Anyway, the incorrect use of "półtorej" (also for masculine nouns) is one of the very annoying (for my ear) mistakes made by Polish native speakers, quite common in recent years.
I guess it comes from the fact that the most common combination used is "półtorej godziny" (1 and a half hour), so people hearing it quite often automatically relate the form "półtorej" to all nouns.
So, don't be surprised if you hear/read Polish people saying/writing "półtorej roku" etc.