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Report: $489 Million In Pike Tolls Used In Big Dig

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Jun 8, 2009 1:56 pm US/Eastern

Report: $489 Million In Pike Tolls Used In Big Dig

BOSTON (WBZ) ―

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Massachusetts Turnpike drivers have paid $489 million in tolls to cover Big Dig expenses over the past three years.

That's according to a financial analyst hired as part of a class action lawsuit against the Turnpike Authority.

Attorneys representing more than 1,600 toll payers filed the analyst's report in Middlesex Superior Court Monday.

The lawsuit says the Turnpike should be using toll money to maintain the highway and not to pay for the Big Dig.

The group Massachusetts Turnpike Toll Equity Trust is led by attorney Jan Schlichtmann, portrayed by actor John Travolta in the 1998 film, "A Civil Action."

They want the court to freeze the Pike's assets to guarantee any settlement they might gain in court.

The lawyers are seeking up to three years in toll rebates for their plaintiffs.

In court Monday, the Turnpike Authority said letting its assets be frozen while a group of drivers tries to sue for what it says is diverted toll money would "significantly interfere" with the Pike's operations.