NAME-DROPPING ON THRUWAY CUOMO, TUFO REPLACE DEWEY ON SIGNS WELCOMING MOTORISTS.(Local)

Byline: Robert Borsellino State editor

Three new signs welcoming motorists to the Gov. Thomas E. Dewey Thruway fail to mention Gov. Thomas E. Dewey.

But they do mention Gov. Mario Cuomo and Peter Tufo, the Manhattan attorney who heads the New York State Thruway Authority.

No one at the authority could say with certainty who decided to drop Dewey's name from the new signs.

Thruway spokesman Arthur D'Isabel said it was "just sort of a group decision. There wasn't room to get everybody's name on there."

And Tufo said: "There was no decision made or issue raised. The new signs are part of an overall program to help people who are …