AARoads Forum

A little game for those that have a few years of seniority on others.  Give us something to show us how old you are.  Here's mine:

I'm so old that I drove on I-296 when it was signed.

I saw Temporary I-15 signs on former US 395 north of Escondido CA.

I'm so old that I remember when another thread with this concept existed.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=10167.0

Two, actually:

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=34207.0

I guess if we keep this specifically road related.

I remember stopping at a produce inspection stand between New Mexico and Arizona.
I clinched I-265(TN),I-164(IN), and the northern section of I-540(AR).
I clinched US78 between Memphis and Birmingham before there was an interstate.

I'm so old that I used to live off US 27 in Michigan.

This is a tricky one because I didn't live in this country for the first 11 years of my life, but I do remember when New Jersey's speed limit was increased from 55 to 65 in 1997. Also when NJ Turnpike exit 6A didn't exist and instead there was an eastbound-only Florence exit that bypassed the toll plaza.

I'm so old that I used to live off US 25 in Michigan.

I remember the Kentucky Turnpike.

I remember seeing cutout route markers on Kentucky roads.

I remember when I-64 was not complete between Lexington and Frankfort, and Grayson and Ashland.

I remember when Tennessee exclusively used triangular markers for all state routes.

I remember when Kentucky used signs that did not feature reflective sheeting.

I remember when Kentucky used text-based exit signs on the Mountain Parkway instead of route markers.

Quote from: tigerwings on June 11, 2024, 04:23:22 PMI'm so old that I used to live off US 25 in Michigan.

And when Gratiot was signed as US-25, and when 8 Mile and Gratiot was the junction of US-25, M-102, and M-29.

I'm so old I survived the traffic light queue (bring water) and the subsequent suicidal lane change for the old I-84 EB to I-91 NB "connection" in Hartford.  Multiple times.

I'm also so old I remember when an MA 15 shield was drawn on Mass Pike tickets at what is now the I-84/I-90 interchange.

I am old enough to
-  remember seeing yellow Yield signs in the field
-  have ridden (not driven) through the Springfield Interchange in Virginia when I-95 was still signed through into DC
-  grow up in a neighborhood west of Lancaster PA where the main road in front of the neighborhood (Rohrerstown Rd.) was not a numbered state highway
-  remember when I-75 entered Tampa, FL (and rode through the I-4/I-75 interchange)

That's a start . . .

I remember when metal drums were used for lane closure channelizing.

US 41 went in front of Lambeau Field.

I'm so old that I remember the eastern USA version of I-86 before it was in New York.

I remember when I-75 in Georgia and Florida was four lanes with sequential exits.

Quote from: akotchi on June 11, 2024, 05:13:30 PMremember seeing yellow Yield signs in the field

This one (https://www.google.com/maps/@41.1848837,-73.5696275,3a,15y,221.21h,87.28t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sk1h2yxXsuOaQmCG8ZuEa0A!2e0!5s20210901T000000!7i16384!8i8192?coh=205409&entry=ttu) was still around quite recently.

There wasn't a four-lane roadway between Indianapolis and Evansville without going out of your way!

US 31 between Indianapolis and South Bend was a traffic light hellhole in Hamilton County and Kokomo.

Quote from: SectorZ on June 11, 2024, 08:01:23 PMI'm so old that I remember the eastern USA version of I-86 before it was in New York.

But not old enough to remember when it was I-84 before that?

I'm old enough to remember Howard Johnson Restaurants as well as their original motor lodges with the orange roof lobby.

I remember when the Maryland House service plaza had no fast food and instead had a white-tablecloth sit-down restaurant with waiter service.

A couple of examples:

• I remember when US-80 existed in Yuma, AZ

• I remember seeing vertical I-15E sign posts in San Bernardino while on our way to Norton Air Force Base to catch a flight to my Dad's next duty station in Japan. The airline was Flying Tigers.

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 11, 2024, 09:59:12 PMI remember when the Maryland House service plaza had no fast food and instead had a white-tablecloth sit-down restaurant with waiter service.

New Jersey had the same at their service areas. MacDonalds in Union, NJ on the GSP and in Brookdale near Clifton started the fast food there as an experiment to see how well it would go. Obviously it went well.

However Bobs Big Boy and Roy Rogers took over other plazas on NJ roads, thus the former had waiter service with ole Roy being the order and go part. Sadly Marriot sold the franchises and later Dunkin, Sparro, and Taco Bell's came in to make full food courts.

I remember when Dunkin Donuts had sit down counters instead of order and go.  My hometown Clark, NJ had one even in the eighties, I would sit down and consume a doughnut and coffee before work served by a waitress behind the counter.

I remember when signage on Prince Edward Island was only in English. (That's why I started learning English in the first place.) To be fair, that was only 20 years ago, so definitely not as old as y'all.

I remember when I-95 in Virginia only had exit numbers on the Richmond- Petersburg Turnpike that had their own 1-17 sequence ending at US 301 in Henrico County.

I-64 had none until the mid eighties except for three exits in Hampton that were 1-3 from the HRBT to Mercury Blvd.

New Jersey only used them on toll roads as I-78 received them in 198 except east of NJ 24 that was completed in 1977 after the campaign to install them. It just took NJDOT several years to redo the signs on preexisting I-78 west of Watchung. I-295 had them in Salem and Gloucester and later north of Bridgeport in stages from 1983 to well into the nineties. Although Hamilton Township near Trenton got them in the early eighties when NJDOT completed that section.

I-80 got them in the seventies and I-280 got them from opening day except in East Orange and Newark which had none even in 1990 for the Parkway and Clinton Street and left Exit 13 EB.

Quote from: roadman65 on June 11, 2024, 09:56:11 PMI'm old enough to remember Howard Johnson Restaurants as well as their original motor lodges with the orange roof lobby.

There was a HoJos in my hometown into the early '90s.

Quote from: Big John on June 11, 2024, 05:58:22 PMUS 41 went in front of Lambeau Field.

'New' City Stadium?

Mike

I'm so old that...

