Seventy years ago this week, then-Gov. Thomas Dewey cemented his legacy by opening the first tolled section of the New York State Thruway to traffic.

Since then, the state Thruway Authority was created to fund the highway system and ensure its future.

Applegreen, the new travel plaza operator, is offering 31-cent coffee to travelers to commemorate the price of coffee back in 1954.

Frank Hoare, the Thruway Authority’s executive director, joined Capital Tonight to discuss the history of the thruway, as well as future bridge upgrades.