different alignments?

Given the distance between the two alignments, that wouldn't make a whole lot of sense. They weren't just separated by a city block or two. I'd have to find an old atlas or map to verify, but one of the alignments is currently the existing US 301 and the other is a signed state route.

[NE2]

They weren't just separated by a city block or two. I'd have to find an old atlas or map to verify, but one of the alignments is currently the existing US 301 and the other is a signed state route.

https://www.aaroads.com/delaware/road_maps.htm
Here's a photo from 1976, on what was supposedly "301N" at the time: www.aaroads.com/shields/show.php?image=DE19693011

[ctsignguy]

For Connecticut....

US 44A from I-86/CT 15/US 44 at Manchester
4-shield I-86, I-84, US 44, CT 15 gantries on the Wilbur Cross between 1972-1984
CONN 52 from I-95 at Flanders up to the RI border
CONN 51 on the Boston Post Road from Old Lyme to Flanders (US 1 was on the Conn Tpke co-signed with I-95 at the time)

OHIO
Ohio 440 wherever US 40 was placed on I-70
US 25 in its entirety (along with TO I-75 signage)
Ohio 69 from Dayton north (story behind THAT one)

[vtk]

In Columbus:

The old Spring-Sandusky interchange, with its maze of loops and left-side ramps.

I-270 had just 2 lanes each way on the north side.

You had to take Leonard Ave to get from downtown (or the west side) to the airport.

Every freeway sign was button copy.

Clearwater Beach, Florida:

The drawbridge to Clearwater Beach, and FL 60 didn't end at a roundabout.  And there weren't any high-rises north of FL 60.

Generally:

Triangular "unmarked no passing zones" signs where crack-sealing tar covered up the yellow stripes in the middle of the road.

[kurumi]

More Connecticut:

SR 533 marker on an I-86 eastbound BGS. Really wish I had taken a photo of that.
General I-86 construction where both directions (2 lanes each way) were sharing one side of the new under-construction right of way.

[Pete from Boston]

also, in the early 90s, they got rid of two huge oil storage tanks - one of which said Bostongas and one of which was painted with rainbow stripes - from just beside the south end of the Artery.

One was replaced (it contains natural gas, I believe) with said rainbow "stripes" recreated upon it.

[spooky]

also, in the early 90s, they got rid of two huge oil storage tanks - one of which said Bostongas and one of which was painted with rainbow stripes - from just beside the south end of the Artery.

One was replaced (it contains natural gas, I believe) with said rainbow "stripes" recreated upon it.

I don't believe one was replaced, but instead the one that originally had the stripes was removed and the stripes were recreated on the remaining one.

[roadman65]

Virginia

I remember when I-64 was incomplete near Williamsburg and motorists had to use a four lane VA 168 between the two completed parts.  In addition VA 168 continued across the Hampton Roads Bridge- Tunnel and was co-signed with I-64 for several miles to this point and followed present day VA 30 and ended at VA 33 near West Point.

I not only remember the tolls on the Richmond- Petersburg Turnpike, but the old exit signs that had the exit number within the sign's body almost like the NJ Turnpike.

I also remember most of Virginia having no exit numbers.

I remember when the Northampton Boulevard/ Military Highway intersection in Norfolk was a traffic circle.

I even remember when the US 13 & US 58 SPUI was a cloverleaf and when there was indeed a US 13 Business while US 13 Bypass was co-signed with I-64 around the southern part of the Hampton Roads Beltway.

I saw in my earlier life when Virginia used white posts to support the freeway and expressway guides.

I-395 was actually signed I-95 and the Beltway was solely I-495 east of Washington.

[1995hoo]

The tolls on the Richmond—Petersburg Turnpike were removed sometime in the early 1990s. I recall a late-1980s high school trip down to Chester on which the teacher drove (so as to avoid riding in a slow school bus) he had the front-seat passenger trying to throw the coins over the roof of the car into the toll machine at the second toll plaza (the one between Richmond and Chester). Good thing there was less traffic back then....the coin-tossing efforts were not all that successful. No E-ZPass or Smart Tag back then, obviously.

[SteveG1988]

These are some things i came up with, i am too young to really have stuff to say that i remember that are gone.