In the Chicago area, I-94 was the Chicago Skyway and I-80/90 was the Kingery Highway/Borman Expy.

Again, Chicago:  The Eisenhower Expressway and its extension were I-90.  The Kennedy Expy and NW Tollway between the Edens junction and what is now the 290 was IL 190.

State highway signs in Illinois and Indiana included an outline of the state.

State highway signs in Wisconsin had a rounded rectangle and an upside down triangle behind it, and "WIS" was at the top of the triangle.

US and state highways in Arizona were color coded:  Orange (North), Green (South), Brown (East), and Blue (West).

Arizona had a three-digit Interstate:  I-410, later 510, which is now part of I-10 on the west side of Sky Harbor Airport.

Van Buren St. in Phoenix, Apache Blvd in Tempe, and Main St in Mesa was signed US 60-70-89-89 and AZ 93.

I'm almost 60, so this boomer can still remember:

      - when many sections of interstate freeways weren't built yet, so you had to transition to regular roads in
        between. 

      - many of the now decommissioned US highways still existing & signed; most notably, US 99/99E/99W here
        in Oregon, but I also recall US 91 beyond its current extent, US 16 east of Rapid City, US 10 west of
        Fargo, etc. As a kid, I actually thought that interstates were required to have a US highway running
        with them, since so many we drove on did.

      - I-80N (both OR/ID/UT and IA's), I-80S (CO/NE) and I-15W. Also, the US 30N in OR/ID, and the 30N/30S split
        in ID/UT/WY

      - In Oregon, most Interstate & US shields had the state name, and Oregon State Route shields had the state
        name and the Eagle!

      - Portland's Harbor Drive still existed -- we used to take it through Portland on the way to visiting my
        grandparents.

      - when the rural interstate speed limit on I-5/I-80N once you left Portland was 70 mph. 

      - later, when the national 55 mph limit was in place. It made my western OR to eastern WA drives to/from
        college in agonizing!

      - gas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil &
        clean the windshield.

I was around to see the "480 CLOSED" signs right after Loma Prieta

I remember when traffic reaching 880 south was directed to take 580 to 980 from 80 west, and when the roadmaps of the era (mid-90s) mostly showed 880 just petering out at today's 7th Street ramp complex

I still strongly remember the button-copy internal exit tab at US 101 southbound for Millbrae Avenue, which was only replaced a few years ago.  For that matter, I definitely remember when button copy was everything and retrorflective barely existed in California, and also the early-2000s install of no-exit-number retroreflective signage in San Francisco.

I remember the button copy sign in San Bruno that had a covered-up Route 380 shield at 280 and Sneath Lane, removed in recent years.

I recall the Paul Avenue exit northbound on US 101 being more accurately labeled "Bayshore Boulevard"

I went to LA at least once before the Century Freeway/I-105 was completed

I recall seeing the Route 170 shields on Highland Avenue in Hollywood in person

I got to ride a car along the portion of I-280 in San Francisco that no longer exists (from 6th Street to an offramp at 3rd Street) and along the portion of the Central Freeway that was removed in 2005 (from Market Street to Fell/Laguna).  Before that, I also got to experience seeing the 280 extension marked as CLOSED due to Loma Prieta both on roadmaps and on signs prior to 1995.

There's also that bizarre era where 101 was signed from the Bayshore Freeway and I-80 (but not in the field) for 7th Street instead of the Central Freeway...

I was around for the construction of Skyway near the Makati/Manila border

I still fondly look back at when the 55 MPH NMSL was repealed (and appreciate that every time I go on a freeway or any other highway)

I grew up with Route 84 using Willow Road in Menlo Park, instead of Marsh Road/Bayfront Expressway was a thing

I recall how novel it was when Route 262 first got signed (Kurumi brought a photo of this to a roadgeek meet I organized in the early 2000s)

Three decades ago, my first Vegas trip involved not seeing any sign of I-215 yet, back when that southern part of Vegas was undeveloped. 

I remember driving to the Caldecott Tunnel numerous times where I had to deal with the tunnel bore configurations at rush hour (so, before the fourth bore was a thing)

Quote from: mgk920 on June 11, 2024, 10:57:13 PM

Quote from: Big John on June 11, 2024, 05:58:22 PMUS 41 went in front of Lambeau Field.

'New' City Stadium?

Mike

Yes, but not old enough to be there when it was called that.

Being a 90s kid in South Carolina:

- The two US 17 bridges in Charleston, the northbound side had a reversible lane for trucks going south because of a weight restriction on the 1929 Grace Bridge
- Nothing was on Daniel Island other than leftover sludge and it was owned by the Guggenheims
- I-26 was 4 lanes past Exit 209 all the way to I-77 (till about 1998 or 99)
- John's Island had two draw bridges
- Going from Charleston to DC meant about 10 different channel changes for whatever music you wanted
- The Charleston metro area basically ended after SC 517 on US 17
- South Carolina had just gotten its 2nd area code, 864 for the Upstate
- I-77 wasn't completed down to I-26 until 1995
- I-26 was still using its original 1950s/60s concrete in many areas
- Going to Florida, the I-95 Fuller-Warren in Jacksonville was still a draw bridge
- You could drive from I-295 in Jacksonville to I-295 in Petersburg and I-95 was entirely 2 lanes each way

Quote from: TheStranger on June 11, 2024, 11:20:07 PMI was around to see the "480 CLOSED" signs right after Loma Prieta

I remember when traffic reaching 880 south was directed to take 580 to 980 from 80 west, and when the roadmaps of the era (mid-90s) mostly showed 880 just petering out at today's 7th Street ramp complex

I still strongly remember the button-copy internal exit tab at US 101 southbound for Millbrae Avenue, which was only replaced a few years ago.  For that matter, I definitely remember when button copy was everything and retrorflective barely existed in California, and also the early-2000s install of no-exit-number retroreflective signage in San Francisco.

I remember the button copy sign in San Bruno that had a covered-up Route 380 shield at 280 and Sneath Lane, removed in recent years.

