Nov 24, 2009 11:22 pm US/Eastern
State Tries To Avoid Holiday Gridlock On Roads
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
Officials with the state's new transportation agency, MassDot, want to pass their first holiday travel test without any problems. They've taken several steps to make sure your trip goes smoothly.
Traffic cams
Traffic maps
Over the past two weeks, crews have worked on converting one booth at each toll plaza so that it can switch from a FastLane to a cash lane with the simple push of a button.
"We have found that in holiday travel, a much larger percentage of travelers are paying in cash instead of transponders and that can slow down traffic at the tolls, so we have the ability to, on the spot, switch over from a FastLane to a cash lane," said Highway Division Administrator Luisa Taiewonski.
More than 250 toll workers will be on hand, including extra holiday help.
All this, is to avoid traffic jams like the famous one on the Mass Pike last Easter, when too many toll workers called in sick.
Advice from transportation officials: leave early. They say the best hours to hit the road are between 4:00 and 6:00am. Peak travel begins at 10:00 Wednesday morning, and continues until about 8:00pm. The heaviest traffic in the state runs on the Pike between the Weston and Sturbridge tolls.
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