Vintage Views of the NY State Thruway From An Old Film.

[deathtopumpkins]

It's always shocked me that the Thruway between 287 and the Tappan Zee has just a steel guardrail in the median.

[SignBridge]

That may well be what's left of the first median guide-rails the Twy. Auth. erected in the late 1960's when they finally got serious about median protection.

Here on Long Island NYSDOT is only now replacing 40 year old guide-rail on the south end of the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expwy. (NY-135) with Jersey barrier.

And on the 4-lane hilly, winding section of the Taconic Parkway in Putnam County the original box-beam type rail erected in the late 1960's is still in place, though in need of replacement.

[Mr_Northside]

The concrete "Jersey Wall" and steel guide-rails are both generally effective at preventing cross-overs though neither is 100%.  As was explained to me by a spokesperson for New Jersey DOT a few years ago, the concrete wall works best for narrow medians and steel rails work best on wider medians. They are sometimes interchangeable.

I'd agree with this.  Though one additional advantage with a solid concrete wall (depending on the height of the wall and/or the vehicle you're driving) is it blocks out oncoming headlights much better.

[SignBridge]

The Jersey barrier also requires less maintenance and repair after after being struck. That translates into lower cost and fewer lane closures.

[Roadgeek Adam]

In several areas of Delaware County PA, there are still some business signs the list the old style phone numbers.  A couple signs for Imperial Pizza in Secane being one of them (using KI-3 instead of 543 for the office code).  I believe their pizza boxes still list the old notation.

A drug store in Highland Park, the lone business in town with one of those signs has a KI-5.

[agentsteel53]

there's one old-style phone number somewhere on Figueroa Blvd in Los Angeles, between 134 and 5.

New York City is the place to look... I remember as late as 2003 they were as common as to not attract too much of my attention.

[D-Dey65]

Note the 50-cent two-way toll for the Tappan Zee.  When did the TZ convert to a one-way toll collecting... sometime during the 70s?

Nah, I think it was the late-1980's.

[vdeane]

My guess would be around the time the spring valley barrier was converted to one-way commercial traffic.

[Pete from Boston]

Note the 50-cent two-way toll for the Tappan Zee.  When did the TZ convert to a one-way toll collecting... sometime during the 70s?

Nah, I think it was the late-1980's.

It was one-way through the 1980s and before.  The 1974 view on historicaerials.com shows one-way tolling then.  The Spring Valley barrier didn't got to one-way commercial until after 1996 or 1997 (I remember breaking down just east of the since-removed eastbound toll about then). 

[The High Plains Traveler]

I haven't seen that movie. I take it Liz didn't walk away from that one.

[D-Dey65]

In several areas of Delaware County PA, there are still some business signs the list the old style phone numbers.  A couple signs for Imperial Pizza in Secane being one of them (using KI-3 instead of 543 for the office code).  I believe their pizza boxes still list the old notation.

I've seen phone numbers like that surviving well into the 1970's. I still remember numbers that started off like GRover 5, FLushing 9, WHitestone 3, etcetera.