You're too old if you remember There only being one delaware memorial bridge span

You're too old if you remember Roy Rogers being everywhere and not just on toll roads

You're too old if you remember not having coors beer east of texas, like in smokey and the bandit

You're too old if you remember riding on the Pennslyvania Railroad, or New York Central, or Penn Central

You're too old if you still think of engine sizes in metric and Gross Vs Net HP and Metric Sizes

You're too old if you remember when mitsubishi started selling cars in the united states under their own name (1985)

You're too old if you remember when there was just one bridge to Seaside Heights on NJ route 37, or Only one Great Egg Harbor span on the parkway (both were twinned in the 70s)

You're too old if you remember when the Betsy Ross bridge in Philadelphia was a bridge to nowhere and just stood there without any connection (74-76)

You're too old if you don't remember anything at all

[1995hoo]

....

You're too old if you remember Roy Rogers being everywhere and not just on toll roads

....

There is still a Roy's in a shopping center about a mile (as the crow flies) from my house. I know of another one not too far away and a third out in the Leesburg area; I think there are a few others remaining in Maryland.

Since you mentioned fast food, some people might consider you old if you remember the mid-Atlantic region not having any Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises because Gino's held the rights to sell said chicken in this area (Gino's was owned by a former Baltimore Colts player). I remember in the third grade we took a walking field trip to a Gino's near our school (I don't remember why). Nowadays they'd never allow that for grade-school kids because we had to cross the street to get there.

[jeffandnicole]

....

You're too old if you remember Roy Rogers being everywhere and not just on toll roads

....

There is still a Roy's in a shopping center about a mile (as the crow flies) from my house. I know of another one not too far away and a third out in the Leesburg area; I think there are a few others remaining in Maryland.

Since you mentioned fast food, some people might consider you old if you remember the mid-Atlantic region not having any Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises because Gino's held the rights to sell said chicken in this area (Gino's was owned by a former Baltimore Colts player). I remember in the third grade we took a walking field trip to a Gino's near our school (I don't remember why). Nowadays they'd never allow that for grade-school kids because we had to cross the street to get there.

Ginos is making a comeback of sorts, btw.  Same with the Ground Round.

[elsmere241]

Since you mentioned fast food, some people might consider you old if you remember the mid-Atlantic region not having any Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises because Gino's held the rights to sell said chicken in this area (Gino's was owned by a former Baltimore Colts player). I remember in the third grade we took a walking field trip to a Gino's near our school (I don't remember why). Nowadays they'd never allow that for grade-school kids because we had to cross the street to get there.

I remember in 1983 a Gino's in Dover, DE including KFC.

[hubcity]

I stand corrected when I said I was too old to remember the exit gore signs on the Garden State Parkway in NJ as here is one where the present day NJTA is still maintaining old out of date signing practices. https://maps.google.com/maps?q=Union,+NJ&hl=en&ll=40.695412,-74.260561&spn=0.006003,0.015278&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=25.761936,62.578125&oq=unio&t=h&hnear=Union,+New+Jersey&z=16&layer=c&cbll=40.695494,-74.260444&panoid=PHxME7Gybp91ayqLBqPmYg&cbp=12,315,,0,0
This is how the GSP was signed pretty much years ago when NJDOT maintained some sections of the GSP except the signing was all upper case then and the old style green coloring scheme.

This is a newer sign with echoes of an older style - note that only the number is used, without "Exit" preceding.

https://www.google.com/maps?ll=40.388224,-74.177151&spn=0.437746,0.6633&cbp=12,334.56,,3,1.47&layer=c&panoid=mktff9QMaKyxMSMjd9IIuQ&cbll=40.388224,-74.177151&dg=opt&t=h&z=11

It replaced a sign where the "exit tab" was a rectangular wooden extension of the sign's wood frame, centered on the top of the sign, with reflective numbers affixed to the front of it. There's another old-style Big Sign with wood framing in this picture, just north of Exit 114. (They've since removed the non-MUTCD-compliant cow.)

http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/nj1015.com/files/2012/08/cow-along-parkway-300x300.jpg

(More on that story here: http://nj1015.com/cow-gets-loose-along-the-garden-state-parkway/ )

[mUtcd33]

Since you mentioned fast food, some people might consider you old if you remember the mid-Atlantic region not having any Kentucky Fried Chicken franchises because Gino's held the rights to sell said chicken in this area (Gino's was owned by a former Baltimore Colts player). I remember in the third grade we took a walking field trip to a Gino's near our school (I don't remember why). Nowadays they'd never allow that for grade-school kids because we had to cross the street to get there.

