Old NJ Turnpike Photos

[1995hoo]

If, as was stated earlier in the thread, the "Keep Awake" signs did rhyme (in the Burma Shave tradition, perhaps), their heritage lives on in Maryland, where the advance signs for some of the rest areas have long contained a small panel on the bottom that reads "Stay Awake, Take a Break."

(Maryland seems to like poems. Work zone signs often say "We're improving to keep you moving." They also used to employ an annoying sequence of signs reading, in sequence, "Stay Alert"/"Stay Alive"/"Don't Exceed"/[standard "Speed Limit 55" sign].)

[NJRoadfan]

The Atlantic City Expressway still has signs like that in the sequence of "Stay Alert","Stay Awake","Stay Alive" with subtle hints to stop at their rest area. Each end of the highway has signs stating "Thank You For Driving Our Safe Road" too.

[shadyjay]

Mass also posts signs before rest areas (and parking areas) that say "TAKE A BREAK / STAY AWAKE / FOR SAFETY SAKE". 

Maine Turnpike has all sorts of safety reminders in the median such as "ARE YOUR TIRES SAFE?" and one may say "STAY ALERT".

[lepidopteran]

The Dulles Access Road in Northern VA used to have some Burma-Shave signs, but not for a service plaza (it has none).  One set was to discourage drivers from "flip-flopping"; going to and from the airport is free, but going to intermediate exits from the Beltway is tolled.  People would sometimes drive to the airport and U-turn, illegally.  The signs read something like "This road here... is for airport users... don't risk a ticket... from our police cruisers"

[cpzilliacus]

The Dulles Access Road in Northern VA used to have some Burma-Shave signs, but not for a service plaza (it has none).  One set was to discourage drivers from "flip-flopping"; going to and from the airport is free, but going to intermediate exits from the Beltway is tolled.  People would sometimes drive to the airport and U-turn, illegally.  The signs read something like "This road here... is for airport users... don't risk a ticket... from our police cruisers"

And the MWAA Police Department does enforce the law against "back tracking" (as it is commonly called).

[agentsteel53]

The Dulles Access Road in Northern VA used to have some Burma-Shave signs, but not for a service plaza (it has none).  One set was to discourage drivers from "flip-flopping"; going to and from the airport is free, but going to intermediate exits from the Beltway is tolled.  People would sometimes drive to the airport and U-turn, illegally.  The signs read something like "This road here... is for airport users... don't risk a ticket... from our police cruisers"

And the MWAA Police Department does enforce the law against "back tracking" (as it is commonly called).

that's just insane.  shunpiking is like tax avoidance - if it's worth your extra time, it's a smart thing to do.

[cpzilliacus]

The Dulles Access Road in Northern VA used to have some Burma-Shave signs, but not for a service plaza (it has none).  One set was to discourage drivers from "flip-flopping"; going to and from the airport is free, but going to intermediate exits from the Beltway is tolled.  People would sometimes drive to the airport and U-turn, illegally.  The signs read something like "This road here... is for airport users... don't risk a ticket... from our police cruisers"

And the MWAA Police Department does enforce the law against "back tracking" (as it is commonly called).

that's just insane.  shunpiking is like tax avoidance - if it's worth your extra time, it's a smart thing to do.

Because of the setup of the HOV restrictions on I-66, you are exempt from them if you are coming from the airport (A.M.) or driving to the airport (P.M.), so that's another major incentive to "backtrack" through Dulles Airport.

And as the  tolls on the Dulles Toll Road continue to increase to fund the construction of the Dulles Rail line, I think there will be even more incentive to "backtrack," even during off-peak times.

[1995hoo]

The Dulles Access Road in Northern VA used to have some Burma-Shave signs, but not for a service plaza (it has none).  One set was to discourage drivers from "flip-flopping"; going to and from the airport is free, but going to intermediate exits from the Beltway is tolled.  People would sometimes drive to the airport and U-turn, illegally.  The signs read something like "This road here... is for airport users... don't risk a ticket... from our police cruisers"

Back in the early 1990s VDOT put up some Burma-Shave type signs on I-66 as well in advance of a road widening project: "Driving this road / Making you older? / We'll lighten your load / widen the shoulder."

