Emergency roadside phones along freeways in Orange County will soon be a thing of the past after the Orange County Transportation Authority approved plans to discontinue the service during a board meeting earlier this month.
The county will shift resources to its 511 motorist assistance program, which provides traffic updates, roadside help, construction advisories and other information for drivers.
Officials estimate that the emergency roadside phones, first installed in Orange County in 1987, now cost about $1,337 per call…