I recall the Paul Avenue exit northbound on US 101 being more accurately labeled "Bayshore Boulevard"

I went to LA at least once before the Century Freeway/I-105 was completed

I recall seeing the Route 170 shields on Highland Avenue in Hollywood in person

I got to ride a car along the portion of I-280 in San Francisco that no longer exists (from 6th Street to an offramp at 3rd Street) and along the portion of the Central Freeway that was removed in 2005 (from Market Street to Fell/Laguna).  Before that, I also got to experience seeing the 280 extension marked as CLOSED due to Loma Prieta both on roadmaps and on signs prior to 1995.

There's also that bizarre era where 101 was signed from the Bayshore Freeway and I-80 (but not in the field) for 7th Street instead of the Central Freeway...

I was around for the construction of Skyway near the Makati/Manila border

I still fondly look back at when the 55 MPH NMSL was repealed (and appreciate that every time I go on a freeway or any other highway)

I grew up with Route 84 using Willow Road in Menlo Park, instead of Marsh Road/Bayfront Expressway was a thing

I recall how novel it was when Route 262 first got signed (Kurumi brought a photo of this to a roadgeek meet I organized in the early 2000s)

Three decades ago, my first Vegas trip involved not seeing any sign of I-215 yet, back when that southern part of Vegas was undeveloped. 

I remember driving to the Caldecott Tunnel numerous times where I had to deal with the tunnel bore configurations at rush hour (so, before the fourth bore was a thing)

Same and I remember when the remains of the Cypress Freeway, Embarcadero Freeway and Central Freeway the rubble from Loma Prieta was dumped in a location we now know as Oracle Park where the San Francisco Giants play. Also I remember the 1927 Carquinez bridge was demolished as soon as the Al Zampa suspension Bridge opened in Vallejo. The Al Zampa Bridge became a test case on how the Bay Bridge should be built back when it was under debates or surveying the bedrock was underway.

I remember when I-95 wasn't complete in NC. The Fayetteville Bypass was a future thing and US 301 through Fayetteville carried the traffic.  The Goldrock Trumpet was a segment end and barricaded off SB to direct motorists onto today's NC 4 to US 301. At Kenly an At Grade intersection was the junction of I-95 and US 301 when the Kenly- Goldrock section was not a completed freeway. 

I-95 was not built from Emporia, VA to Exit 41 near Petersburg. A four lane US 301 connected the two freeway segments. When I-95 got finally constructed, the NB US 301 lanes became SB I-95 and Route 301 became two lanes again using the former SB lanes.

VA Route 168 crossed the HRBT to concur with I-64 to Williamsburg. Then I-64 defaulted to a four lane rural arterial that was VA 168 to Toano and VA 168 then used VA 30 to south of West Point as the freeway to Richmond began at an at grade where the current east end of VA 30 is currently.  Also in 1976, I-64 was incomplete between today's I-564 and 4th View Street in Norfolk. I-564 was VA 170 and an arterial, but freeway conversion was in progress when my family visited the Naval Base.

I-64 ended at Rockfish Gap and US 250 was the main highway from there to Charlottesville in 1971 and before.

Skyline Drive had a white center line as park roads had a different lane striping requirement before the mid seventies. The MUTCD didn't think park roads needed yellow striping like regular roads.

LAX had only one roadway at each terminal built below the Apron.  A tunnel connected the street to the Satellites with a long speed walk and then up an escalator into the gate areas.  Unlike today with two roadways stacked and a building connecting the landside with the gate areas and tunnels closed off.

In 1988, I-15 was not yet open from CA 60 to I-215's southern terminus. At Devore, I-215 was signed for San Diego on I-15 SB as that was the completed freeway through the Inland Empire area southward.

I recall that a few of the old black-on-white California state highway spades, with the bear, hung around into the mid-1960s.

My first childhood home was in Pleasant Hill, CA.  SR 21 ran on Contra Costa Blvd., the main street through town.  Checking CHPW it looks like Pleasant Hill was fully bypassed by Interstate 680 by January 1964, but a few of the old SR 21 spades remained on that surface street for a while.  As a first grader I was already enough of a road and map geek to understand that state highways were marked by green spades with white lettering and numerals and thought it was weird that the ones on that street were the different colors and had the bear (would have looked like this (https://www.aaroads.com/shields//show.php?image=CA19490211)).

Some Florida Palm Beach area stuff:

I-95 had a long gap, starting at PGA Blvd. in Palm Beach Gardens. PGA Blvd is now SR 786, but back then was signed S-74.

The I-95/FL 704 interchange was a cloverleaf, and the BGSes were pure text IIRC: "FLA 704 EAST" etc.

I-95 was only 6 lanes wide.

SR 811 was signed only as ALT A1A and was 2 lanes

Heh, forgot a good one:

I remember when "New 80" was under construction from Allen, KY west.  My grandfather took us on an unauthorized tour of one of the construction sites. :D

Quote from: Sctvhound on June 11, 2024, 11:42:28 PM- You could drive from I-295 in Jacksonville to I-295 in Petersburg and I-95 was entirely 2 lanes each way

To be fair, there should be a lot more of it that is 6 lanes now. Outside of Florida north of Jacksonville and Georgia, most of it is still 4 lanes.

