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Old 03-29-2013, 07:24 PM
 
Location: 42°22'55.2"N 71°24'46.8"W
4,848 posts, read 11,751,074 times
Reputation: 2961

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Amontillado View Post
I don't think that's true. Back in the Weld administration (I think) there were news stories saying that the Turnpike had paid off its debt, and to obey the legislation that created it, the tolls were supposed to be abolished at that point. Seeing that a productive cash cow was about to be turned loose, the Turnpike Authority immediately spent a big chunk of money so as to keep the tolls in force, and now of course the money's needed to pay for the Big Dig and will be forever and ever. Yes, they did eliminate the tolls beyond Westfield. Once in a blue moon someone in Boston gets a little pang of guilt about how much the people west of the Connecticut River pay for the privilege of living in our beautiful state, versus how little they get in terms of services. So they tossed 'em a little bone.
I wasn't sure if the original debt was already paid off, but I do know legislation was passed to keep the tolls in place until all the bonds were paid off. I just know they kept taking out new bonds, which meant keeping the tolls in place. So the current bonds are for the Big Dig and maintenance work, correct?
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Old 03-29-2013, 07:26 PM
 
Location: Springfield and brookline MA
1,348 posts, read 3,083,195 times
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Actually the tolls are free from 1-6 with exit 7(Ludlow) being the first toll you have to pay. But the kicker is if you get on at exit 6(Springfield) and exit at 11A(495 south) you pay $2.10. Same as if you got on at exit 2(Lee) and exited at 11A. I am all for the new toll system, the days of overpaying a toll booth operator are long over.
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Old 04-01-2013, 07:09 AM
miu
 
Location: MA/NH
17,762 posts, read 40,021,896 times
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San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge is also going toll booth-less and using the same technology. I'm all for this, however this will cause job losses. I'm sure that our overpaid toll takers will milk their UE benefits as long as possible.
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Old 04-01-2013, 05:32 PM
 
Location: Providence, RI
12,595 posts, read 21,753,315 times
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I think it's a great thing. I've used open road tolling all over Florida and NYC. It's far easier than dealing with congestion at booths.

I don't put too much stock in the fear that MA is going to start tolling other highways. Any highway with a federal highway designation (I-90,95,93,495,91,84,etc.) has to have any toll approved on by the Federal Highway Administration and the process is extremely long and difficult. If you speak with anyone involved with transit administration at the state or federal level, installing new tolls on Interstates is viewed as more or less impossible.

Some state highways could be potential targets. The biggest potential targets being Routes 3 (south of the city) and 24. Route 1 is already tolled (Tobin) coming into the city. While it would be less difficult than tolling a the Interstate highways, it would still be very difficult to do from a procedural standpoint (even if technology makes physically collecting tolls easier).

And if you're being billed every month (assuming you're not already using EZPass), then the whole "you don't see the money" point is sort of moot. In fact, I'd argue that getting a bill every month for $50+ (a very conservative estimate) in toll charges would have more of an affect on the person paying than handing some guy in a booth $2-3 in ones and loose change every day.

You'll see a congestion tax in downtown Boston (i.e. $10 charge to enter central Boston by car during "peak hours") utilizing similar technology long before you see any new highway tolls pop up.
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