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

[roadman65]

You are too old to remember when in Paxtonia, PA (near Harrisburg) when the traffic signal at US 22 & Mountain Road was US 22's easternmost traffic signal in the state of Pennsylvania.  In addition the speed limit east of PA 39 was 55 mph all the way into I-78 including Fredericksburg which now has a 40 mph speed zone and back in 1990, when I lodged at the Quality Inn on that intersection's NW corner, reminents of the fact no signals existed once from Phillipsburg, NJ to this intersection were still left behind with two signal warning signs accomplied by two yellow flashers just to east of Mountain Road directly across from the supermarket on the SE corner that was a Food Festival back then.

I can remember when there were NO signals at mountain road  before I-81 was finished. The supermarket was a Drive-In movie theatre. It used to take 3-3 1/2 hours to go 90 miles from Harrisburg PA to Martinsburg WV; and most of I-495 was mostly just a 4 lane freeway!!

Please use the "Quote" button to quote someone else's post! Thank you!

I take the I-495 you mention is today's Capital Beltway, if so that I cannot imagine.  Then again after living in Florida for 23 years I have seen what sprawl can do to Orange Blossom Trail south of Florida Mall.  I even remember when intersections along Kirkman Road near Universal and I-Drive tourist areas were signal less several years prior to me moving here and many along John Young and OBT at my arrival date.  Now many intersections have changed not only along OBT and JYP, but on Kirkman now that were nothing are presently  one of the most busiest in the region especially Kirkman and Vineland intersection which back in the 1970's had only STOP signs on Vineland Road as  the only traffic controlling device there.  I

[oldparoadgeek]

Yes; I was referring to the Capital Beltway. When it was done; I think in the mid 60's  It was pretty much at the edge of suburbia!!!! Within 5 miles of the VA Route 7 interchange; 7 was a 2 lane road going thru farm country. I was down there from PA helping to open a fast food rest. named Gino's. Tyson's Corner at that time was just an intersection lol  It was even before Tyson's Corner Mall was built. Actually I think it was being built but not yet open.

[mgk920]

...all of the stop-and-go lights around here were either '8-8-8' or '8-8-12' and all of them yellow fronted with no back plates.



Mike

[ctsignguy]

I remember smudge pots....
....yellow YIELD signs, plus diamond warning and regulatory signs BEFORE symbols....."MERGING TRAFFIC" "SIGNAL AHEAD" "NO U TURN".....
....Conn 51 on the Boston Post Road while US 1 lounged on the Turnpike
....Conn 52 before it became I-395
....Ohio 69 before it was decommissioned and Ohio 235 extended
....Wisconsin's unique US shields with the US in the crown and state name below......

[roadman65]

Yes; I was referring to the Capital Beltway. When it was done; I think in the mid 60's  It was pretty much at the edge of suburbia!!!! Within 5 miles of the VA Route 7 interchange; 7 was a 2 lane road going thru farm country. I was down there from PA helping to open a fast food rest. named Gino's. Tyson's Corner at that time was just an intersection lol  It was even before Tyson's Corner Mall was built. Actually I think it was being built but not yet open.

I remember when Laurel, MD stood out by itself and there was open areas on US 1 between both Baltimore and Washington.  Now, it is part of Washington, DC as it is all urban from the Nation's Capital through College Park and then what used to be rural north of the Beltway including the one overpass that another at grade road used to be separated from US 1 was (and still is today) that now is among many shopping centers and heavy sprawl!  There still are some  semi rural sections of US 1 around Savage (at least in 03 there was) and Elkridge, but how things have changed there. 

Today you could not imagine the I-495 Beltway being a four lane road with the amount of cars on the road.

Speaking of Washington, DC I remember when there were four streets within the National Mall instead of the two.  The two inner streets became gravel walkways that are still there today, and the crosswalk signals at these gravel walks on the cross streets were once auto traffic control devices for the removed streets.  The removal of those middle streets took away lots of parking places which is probably why the National Air and Space Museum had to build a parking garage beneath it when it opened back in the Mid 70s.

In Virginia I remember that I-95 was 4 lanes south of Woodbridge to VA Route 54 at Ashland and some cities like Fredericksburg and Ashland  had the population written out on I-95 guide signs in small letters.  Also I remember when I-95 in VA had no exit numbers except on the Richmond- Petersburg Turnpike which was sequential starting with the I-85 & US 1/460 interchange outside of Petersburg to Exit 17 being the US 301 & VA 1 interchange with I-95 north of Richmond. 