Quote from: Sctvhound on June 11, 2024, 11:42:28 PMBeing a 90s kid in South Carolina:

- The two US 17 bridges in Charleston, the northbound side had a reversible lane for trucks going south because of a weight restriction on the 1929 Grace Bridge
- Nothing was on Daniel Island other than leftover sludge and it was owned by the Guggenheims
- I-26 was 4 lanes past Exit 209 all the way to I-77 (till about 1998 or 99)
- John's Island had two draw bridges
- Going from Charleston to DC meant about 10 different channel changes for whatever music you wanted
- The Charleston metro area basically ended after SC 517 on US 17
- South Carolina had just gotten its 2nd area code, 864 for the Upstate
- I-77 wasn't completed down to I-26 until 1995
- I-26 was still using its original 1950s/60s concrete in many areas
- Going to Florida, the I-95 Fuller-Warren in Jacksonville was still a draw bridge
- You could drive from I-295 in Jacksonville to I-295 in Petersburg and I-95 was entirely 2 lanes each way

Being a 70s kid from South Carolina

- US 701 being posted in multiple places south of Georgetown, including downtown Charleston
- I-526 didn't exist at all, then was posted as SC 31 when it was first being opened in segments
- There were still a few secondary markers that were black-on-white instead of white-on-black
- There were still a few black and white destination signs at intersections
- More than half of 3 digit routes (US or SC) were in square markers
- The NB Cooper River Bridge wasn't the only road in Charleston with reversible lanes
- cutouts in the upstate
- "S. CAROLINA" and the miniature square state route markers were still plentiful
- The US 15-301 Lake Marion bridge was open
- The Mt Pleasant bypass had nothing along it and civilization all but ended at the current I-526 Bus/SC 703 jct until you got to Georgetown

Quote from: roadman65 on June 12, 2024, 12:07:36 AMI remember when I-95 wasn't complete in NC. The Fayetteville Bypass was a future thing and US 301 through Fayetteville carried the traffic.  The Goldrock Trumpet was a segment end and barricaded off SB to direct motorists onto today's NC 4 to US 301. At Kenly an At Grade intersection was the junction of I-95 and US 301 when the Kenly- Goldrock section was not a completed freeway. 

I-95 was not built from Emporia, VA to Exit 41 near Petersburg. A four lane US 301 connected the two freeway segments. When I-95 got finally constructed, the NB US 301 lanes became SB I-95 and Route 301 became two lanes again using the former SB lanes.

I recall this too from trips between my home and my grandparents' home in south Florida.  Early to mid-1970s, so too young to drive.

Other gaps in I-95 that I recall were
- around the I-26 interchange in S.C. (U.S. 15 was the temporary detour)
- between Hardeeville SC and I-16 west of Savannah, GA
- a section near Brunswick, GA
- the aforementioned gap between Vero Beach and West Palm Beach, FL, where the Turnpike runs very close
- two sections in Broward County that I don't remember a lot of details about.  The Broward Blvd. interchange was built spanning several of my trips down that way.

Four lane (then) US 41 around Neenah, WI before the concrete median 'Jersey' barrier was installed (and no left shoulders).

The six lane I-94 between Milwaukee, WI and the Illinois state line with the box steel median barrier.

Mike

...BGS on the Connecticut Turnpike were blue and service plaza signs were green.
...BGS on the Merritt and Wilbur Cross parkways were wooden with ragged edges. (Zigzag design on current Merritt signs pays homage to them.)
...I paid tolls at every toll plaza on those three highways.
...There were still a few, very few, yellow stop signs in the field.
...Traffic signals in NYC had only red and green lights. Red and green would come on together to indicate yellow.

Not as old as most of you, but a few things I remember that our younger forum members wouldn't:
-When NY expanded its 65 zones from rural areas into more suburban/exurban areas (such as the eastern and western ends of I-490)
-The stub interchange between NY 204 and NY 33A
-The Stutson Street Bridge
-When NY 332 was a two-lane road through farm country
-Using the interchange that used to exist between ON 405 and Niagara River Parkway (since consumed by the expanded border facilities)

Oh, and I remember when I-95 ended in Freeport, ME...near the only LL Bean store in the country.

Not too long ago but...

I recall when unsigned Route 275 (the former eastern segment of the West Sacramento Freeway/former US 40 and 99W) was entirely full freeway from US 50 in West Sacramento to the end of the Tower Bridge; this was still the case in my college years too!  The segment west of Tower Bridge was replaced with a boulevard about 12 years ago, "Tower Bridge Gateway"

I also remember the Watt Avenue/US 50 cloverleaf in eastern Sacramento, since replaced with a six ramp parclo.

I remember when there were gas lines because of OPEC, and Nixon declared a national speed limit of 50mph so we'd all save gas.

I remember when the Mass Pike logo had an arrow through the pilgrim hat.

I remember when they finished the Southeast Expwy in Boston.

I remember the sign at the Provincetown end of US-6 showing the mileage to Long Beach.

I remember when the new red-white-and-blue Interstate symbols first showed up on my grandfather's road maps.

I remember when they built the Ridge Route Road in Los Angeles County.

No, wait, that last one was a dream.

Quote from: Rothman on June 11, 2024, 09:37:54 PM

Quote from: SectorZ on June 11, 2024, 08:01:23 PMI'm so old that I remember the eastern USA version of I-86 before it was in New York.

But not old enough to remember when it was I-84 before that?

Given it was signed in the late-70's as 86, and I was born in the late-70's, that would be a no.

Another one I remember from the 1960s in Pleasant Hill:  there were a couple streets in our neighborhood that today would be signed "No Outlet".  Back then the signs read "BLIND STREET", which is a definite no-no now.

...I remember I-64 being constructed between the Nitro exit (Exit 45) and the Dunbar exit (Exit 53).  I was amazing watching the huge skid pan trucks up on the future freeway from down below on Fairlawn Avenue (WV-25).

...The only paved state road in my hometown didn't quite make it to the old post office in Scott Depot (hence my handle - Dirt Roads).  That post office has been relocated twice.

I remember when what's now Ronald Regan Highway in Cincinnati was called Cross County and only existed in two disconnected sections. 126 went over Glendale-Milford Road from I-75 at the time.

I remember

-When US 40/61 was still a divided, four lane expressway through St. Charles County (those traffic lights were a pain in the ass.)
-Boston before the Big Dig when the Central Artery dominated downtown.

I am pretty young, so I haven't seen as much as y'all have, but I do remember I-10 being only two lanes in Baton Rouge directly east out of the I-10/12 split (plus diagrammatic signs and no Clearview at the time). I also remember a time when the Sam Houston Parkway was not completely limited-access yet.

Quote from: CapeCodder on June 15, 2024, 12:47:17 PMI remember

-When US 40/61 was still a divided, four lane expressway through St. Charles County (those traffic lights were a pain in the ass.)
-Boston before the Big Dig when the Central Artery dominated downtown.

