The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission started removing the emergency call boxes on Monday.
Officials say by the end of the month, about 1,000 boxes will be gone. Any call box still in place will remain functional.
The boxes, which are positioned every mile along the 550-mile toll road, have been in place since the late 80s but have since become obsolete.
“A majority of the emergency calls we receive at our Traffic Operations Center in Highspire come in via mobile phone, while call box counts continue to come in at record lows,” PA Turnpike Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey said in a statement. “A decade ago, we saw call box activations of almost 6,000, while total usage came in under 800 last year. In the first eight months of 2017, we’ve seen around 400 activations.”
Turnpike officials are reminding travelers to dial *11 on a mobile phone to report an accident or other emergency on the turnpike.