[cpzilliacus]

Yes; I was referring to the Capital Beltway. When it was done; I think in the mid 60's  It was pretty much at the edge of suburbia!!!! Within 5 miles of the VA Route 7 interchange; 7 was a 2 lane road going thru farm country. I was down there from PA helping to open a fast food rest. named Gino's. Tyson's Corner at that time was just an intersection lol  It was even before Tyson's Corner Mall was built. Actually I think it was being built but not yet open.

Capital Beltway was completed in August of 1964.

As for edge of suburbia, that was the case along some parts of its path (Prince George's County, Md. south of U.S. 50 and much of Fairfax County, Va.). 

It was not the case approaching the Virginia side of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge, where it runs through the City of Alexandria, Va. nor was it through the Chevy Chase and Silver Spring areas of Montgomery County, Md. and College Park, Greenbelt and New Carrollton areas of Prince George's County.   The routing of the Beltway through New Carrollton severed the bulk of the city (on the "inside," or west side of the Beltway) from its City Hall (located just "outside," or east of the Beltway).

[cpzilliacus]

I remember when Laurel, MD stood out by itself and there was open areas on US 1 between both Baltimore and Washington.  Now, it is part of Washington, DC as it is all urban from the Nation's Capital through College Park and then what used to be rural north of the Beltway including the one overpass that another at grade road used to be separated from US 1 was (and still is today) that now is among many shopping centers and heavy sprawl!  There still are some  semi rural sections of US 1 around Savage (at least in 03 there was) and Elkridge, but how things have changed there.

There is still some open, unused space between Laurel and the Capital Beltway.  The site of the Konterra development is at the interchange of I-95 and Md. 200 (ICC), and is for now undeveloped.  Along the Baltimore-Washington Parkway, there is a tremendous amount of undeveloped land on both sides of the Parkway  in Prince George's County owned by the federal government (mostly the U.S. Department of Agriculture).   

Today you could not imagine the I-495 Beltway being a four lane road with the amount of cars on the road.

It was only four lanes in Fairfax County, Va.  When it was completed in 1964, all of it was six lanes in Maryland (though some of the segments opened before 1964 were built with four lanes and widened).

Speaking of Washington, DC I remember when there were four streets within the National Mall instead of the two.  The two inner streets became gravel walkways that are still there today, and the crosswalk signals at these gravel walks on the cross streets were once auto traffic control devices for the removed streets.  The removal of those middle streets took away lots of parking places which is probably why the National Air and Space Museum had to build a parking garage beneath it when it opened back in the Mid 70s.

Those streets were removed in part because workers in nearby federal office buildings used them for free parking.

In Virginia I remember that I-95 was 4 lanes south of Woodbridge to VA Route 54 at Ashland and some cities like Fredericksburg and Ashland  had the population written out on I-95 guide signs in small letters.  Also I remember when I-95 in VA had no exit numbers except on the Richmond- Petersburg Turnpike which was sequential starting with the I-85 & US 1/460 interchange outside of Petersburg to Exit 17 being the US 301 & VA 1 interchange with I-95 north of Richmond.

Widening of I-95 in Virginia between Hanover County and Prince William County was completed in the 1980's in one big project.

Numbering of tolled segments of highways separate from adjacent sections of "free" road was rather common.  And still is, to some extent (consider the N.Y. State Thruway and the N.J. Turnpike).

Maryland's JFK Highway had exit numbers that were independent of the rest of I-95 in the state.

[xonhulu]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

[Scott5114]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

I remember this and I'm 23...

[ctsignguy]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

I remember this and I'm 23...

I am old enough to remember the old-style 'gas wars' when gas would be as low as 25 cents per gallon....

(of course, that was also back when the minimum wage was roughly 65 cents an hour....)

[roadman65]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

I remember this and I'm 23...

I am old enough to remember the old-style 'gas wars' when gas would be as low as 25 cents per gallon....

(of course, that was also back when the minimum wage was roughly 65 cents an hour....)

I remember when toll plazas (particularly at coin drops) were charged the motorists in cents rather than dollars, especially in NYC on bridges and tunnels, and the expensive I-95 through Delaware and Maryland.

With Gas it was not that long ago that even the Milenium generation will remember when it took around $10 to fill a gas tank on a car.  I personally remember that when it costed me more than $13 to put in my tank, gas was too expensive!