Went to Boston in 1998 so I was around for the interminable construction!

Actually haven't been back there at all since then to see how different the area is with the Big Dig fully in operation.

I can remember when ALL of the 2-way traffic along US-59 (current I-69) crossed the San Jacinto River on the single truss bridge at Humble. https://maps.app.goo.gl/MD3EWmrFPZ9xcM9c9

I remember when in Boston, the current I-93 and US 1 interchange was a three wye offering full movements.

In Virginia, US 301 between Port Royal and Port Conway crossed a two lane drawbridge across the Rappanhock River.

I remember when VA 31 went into Williamsburg concurrent with VA 5 and ending with VA 5 at VA 143. 

I remember when VA 162 was a much longer route and went through Williamsburg to end at US 60 along Richmond Road.

I remember the toll to cross the HRBT.

I remember the Brunswick Circle in North Brunswick, NJ at US 1 & 130.  It had a barricade across the northern part so traffic couldn't make a complete loop and go from US 1 NB to George's Road ( Route 171).

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PMI'm almost 60, so this boomer can still remember:

      - when many sections of interstate freeways weren't built yet, so you had to transition to regular roads in
        between. 

      - many of the now decommissioned US highways still existing & signed; most notably, US 99/99E/99W here
        in Oregon, but I also recall US 91 beyond its current extent, US 16 east of Rapid City, US 10 west of
        Fargo, etc. As a kid, I actually thought that interstates were required to have a US highway running
        with them, since so many we drove on did.

      - I-80N (both OR/ID/UT and IA's), I-80S (CO/NE) and I-15W. Also, the US 30N in OR/ID, and the 30N/30S split
        in ID/UT/WY

      - In Oregon, most Interstate & US shields had the state name, and Oregon State Route shields had the state
        name and the Eagle!

      - Portland's Harbor Drive still existed -- we used to take it through Portland on the way to visiting my
        grandparents.

      - when the rural interstate speed limit on I-5/I-80N once you left Portland was 70 mph. 

      - later, when the national 55 mph limit was in place. It made my western OR to eastern WA drives to/from
        college in agonizing!

      - gas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil &
        clean the windshield.

Even though I was only 5-6 years old in the mid 1970s, I still remember when Sioux Falls (SD) had US 16 on 12th street, and US 77 on Minnesota Ave. US 16 signs would be replaced with SD 42 and SD 262 by 1980, and US 77 signs would be gone by 1982.

I also remember when US 75 was cosigned with I-29 in Iowa up to I-480. At the same time, US 73 was still signed from Winnebago to I-480 in Omaha until around 1984.

I'll give this a shot.  For context I'm in my mid 60's and I have many concrete road memories from that era.  I also lived in both Pennsylvania and Florida during that time.  And some of these may have been echoes by previous posters.

•  The Interstate system was still in piecemeal form.  I remember family trips where we would take the Interstate for 20-30 miles, then have to shunt over to the parallel US highway until the Interstate resumed.

•  There was no World Wide Web for planning trips.  Every year before a family vacation my father would get a set of maps and TourBooks through his AAA membership, as well as last year's Holiday Inn directory.  We exclusively stayed there since "we knew what we were going to get".

•  Speaking of Holiday Inn, I remember the huge art-deco green signs that they used at their properties until the (I think) late 70s.

•  There were very few food options at the typical exit - the notable exception being Stuckey's.  We stopped there almost exclusively because of this.

•  The Exxon brand name was not in use yet; the stations affiliated with Standard Oil were branded as Esso in the north and as Enco in the south.

•  On entering turnpikes, you were given a card listing the fares to all of the other exits.  You turned in this card with your fare when exiting.

•  (Pennsylvania) I remember when the current PA 272 from Lancaster south to near Wakefield was designated as a southern extension of PA 72.  And the road had not been dualized; the current northbound carriage carried both directions.

•  (Pennsylvania) I remember the old Engelside bridge which carried both directions of US 222 into Lancaster prior to the one-way split.  Called the "Singing Bridge" as it made a hum as you drove across it.  Destroyed by Hurricane Agnes in 1972.

•  (Florida) The colorized shields for US highways.

•  (Florida) Riding across the old and narrow Seven Mile Bridge (since replaced by a parallel bridge).

•  (Florida) FL 20 had a discontinuity between FL 79 at Ebro and US 231 north of Panama City.  "The Missing Link".

•  (Florida) I-75 had its southern terminus in Tampa.

I'm sure I can come up with more.

I remember FL SR 528 in its split freeway form. One segment ran from I-4 to Boggy Creek Road with a four lane McCoy Road carrying the state route from there to SR 436. Then the freeway resumed eastward to Port Canaveral.

The current toll east of SR 417 didn't exist but instead another plaza was located directly east of Narcoosee Road ( SR 15).  When the former OOCEA existed and upgraded McCoy Road to the tolled freeway to complete the Beeline Expressway, it caused motorists to pay two tolls in the vicinity of the airport less than 3 miles apart. Those who drove McCoy for free for years were then paying tolls that they never paid once the arterial turned freeway.

I remember when I-4 was four lanes most of its length. 
I remember the Kirkman Road / International Drive intersection near Universal Orlando had no signals. I Drive ended at Kirkman and even the major intersections of Kirkman and Vineland & Kirkman and Major at Universal were also unsignalized which are now some of the busiest intersections around. Universal was a wide open field.  The Twin Towers across the street from Universal weren't there.  The Sheraton Four Points on I Drive I remember when it was being built as the Hi Q ( Quality Inn).

Disney had one theme park and was set back five miles from US 192  along a rural World Drive. Lake Buena Vista only had four hotels on Hotel Plaza Blvd and on SR 535, a lone Stuckeys was there.  SR 535 was SR S-535 and two lanes and north of LBV was the unincorporated Vineland now absorbed by the modern sprawl.