I suppose we're getting off-topic from the old New Jersey Turnpike photos. The referenced signs in Virginia clearly took their cue from Burma Shave because the meter matched exactly. I had always figured the ones in Maryland were just someone trying to be cute, but this thread makes me think they probably took their cue from New Jersey given the similarity of messages.

[jeffandnicole]

The Atlantic City Expressway still has signs like that in the sequence of "Stay Alert","Stay Awake","Stay Alive" with subtle hints to stop at their rest area. Each end of the highway has signs stating "Thank You For Driving Our Safe Road" too.

I believe these signs don't exist anymore. I recall when they were installed, before the days of rumble strips.  And actually, they weren't designed to get you to stop at the rest area (actually, 'Service Plaza' since there's food and gas).  There are 2 service plazas on the expressway.  These signs were only on the Westbound side, after the last service area.

[NJRoadfan]

I believe these signs don't exist anymore. I recall when they were installed, before the days of rumble strips.  And actually, they weren't designed to get you to stop at the rest area (actually, 'Service Plaza' since there's food and gas).  There are 2 service plazas on the expressway.  These signs were only on the Westbound side, after the last service area.

They were there as recently as 2004 or so.

[roadman]

Mass also posts signs before rest areas (and parking areas) that say "TAKE A BREAK / STAY AWAKE / FOR SAFETY SAKE". 

When originally installed in the mid-1990s (in response to a fatal early morning accident on I-290 in Auburn where a station wagon on the shoulder was struck by a tractor-trailer whose driver had apparently fallen asleep), the Massachusetts signs included radar detector activators (similar to the type MassHighway/MassDOT currently specifies for use on arrow boards in freeway work zones) as well.

The Auburn fatality was also what spurred MassHighway to adopt the use of shoulder rumble strips on their Interstates and freeways.

[roadman]

Back in the early 1990s VDOT put up some Burma-Shave type signs on I-66 as well in advance of a road widening project: "Driving this road / Making you older? / We'll lighten your load / widen the shoulder."

I suppose we're getting off-topic from the old New Jersey Turnpike photos. The referenced signs in Virginia clearly took their cue from Burma Shave because the meter matched exactly. I had always figured the ones in Maryland were just someone trying to be cute, but this thread makes me think they probably took their cue from New Jersey given the similarity of messages.

Also off-topic, but the Burma Shave reference reminded me of an editorial cartoon I saw years ago while reading an old FHWA report on the original Santa Monica Freeway Diamond Lanes.  The cartoon depicted a series of VMS boards that read "The Diamond Lanes/Are Working Well/If You Don't Like Them/Then Go To .../Caltrans"

[D-Dey65]

The Atlantic City Expressway still has signs like that in the sequence of "Stay Alert","Stay Awake","Stay Alive" with subtle hints to stop at their rest area. Each end of the highway has signs stating "Thank You For Driving Our Safe Road" too.

Dammit! I need an excuse to go on that road!

[NJRoadfan]

Dammit! I need an excuse to go on that road!

Ray Martin caught one of the signs back in 2000:


His caption: The yellow sign on the right is the third of a series of yellow warning signs that are posted along several sections of the Atlantic City Expressway to remind motorists driving late at night to be aware of their fatigue.  The first two say "Stay Awake" and "Stay Alert", while this last one says "Stay Alive".

[jeffandnicole]

I believe these signs don't exist anymore. I recall when they were installed, before the days of rumble strips.  And actually, they weren't designed to get you to stop at the rest area (actually, 'Service Plaza' since there's food and gas).  There are 2 service plazas on the expressway.  These signs were only on the Westbound side, after the last service area.

They were there as recently as 2004 or so.

9 year ago?