[PHLBOS]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

I remember this and I'm 23...

I am old enough to remember the old-style 'gas wars' when gas would be as low as 25 cents per gallon....

(of course, that was also back when the minimum wage was roughly 65 cents an hour....)

With Gas it was not that long ago that even the Milenium generation will remember when it took around $10 to fill a gas tank on a car.  I personally remember that when it costed me more than $13 to put in my tank, gas was too expensive!

Gas prices indeed dipped below $1/gallon circa 1999.  At the end of 2008/beginning of 2009; the average price was about $1.75/gallon; less than half the current average price on the pump.

NJDOT didn't appear to go thru the effort of redesigning the interchange before they finally got around to building it. The original design was created in the 1960's, when the original I-95 routing was proposed to go thru North Jersey.  Even knowing things like I-95 was not going to be built, the 295/195/29 interchange was still built as it was designed in the 60's.

A redesign likely would've meant going through a whole new permitting process (the main reason why projects take so long to come to fruition).  In NJDOT's eyes/mind; it was better for them to just build the original design then undergo a delay for a new design.

Back to the Boston area, and I (or roadman) should've mentioned this one earlier:

MA 128 in Peabody having a traffic signal at Forrest St.; which was then Exit 27.  The original Exit 28 was the Summit St. turn-off from 128 south.  The signals were removed during the mid-1970s.  Along northbound 128, one would be greeted with an overhead gantry with a long, horizonal BYS (w/black lettering) reading TRAFFIC SIGNAL AHEAD before the signal.

[xonhulu]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

I remember this and I'm 23...

Backwards, sorry.

[roadman65]

. . . when the gallons ticked off faster than the dollars on the gas pump!

I remember this and I'm 23...

Backwards, sorry.

I remember the old dials instead of the display that we all got to know!

In fact Ialso miss the dials on our odometers as now with the digital hard drive, it takes the fun out of looking at your mileage.  It does not interest me anymore when the car reaches 100K like it used to.

[spooky]

....Conn 52 before it became I-395

I remember this. We traveled a lot by car when I was a kid, and any trip towards upstate NY or Canada meant US 6 -> RI 101 -> CT 101 -> CT 52 -> MassPike.

[kennyshark]

When I was a kid in the early/mid-70s, Interstate 280 in Wood County, OH (metro Toledo) still had some at-grade intersections.  I remember thinking "This is a freeway?"

At about the same time, the U.S. 23 freeway in Monroe County, MI had an at-grade railroad crossing.

Fortunately, they were "corrected" by the time I started driving on both of these.

[agentsteel53]

I remember the old dials instead of the display that we all got to know!

I think you can still find them here and there in the US.  the last time I saw one in use was in western Nebraska in 2010.  a little independently-owned station.

you can definitely find them all over Argentina.

[roadman]

More from Massachusetts.

When the junction of MA 99 and US 1 was a rotary instead of an interchange.

When Bell Circle was a "true" rotary before the "cut through" between MA 60 and MA 1A was completed.

As for mechanical "dial" gas pumps, the last time I remember seeing one in use was in 1993.  It was at the Mobil station at the junction of I-84 and US 220 in Milesburg, PA.

[machias]

From Upstate New York -

Driving on NY Route 57.
The original alignment of Interstate 81 at the NY Route 57 interchange.
The Thruway interchange off of Interstate 81 before it was Exit 25A
Turning left onto the Thruway at the west end of Interstate 690

    ROUTE 98
      Batavia
EXIT 48   1 MILE


EXIT 3/4 MILE FOR
      Lancaster
   Buffalo Airport

[WichitaRoads]

I remember in Wichita:

- When there were still lights on Kellogg at Bluff, Vine, and Tracy.
- Future K-96 signs along the right-of-way of the NE Expressway
- Three different signal/intersection configurations on Rock Road at Towne East Mall
- The Downtown Dip, where Kellogg went through four lights downtown

I'm sure there's more.... I just need to think...

ICTRds

[DaBigE]

How about...

• When squad cars used to have large speed check displays strapped to their roof (still remember a couple in the early 90s...)
• When column shifters weren't just for squad cars
• When giving your car a tune-up meant something more than updating the software on the on-board computer
• When brake pads seemed to last forever/were made of asbestos
• When more than the Michigan State Police used single (or dual) rotating roof lights/"gumballs"
• When squad cars in Wisconsin used all red lights on the roof

[PHLBOS]

When Bell Circle was a "true" rotary before the "cut through" between MA 60 and MA 1A was completed.