Busch Gardens in Tampa was a small bird garden and animal safari and wasn't a theme park yet with the rides it's has now. A brewery stood in the middle with a free tour of the production of Anheiser Busch beers as part of the park admission.  A super long escalator up to the roof started the tour.

I remember helping my parents pay tolls on the Mountain Parkway in KY and the shock we had when the tolls ended.

I'm so old that I remember when "Crash_It" wasn't several aliases deep on Facebook road groups.

...I remember the Key Bridge.

I remember when we used to take the Hennepin County 62 freeway to go to my uncle's apartment and how Hennepin County 18 was also a freeway.

I also remember that the bridge that used to cross the Mississippi River at Inver Grove Heights, MN was a free bridge.

I also remember when Illinois's I-88 was Illinois Route 5.

I also remember when Nebraska Highway 38 went on West Center Road and Center Street in Omaha.

Quote from: dlsterner on June 15, 2024, 04:28:32 PM•  On entering turnpikes, you were given a card listing the fares to all of the other exits.  You turned in this card with your fare when exiting.

You will still get one on the NJ Turnpike when going thru the ticket/cash lanes. The only difference is the tickets list the price for all vehicle classifications, rather than the amounts for your specific vehicle class.

I remember a time when westbound I-66 had big green signs (mounted roadside, not overhead) advising that the road had been completed all the way to I-81. The segment between Haymarket and Gainesville opened in December 1980 and that was the main reason for the signs.

I also remember the day the portion inside the Beltway opened three days before Christmas in 1982—that was a Big Deal in the DC area—although I don't really remember very well (other than from looking at pictures) what eastbound I-66 looked like approaching the Beltway before the road was extended. I remember the first time I rode on that new part of I-66 was a few days later to go see the Christmas tree at the Ellipse. We thought it was really fast compared to I-395 (to be fair, we lived very close to Fairfax Hospital then, so I-66 was considerably more direct and was not yet carrying much traffic).

Quote from: 1995hoo on June 16, 2024, 08:05:51 AMI remember a time when westbound I-66 had big green signs (mounted roadside, not overhead) advising that the road had been completed all the way to I-81. The segment between Haymarket and Gainesville opened in December 1980 and that was the main reason for the signs.

I also remember the day the portion inside the Beltway opened three days before Christmas in 1982—that was a Big Deal in the DC area—although I don't really remember very well (other than from looking at pictures) what eastbound I-66 looked like approaching the Beltway before the road was extended. I remember the first time I rode on that new part of I-66 was a few days later to go see the Christmas tree at the Ellipse. We thought it was really fast compared to I-395 (to be fair, we lived very close to Fairfax Hospital then, so I-66 was considerably more direct and was not yet carrying much traffic).

You likely also remember when the HOV lanes on I-395 had black BGS signs instead of green.

I remember when portions of the US-131 freeway opened in Grand Rapids.

And from the top of the hill at John Ball Park we watched earthmovers and bulldozers building I-196.

Quote from: NE2 on June 16, 2024, 04:46:03 AM...I remember the Key Bridge.

Well played.

Anyway...

...I remember that I-95 in Virginia had three different sets of exit 2's, exit 3's, and exit 4's.

Quote from: Mapmikey on June 16, 2024, 08:49:16 AMYou likely also remember when the HOV lanes on I-395 had black BGS signs instead of green.

Definitely, and I always liked those signs.

Quote from: TheStranger on June 11, 2024, 11:20:07 PMI was around to see the "480 CLOSED" signs right after Loma Prieta

I remember when traffic reaching 880 south was directed to take 580 to 980 from 80 west, and when the roadmaps of the era (mid-90s) mostly showed 880 just petering out at today's 7th Street ramp complex

I still strongly remember the button-copy internal exit tab at US 101 southbound for Millbrae Avenue, which was only replaced a few years ago.  For that matter, I definitely remember when button copy was everything and retrorflective barely existed in California, and also the early-2000s install of no-exit-number retroreflective signage in San Francisco.

I remember the button copy sign in San Bruno that had a covered-up Route 380 shield at 280 and Sneath Lane, removed in recent years.

I recall the Paul Avenue exit northbound on US 101 being more accurately labeled "Bayshore Boulevard"

I went to LA at least once before the Century Freeway/I-105 was completed

I recall seeing the Route 170 shields on Highland Avenue in Hollywood in person

I got to ride a car along the portion of I-280 in San Francisco that no longer exists (from 6th Street to an offramp at 3rd Street) and along the portion of the Central Freeway that was removed in 2005 (from Market Street to Fell/Laguna).  Before that, I also got to experience seeing the 280 extension marked as CLOSED due to Loma Prieta both on roadmaps and on signs prior to 1995.

There's also that bizarre era where 101 was signed from the Bayshore Freeway and I-80 (but not in the field) for 7th Street instead of the Central Freeway...

I was around for the construction of Skyway near the Makati/Manila border

If you look at Manila Skyway there are parts of it that resembles the former Cypress, Central, and Embarcadero freeways in the Bay Area before Loma Prieta showed that the double Decker freeways are a bad design. Then I was told that in Manila there is a West Valley Fault in the area and its basically the Philippines version of the Hayward Fault. 

I remember when US 35 was two lanes between Washington Court House, OH and Xenia, OH.

and when Marbelites and double-red left turn signals were all over the place in North Carolina.

Quote from: bing101 on June 16, 2024, 05:40:36 PMIf you look at Manila Skyway there are parts of it that resembles the former Cypress, Central, and Embarcadero freeways in the Bay Area before Loma Prieta showed that the double Decker freeways are a bad design.

Being double-deck doesn't inherently mean immediate collapse at all: look no further than 280 in the Dogpatch area of SF, which did close for a few years for repairs, but has remained open now for almost 3 decades with no interruption.

I'm not stating of course that the Skyway will survive an earthquake by default, but that the construction of the portion through Paco and Padacan occurred in 2017, over 26 years after the damaged portions of the freeways you mentioned were removed.