Since then, a few projects include widening of the WB roadway from the GSP to 3 miles West of the Service Plaza, both toll plazas have open-road tolling, and the overpass for Cross Keys Road, Exit 41, has been widened.

You definitely need an excuse to ride the Expressway...even if it's for a lousy AC Casino Buffet!

[PHLBOS]

You definitely need an excuse to ride the Expressway...even if it's for a lousy AC Casino Buffet!

... or a day-trip to the Shore. 

[NJRoadfan]

... or a day-trip to the Shore. 

That involves the GSP for me, not the ACE. I have no reason to ever be on that highway and my joy riding was curtailed years ago by high gas prices.

[Steve D]

About those "Keep Awake" signs... while the shape of the signs and the flashing, rings an eerie sense of deja-vu, I cannot recall ever seeing them.  But this puzzles me, because we drove the NJTP quite frequently from Exit 8 to 13 and back between 1970 and 1974.   And I used to notice everything on the turnpike route, sometimes driving other family members nuts by reading all the signs aloud.  (I was 3 when we moved to NJ.) Is it possible that the signs between Exits 8 and 9 were removed with the opening of Exit 8A, since it was now no longer such a long stretch (and might have distracted from the exit itself)?  We almost never went south of Exit 3, so I wouldn't have remembered the signs there, at least not consciously.

The signs were definitely there, between exit 8a and exit 9, sometime after 1972. As a kid I had to travel with may parents from exit 8 to New York just about every weekend, and I definitely remember them.  I'm also pretty sure they existed just about where that temporary merge is now just north of 8a.

[PHLBOS]

... or a day-trip to the Shore. 

That involves the GSP for me, not the ACE. I have no reason to ever be on that highway and my joy riding was curtailed years ago by high gas prices.

That said, going to Atlantic City from where you are likely wouldn't involve the ACE west of the GSP (where those Burma Shave-motifed safety signs are located) either.

[SteveG1988]

... or a day-trip to the Shore. 

That involves the GSP for me, not the ACE. I have no reason to ever be on that highway and my joy riding was curtailed years ago by high gas prices.

take the GSP down to the ACE, and take it into philadelphia, take I-95 north to US1, get on US1 and take it through trenton, getting off on NJ29, and then getting on I-195

[djsinco]

Thanks, all posters. I really enjoyed reading this thread. I lived in Fort Lee, NJ from 1960 until 1966, then moved to Teaneck (near the missing mile,) and spent many years there. As previously stated, I spent many nights sleeping in my '64 Cadillac in the Vince Lombardi during the early '70's. Definitely the golden age of NJ highways!

Special thanks to Steve D, the OP!

[Interstatefan78]

Part 5....

My favorite yet - I've never seen photos of previous generation VMS before! Thanks for expanding my knowledge base. Had to change a caption on my I-95 page.

My favorite photo of the previous generation.

I would say some of these are mounted on overpasses and when they are activated some of the Neon lettering wouldn't light up

[ctsignguy]

Got a shot of this in 2009 when i was heading home....at rush hour of course!

[Roadsguy]

I wish they'd keep these guys up, or make digital LED versions that are still laid out the same (and of course are red).

[jeffandnicole]

Part 5....

My favorite yet - I've never seen photos of previous generation VMS before! Thanks for expanding my knowledge base. Had to change a caption on my I-95 page.

My favorite photo of the previous generation.

I would say some of these are mounted on overpasses and when they are activated some of the Neon lettering wouldn't light up

That was the preferred location - overhead.  When that couldn't be done due to the angle of the crossing overpass, or lack of an overpass for a distance, they would be mounted on the right shoulder.

While some of the Changeable Speed Limit Signs still work, I don't think there's a single Neon VMS sign that completely works 100%.  On many of them, some of the letters don't work.  If you look closely, on some of them the glass tubes for a few letters or numbers are missing completely. 

All new NJ Turnpike VMS/CSLS signage is (or will be) overhead on their own structure.