I mentioned that one in my first post in this thread. 

As for mechanical "dial" gas pumps, the last time I remember seeing one in use was in 1993.  It was at the Mobil station at the junction of I-84 and US 220 in Milesburg, PA.

Some marinas might still use those in operation.  I saw one about 4 years ago at a dock in Crystal Beach, MD still in active use.

A piggy-back for the old-style rotating dial gas pumps... half-gallon pricing.  This was done in the late 70s/early 80s when the cost of gasoline broke $1/gallon for the first time.  Most pumps back then weren't calibrated for prices higher than $1/gallon.  The infamous (and now gone) Beacon Hill Gulf station run by Glenn Heller had one of the first pumps that allowed for $1+/gallon pricing.  For those that remember, he was charging $1.56/gallon in 1979 when the average price was $0.84/gallon.

How about...

• When squad cars used to have large speed check displays strapped to their roof (still remember a couple in the early 90s...)
• When column shifters weren't just for squad cars
• When giving your car a tune-up meant something more than updating the software on the on-board computer
• When brake pads seemed to last forever/were made of asbestos
• When more than the Michigan State Police used single (or dual) rotating roof lights/"gumballs"
• When squad cars in Wisconsin used all red lights on the roof

To add...
-When the majority of squad cars featured body-on-frame construction (the Mopars went early w/unitized construction) and rear-wheel-drive.  Ford's Crown Victoria Police Interceptor model (aka CVPI, retired after 2011) was the last car to feature both.

-The only visually extra/aftermarket equipment on a squad car was an under-the-dash radio.

-When many squad cars consisted of 2-door sedans (vs. 4-door) that were not sports/pony cars (Mustang/Camaro) nor trucks/SUVs (Bronco).


MA State Police uses the above color-scheme (navy blue/medium blue) to this day; although they now feature the trooper's shoulder patch for the front door emblem now.

No photo available but RI State Police had full-sized coupes for some of their marked squad cars well into the late 70s.  I have a police car book that showed a '78 Ford LTD coupe in full RI State Police livery.

[ZLoth]

Here is my list

General

• When Arco made a big deal about doing away with their gas card
• When Jack In The Box blew up the clown
• When cars came with 8 tracks
• It was considered cool if your car had FM in addition to AM, really cool if it came with a cassette tape, and uber cool if it came with CD. BTW: Whats MP3? 
• A mobile phone was something that was hard wired into your car.... and ONLY send/received calls. BTW: Whats texting? 
• My first cell phone plan came with 50 minutes PEAK and 300 minutes night/weekend.
• Shell stations handing out little yellow "tips" books that was also reprinted in Reader's Digest
• Gas stations had service bays instead of convenience stores
• Gas stations had dial pumps instead of electronic pumps, and you could first pump and then pay instead of the other way around
• Even/odd days for gas rationing
• Major movies on television were considered "events", and if you missed it, you had to wait a year until it was broadcast again.
• Getting a FREE road map at the gas station

California

• Traveling down i-680 in Concord meant you got a view of the Navy Ghost Fleet
• The Benicia-Martinez Bridge was a single narrow bridge that was next to a railroad track
• Was this also the same bridge that you saw a big C&H Sugar sign when you went Northbound?
• Interstate 80 went through downtown Sacramento, and Interstate 880 went north over town? Now, it's Business 80 and Interstate 80 respectively
• "Commander Bill" Eveland and Joe Miano doing traffic reports in Sacramento with the reports from planes instead of repeating the info from CHP's traffic information page
• CA-65 not existing between Lincoln and I-80 in Roseville. To get to Lincoln, you had to drive through downtown Roseville.
• When CA-160 went through downtown Sacramento, and CA-99 went via the W-X freeway
• Traveling up I-80 near Donner Pass and wondering what that green cover plate was. (The sign has I-80 shield on the left, and US-40 on the right)
• Interstate 5 was incomplete between Sacramento and Tracy, so you ended up taking CA-99 to Southern California because it was easier

[agentsteel53]

remember when AT&T and MCI used to try to win customers over tenths-of-a-cent difference in the per-minute long distance land line rates?

[kkt]

General

• Traveling down i-680 in Concord meant you got a view of the Navy Ghost Fleet

You can still see the mothball fleet from the same highway, it's just called I-780 now.