Nov 12, 2008 5:07 pm US/Eastern
Caution: Pike Toll Hike Vote Ahead
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
The "Caution Toll Plaza Ahead" sign takes on new meaning as the Mass Turnpike Authority Board is expected to vote Friday on a big toll hike inside Route 128.
Ron Sanders talked with east-west commuters and a board member from Framingham who are bracing themselves for an increase.
The board needs to raise $50 to $100 million. "It's a bad situation," nods board member Mary Connaughton of Framingham who says as much as she hates the idea, voting to hike tolls inside Route 128, affecting commuters like her, is the fiscally responsible thing to do, to meet obligations to bond holders and infrastructure maintenance.
The extreme scenario considered by the board would be to raise harbor tunnel tolls from $3.50 to $8.50 or Weston and Allston/Brighton tolls for the Pike extension to $2.25 which would mean a $9 round-trip for many daily commuters.
Tolls that high might make some regular Pike commuters drive off the road, seek another route; but many feel they have no choice. We talked with some of them at the Natick rest stop. "That would be awful," said Sean Farragher of Framingham, "I mean, I think it's unfair for the people out west who have to commute into Boston that are paying for the Big Dig who don't really even use it."
Karen Gonzalez of Webster said, "If you're commuting every day, with the economy right now, people aren't going to be able to do it."
Mary Connaughton said, "My guess is that the ultimate resolution is somewhere in the middle so that both extension drivers and the tunnel drivers will be paying."
But she says she would prefer to raise the gas tax, eliminate tolls and collapse the Pike into the Mass Highway Department.
The governor wants to give Mass Highway the Pike west of 128, eliminate tolls on that stretch, except those near Connecticut and New York, and give the Pike inside 128 to Massport. That could take up to a year-and-a-half.
Hiking tolls could be done in as little as three months.
Dismantling the Turnpike Authority would require legislative approval.
The Authority faces increasing financial problems with decreased use of the road, high operating and debt financing costs.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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