Massachusetts Turnpike

Patrick to propose elimination of turnpike authority

adamg — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:05:23 -0400

The Globe reports the administration will introduce legislation in January - along with more specifics (such as: What happens to the toll plazas?). Also, the governor will propose several hundred million in budget cuts for state agencies.

Jay Fitzgerald says it's about time to eliminate William Callahan's baby, but adds:

It's a disgrace it took this long.

$28-million settlement for family of woman crushed in Big Dig accident

adamg — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:49:48 -0400

Associated Press reports on the settlement between the family of Milena Del Valle of Jamaica Plain and 15 entities, including contractors and the turnpike authority over her wrongful death in 2006.

'Substantial' toll hikes in the works for turnpike, tunnels

adamg — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:44:40 -0400

How's an $8.50 tunnel toll grab ya?

Bonus fun quote:

"The last thing I'd want to be associated with is another Longfellow Bridge," [Turnpike Executive Director Alan] LeBovidge said, referring to the 102-year-old span over the Charles River that had to be partially closed this summer when it fell into disrepair.

Yeah, because we all know how well built those turnpike-controlled Big Dig tunnels are.

Time for a real fast lane

Paul Levy — Sun, 14 Sep 2008 17:19:14 -0400

Imagine a Massachusetts governor attaching his name to a sign across the highway claiming credit for a toll booth. Not a chance. Well, in Illinois, Governor Rod R. Blagojevich has done it many times. The secret is that he is bragging about open road tolling on Interstate 90 and other major highways. The idea is that you travel at highway speed right through the toll plaza if you have their equivalent of a FastLane pass or an E-Z pass. If you need to pay cash, you can also go through the small, regular toll plaza.

Here's a picture I took of this last night, on the way to O'Hare Airport after a cousin's wedding west of Chicago.

The turnpike authority is dying? Good, he says

adamg — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 20:47:16 -0400

Mike Ball makes the case for putting the turnpike authority out of our misery:

... The MTA is a good-sized business that exists to employee toll workers, their managers and board members. As such, it deserves consideration as any corporation. However, from a financial analysis, it is not viable. ...

Turnpike authority wants to raise tolls for Fast Lane users

adamg — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:50:26 -0400

No more discounts - if the state legislature agrees.

East/west commuters to continue to bear brunt of north/south road

adamg — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 09:18:33 -0400

State honcho vows: No tolls on I-93. Which means that tolls on the turnpike will continue to not go away to help pay for the Big Dig.

Commute-a-holic, who lives west of Boston, is not happy:

... I don't understand why North Shore and South Shore drivers get a free ride into Boston, where as everyone who lives West of Boston need to continue to pay to get into the city. It is so unfair. ...

Waiting for Fast Lane

scottso — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 10:54:14 -0400

I've noticed that many of the digital signs on the Mass Pike recently started displaying a message similar to this:

"Get Fast Lane
Why wait in line?"

This is what the Exit 12 (Framingham) off-ramp typically looks like for me in the morning.

Transportation: Dysfunctional family gets therapy?

adamg — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 20:20:54 -0400

Patrick administration tries to get MassHighway, Massport to help out MBTA, turnpike authority. Can it work?

Gabrielle Gurley considers:

... Massport is in comparatively good financial shape (at least for now) thanks, in part, to its lucrative parking concession at Logan Airport, but MassHighway has its own debt issues, so it remains to be seen what "assistance" means in the real world.

And, what of MassTrans, the once and future department re-organization plan that no one wants to own anymore? If the Patrick administration can restore a semblance of fiscal health to the T and the Turnpike, all while bypassing a Legislature definitely unenthused about anything that smacks of defiling the state’s sacred transportation org chart, so much the better for the Patrick administration. (Oh, and yes, presumably Massachusetts commuters...) What's next, Fast Lane transponders and Charlie Cards for everyone?

Hopefully, a Fung Wah bus will never crash into a pesticide tanker on the turnpike

adamg — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 23:09:45 -0400

But it's nice to know there are people training for such an event just in case - even if their drill yesterday had to be called off due to tornado warnings.