Quote from: TheStranger on June 16, 2024, 06:43:51 PM

Quote from: bing101 on June 16, 2024, 05:40:36 PMIf you look at Manila Skyway there are parts of it that resembles the former Cypress, Central, and Embarcadero freeways in the Bay Area before Loma Prieta showed that the double Decker freeways are a bad design.

Being double-deck doesn't inherently mean immediate collapse at all: look no further than 280 in the Dogpatch area of SF, which did close for a few years for repairs, but has remained open now for almost 3 decades with no interruption.

I'm not stating of course that the Skyway will survive an earthquake by default, but that the construction of the portion through Paco and Padacan occurred in 2017, over 26 years after the damaged portions of the freeways you mentioned were removed.

True too.

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PM- gas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil &
        clean the windshield.

There may still be gas stations where air is free. I know of one that shut down less than 10 years ago. Also, here in New Jersey, where full service is mandatory, an attendant will still clean your windshield once in a blue moon.

Quote from: bzakharin on June 17, 2024, 04:53:57 PM

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PM- gas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil &
        clean the windshield.

There may still be gas stations where air is free. I know of one that shut down less than 10 years ago. Also, here in New Jersey, where full service is mandatory, an attendant will still clean your windshield once in a blue moon.

Kwip Trip still offers free air.

Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 16, 2024, 06:52:21 AM

Quote from: dlsterner on June 15, 2024, 04:28:32 PM•  On entering turnpikes, you were given a card listing the fares to all of the other exits.  You turned in this card with your fare when exiting.

You will still get one on the NJ Turnpike when going thru the ticket/cash lanes. The only difference is the tickets list the price for all vehicle classifications, rather than the amounts for your specific vehicle class.

Kansas Turnpike too.

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PMgas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil & clean the windshield.

Another way of putting it: I remember when there was no such thing as self-serve gasoline. I hear they're finally giving up on that in Oregon, which eliminates a major annoyance: waiting for the attendant to do something you can damn well do yourself. But it also highlights that in the old days, checking oil was a thing because cars burned and leaked oil like crazy once they had a couple of years on the engine.

Quote from: bzakharin on June 17, 2024, 04:53:57 PM

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PM- gas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil &
        clean the windshield.

There may still be gas stations where air is free. I know of one that shut down less than 10 years ago. Also, here in New Jersey, where full service is mandatory, an attendant will still clean your windshield once in a blue moon.

Air is free at Wawa.  It's so popular, they install 2 air machines at the newer stores, and occasionally add a 2nd one at existing stores.

Quote from: pderocco on June 17, 2024, 05:16:10 PM

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PMgas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil & clean the windshield.

Another way of putting it: I remember when there was no such thing as self-serve gasoline. I hear they're finally giving up on that in Oregon, which eliminates a major annoyance: waiting for the attendant to do something you can damn well do yourself. But it also highlights that in the old days, checking oil was a thing because cars burned and leaked oil like crazy once they had a couple of years on the engine.

The ironic thing about this is that as most gas stations are self service, it irritates people when they have to wait to be served at a full service pump.  Yet as stores move to self-service checkouts, it irritates people that they are supposed to be offered the service of having a clerk ring up and bag your merchandise.

I rode on the old two-lane James River Bridge and two-lane HRBT before their widening—-and that the exit numbers on I -64/VA 168 from current Exit 268 (Mallory St) to current Exit 255 (Jefferson Ave) were numbered 4-10.

I witnessed the Suffolk Bypass, I-664 (and the MMMBT), I-464 (from US 13 to I-264), and VA 164 be constructed and completed.

I remember that NY 48 was signed on the Baldwinsville Bypass when it first opened in 1971 and was changed to NY 690 around 1974 or 1975.

I witnessed construction and completion of the NY 5 Camillus Bypass and having to use West Genessee St (then NY 5) from Camillus to Fairmount before the freeway was completed.

I remember that I-690's carriageways split at the Fairgrounds area and Fair parking was in the median between the carriageways.  Then the EB carriageway was moved next to WB due to the NY 695 interchange built in the mid 1970's.

I remember when I-81 wasn't open between I-83 and US 11/15 until 1975 or 1976.  I remember having to go on I-83 to US 15 on our return trip from Syracuse, NY to Chesapeake, VA.  Also, I remember when the US 15 Gettysburg Bypass was a two-lane freeway.

I remember that US 58 and US 60, along with their associate business routes, were signed well in Virginia Beach.  I also remember that Bypass US 13 was signed on I-64 from Northampton Blvd to Bowers Hill (and it was signed at 70 mph).

Speaking of Bowers Hill, I remember riding on the overpass that was there and that I-264 ended at a traffic light intersection with Military Highway—-approximately where the Exit 14 off-ramp is currently.

I think we have a contender for Old Fogey of the Board

Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 17, 2024, 05:19:25 PM

Quote from: pderocco on June 17, 2024, 05:16:10 PM

Quote from: xonhulu on June 11, 2024, 11:14:42 PMgas stations gave out free maps, compressed air was free, and the attendants offered to check your oil & clean the windshield.

Another way of putting it: I remember when there was no such thing as self-serve gasoline. I hear they're finally giving up on that in Oregon, which eliminates a major annoyance: waiting for the attendant to do something you can damn well do yourself. But it also highlights that in the old days, checking oil was a thing because cars burned and leaked oil like crazy once they had a couple of years on the engine.

The ironic thing about this is that as most gas stations are self service, it irritates people when they have to wait to be served at a full service pump.  Yet as stores move to self-service checkouts, it irritates people that they are supposed to be offered the service of having a clerk ring up and bag your merchandise.

It's a matter of what you're used to. New Jerseyans love their full service and out-of-staters complain about it

Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 17, 2024, 05:16:49 PMAir is free at Wawa.  It's so popular, they install 2 air machines at the newer stores, and occasionally add a 2nd one at existing stores.

Good to know. I'll check it out the next time I need it.