I remember in 1983 a Gino's in Dover, DE including KFC.

My dad said there were Gino's near where he grew up in Lansford, PA; he said there was one in Lehighton, PA and you could get KFC there. Now the nearest KFC is 20+ miles away in Pottsville, PA.

[Mapmikey]

More commercially...

Too old if you remember:

Sinclair having gas stations near the east coast (too old for me!)
Days Inn being called 8 Days Inn
The character Speedy from Hardees
When McDonalds used to update their signs every time they accumulated 5 billion more burgers sold
Gas station maps for free
South of the Border without the huge tower adjacent to I-95
The Sambos chain (racially insensitive named restaurant similar to Dennys)
No ATMs at all
Having no choice but to pay for gas in the store at all gas stations
When all the water at rest areas in NC tasted like sulphur

Mapmikey

[roadman65]

Commercially you are old if your remember the old orange roofs of the Howard Johnson which could be seen approaching an interchange.  All Ho Jos were built that way for identification purposes just as their rival Holiday Inn had that jughandle sign with the "Star" on the top and all neon green lettering above a standard marque and of course an arrow around the rounded perimiter.

Basically, Ho Jo and Holiday Inns ruled the road as far as chain hotels went.  Stuckeys ruled tourist type of fast food with a Texaco Station and their infamous Pecan Log Roll and dollar egg breakfast.

No ATMs, EZ Pass, Wal Marts, and unchained motels were American owned and clean rooms with no mirrors on the ceiling as well as a friendly staff who would even find you another motel if they were full plus give directions to local places.

Also, in my time in the 70s we had milk machines on street corners.  Gas stations worked on cars as each one had at least one bay instead of a convenience store like they do now.  Banks were only open on weekdays, and we survived without cash machines and debit cards when on vacation.  Traffic lights were strictly timers, but did not have long wait times either like now when the loops default to timers.

How about Lums, Jack In the Boxes on the east coast, and Winn Dixie was more popular than Publix in Florida? 

[OracleUsr]

I loved those Holiday Inn signs, even better if the concentric stars and marquee lights moved/flashed.

Actually stayed at a Holiday Inn in Augusta, ME...well, actually it was in the parking lot of one...and our car was parked near one and I watched the moving sign as I went to sleep.

[1995hoo]

I remember there used to be a motel on I-95 in Maryland (I think between the Susquehanna and the Delaware line, but I don't remember for certain) called the "Loop Route Motel" with a similar sign that had an arrow and at night the lights went around the arrow to highlight the "loop route" you followed from the Interstate to the motel.

[jeffandnicole]

...Gas stations worked on cars as each one had at least one bay instead of a convenience store like they do now.

Come up to New Jersey.  While they are a dying breed, this state still has plenty of gas station/auto repair shops.  Today though, the gas station is independant of the repair shop, unlike in the past when it was common for the guy pumping your gas to be the same guy working on the vehicles.

Most new stations are the gas/convenience store variety.

Banks were only open on weekdays, and we survived without cash machines and debit cards when on vacation.  Traffic lights were strictly timers, but did not have long wait times either like now when the loops default to timers.

Back then, it was all travelers cheques!

[Brian556]

Texas:
North of DFW Airport, the SH 121 freeway ended, making a sharp left curve into SH 121/SH 26.
You had to cross Grapevine Dam to access FM 2499 from SH 26.
Dallas Parkway in Far N Dallas/Plano was just frontage roads with grading in the middle for future Tollway lanes.
Several BGS's in Dallas had the imprint of the US shields that had bee removed.

[Brandon]

More commercially...

Too old if you remember:

The Sambos chain (racially insensitive named restaurant similar to Dennys)

Mapmikey

Actually, Sambo's name had nothing to do with African Americans.  And the story was about an Indian (subcontinent) kid.  I've never even heard of the pejorative term until recently.