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Mar 4, 2008 11:26 pm US/Eastern
Turnpike Deficit Could Raise Tolls Again
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Massachusetts drivers are already paying the price of recent toll hikes on the Mass Pike, but they could soon be paying even more.
Deals cut over the years are costing the Turnpike Authority tens of millions of dollars.
Drivers who commute to Boston from Framingham every day pay about $1,400 a year in toll fees.
However, because the Turnpike Authority is facing a minimum $13 million deficit, Alan Lebovidge, the new executive director on the job not even 90 days, is eliminating jobs and slashing budgets.
"When you have bridges that need to be fixed and road ways that need to be fixed and you can just go out and do it, I would describe that as a financial crisis," Lebovidge said.
"Over the years, the Turnpike Authority has cut all these deals," said Board Member Mary Connaughton.
Connaughton says the Turnpike loses millions of dollars each year.
She says the decision to stop collecting tolls in western Massachusetts at Exits 1 through 6 costs $12 million each year.
The elimination of the West Newton toll costs the Turnpike $2.5 million annually.
The discount for Boston residents who use the tunnels costs $5 million, and the cheap parking rates given to people who shop and then park at the North End garage cost the Authority almost $2 million a year.
That brings the total to $21.5 million, and all the while, Metro West tolls keep going up.
"Why should drivers from Framingham, Worcester, Wayland be paying the tab for those drivers as well?" Connaughton said. "It's not right. There are all these deals that one group of Turnpike drivers have been subsidizing for years. They cost the Turnpike Authority quite a bit of money."
There's no doubt the Turnpike Authority is facing very tough financial times and all the sweetheart deals cut over the years are now on the table.
Lebovidge points out that as of last weekend, New Yorkers are paying $8 per toll to cross some of the city's bridges, implying Massachusetts is a bargain by comparison.
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