On Labor Day one year when I was a kid, we were coming back from Kansas and we took US 160 to US 169 to US 60 to US 69 to the Muskogee Turnpike to I-40 to US 59. We often took different routes between Mena and Independence and this time, we came back this way. At the US 60/66 intersection, all of the US 66 shields were gone. They weren't replaced, they were just gone. I don't know if ODOT took the US 66 shields down or if the sign thieves of the day heard that US 66 was being decommissioned drove to Vinita and swiped those signs.

I started reading and posting to misc.transport.road fairly early on when it started getting popular, and I've had road enthusiast friends and rivals since that time.

Another old St. Louis area memory just popped up in my head:

Forest Park Parkway had black guide signs at least near Grand and closer to Clayton.

... I saw a road get resurfaced. Twice.

Quote from: ElishaGOtis on July 01, 2024, 08:29:58 AM... I saw a road get resurfaced. Twice.

I'm not even old enough to run for president and I've seen that too; not just 1R work, either, but 2R!

...the only FULLY completed interstate freeway in the Cleveland area was I-71, along with the Ohio Turnpike.
I-90, I-77 and I-480 all had missing links  in NEOH, as did SR-176/Jennings Freeway and I-490/E.55th Stub Ramp...

There was no RIGHT TURN ON RED laws nor any NO TURN ON RED signs...

Ohio used white-on-red EMERGENCY SPEED LIMIT 55 signs during the Energy Crisis of the mid 70s....

Quote from: ElishaGOtis on July 01, 2024, 08:29:58 AM... I saw a road get resurfaced. Twice.

I saw a road get resurfaced twice in two years.

Quote from: vdeane on July 01, 2024, 12:40:29 PM

Quote from: ElishaGOtis on July 01, 2024, 08:29:58 AM... I saw a road get resurfaced. Twice.

I'm not even old enough to run for president and I've seen that too; not just 1R work, either, but 2R!

A couple times in FL I've seen a full-up 3R done twice. :-o

Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 16, 2024, 06:52:21 AM

Quote from: dlsterner on June 15, 2024, 04:28:32 PM•  On entering turnpikes, you were given a card listing the fares to all of the other exits.  You turned in this card with your fare when exiting.

You will still get one on the NJ Turnpike when going thru the ticket/cash lanes. The only difference is the tickets list the price for all vehicle classifications, rather than the amounts for your specific vehicle class.

Florida's Turnpike tickets had listings for multiple-axle vehicles. I figured that truck drivers had to be wealthy to pay that $50+ for a trip from Wildwood/Okaloosa to the Three Lakes Plaza.

Was just remarking this to my son yesterday, when he asked about a time before electronic tolling.

Quote from: formulanone on July 05, 2024, 06:49:26 PM

Quote from: jeffandnicole on June 16, 2024, 06:52:21 AM

Quote from: dlsterner on June 15, 2024, 04:28:32 PM•  On entering turnpikes, you were given a card listing the fares to all of the other exits.  You turned in this card with your fare when exiting.

You will still get one on the NJ Turnpike when going thru the ticket/cash lanes. The only difference is the tickets list the price for all vehicle classifications, rather than the amounts for your specific vehicle class.

Florida's Turnpike tickets had listings for multiple-axle vehicles. I figured that truck drivers had to be wealthy to pay that $50+ for a trip from Wildwood/Okaloosa to the Three Lakes Plaza.

Was just remarking this to my son yesterday, when he asked about a time before electronic tolling.

That trip is about 245 miles. Trucks average about 7 mpg, or about 35 gallons of diesel for that trip. At $4 a gallon, they spent $140 in fuel. The $50 is just a part of business that should be factored into their trip charges, and by far isn't the most expensive part of their trip.

Wow, where do I start?
- I remember states with white, wooden directional and mileage signage.
- Certainly recall when Written advisory signs were replaced with the present pictographs (cereal boxes literally had cut out versions of the new signage as a "prize")
- I remember fluorescent lighting on certain freeways, such as the Baltimore Harbor Tunnel Thruway
- When the NJ Turnpike ended before reaching I-80 and you have to drive city streets from there to the GW Bridge
- The NYS Thruway and CT Turnpike (I-95) still had some (faded) blue signage and the latter had barrier tolls
- When it was common to encounter incomplete interstates and see the white "coming soon" signs up.
- When the Balto/Wash Parkway was the only (really crappy) way to get between the 2 cities, then they opened brand new I-95 in MD which seemed gorgeous at the time.
- When the Dulles Access Road was only that: a one way freeway to connect IAD with Washington, though it ended at the Beltway back then as did I-66.
- Wood posts connected with steel cable were commonly used as "guard rails" in some states, which may well have killed you anyhow.
- When no signs were reflective and you had either lights for the signs or reflective button copy

Just a few....

To be fair, I've heard engineers still tout benefits for cable barrier, including claiming its reliability in stopping semis is higher than other forms of guiderail.

I remember when the Lincoln Tunnel had candescent lights in the north and center tubes while the south tube had more modern lighting. Now all three have the same LED lighting fixtures.

I remember the Harbor Tunnel Thruway had fluorescent lighting at interchanges with sequential exit numbers starting with 1 north of the tunnel and then 11 south of the tunnel climbing up both ways.

I remember the JFK Highway having sequential numbering starting with 2-9 from I-695 to MD 279. Exit 1 was unsigned Moravia Road SB as that's where JFK Highway became Harbor Tunnel Thruway.

In the grand scheme of things, I am not that old  :-D  but I remember the Oklahoma City I-40 Crosstown Realignment. Rode on the old I-40 many times and I remember being mesmerized by the construction of the new roadway.

I remember smudge pots being used by road construction crews at night.

Mike

I'll soon be able to say "I remember the toll booths on the Thruway", though there's no one enough younger than me  yet to be impressed by that.

I recently told my younger sister that a nearby stoplight used to be a two-way stop (the traffic signal was added c. 2010) and she didn't remember it at all, though I remember it quite well. It's almost impossible to imagine a two-way stop there now given the suburban development that's sprung up in the area.

I remember when most, if not all, of the US 66 alignments not paved over by an interstate were still signed as such, and still drivable. And there were still a few businesses open, although they were quickly dying off as the decommissioning would come around.