Local Landmarks Falling Fast – Westmoreland Toll Booths the Latest to fall

It's kind of an eerie thing when a 'landmark' of sorts that you've seen a hundred times and expect to see again is suddenly gone.

Granted, we knew they were coming down, but didn't know exactly when.

I'm not talking about statues of Civil War Confederate generals, or Christopher Columbus monuments, rather the toll booths at exit interchanges all along the New York State Thruway. The toll booths in Exit 31 in Utica came down last week, and the latest to fall was the was Exit 32, Westmoreland.

The photo below was taken on Monday afternoon, just hours before the demolition began. The next shows the scene by Tuesday, when all that was left was the overhead gantry - the bracket that holds the cameras/license plate readers in place - allowing New York State to either deduct the appropriate amount from your E-Z Pass account, or send you a bill in the mail.

I mentioned the word eerie. While at an appointment in Syracuse recently, I took a ramp off 481 to the NYS Thruway interchange at 34A. I honestly paused for a second because I thought I must have taken a wrong turn. The big blue tool booth I was expecting to see was gone. For a moment I thought I was lost.

The 34A booths were actually taken down in March, among the first six to go statewide. Exit 31 in Utica went last week and 32 in Westmoreland on Monday night. WIBX has learned the next one scheduled to come down is at Exit 33 - Verona/Rome/Oneida, just outside the Turning Stone Resort and Casino.