Sources: Patrick plan gives Big Dig to Massport

It sounds like this will mean that even more money will need to come from the Tunnels, Eastern Mass Pike, and the Tobin Bridge. Since the debt doesn't go away just the number of locations you can collect it.
I have no problem with letting the people who benefit from the Big Dig pay for it, (not western ma) but what about route 93 drivers? So far it is the North Shore (Route 1 and 1A) and Metro West (Mass Pike) who get the cost, but the benefit goes to those using 93.

It sounds like this will mean that even more money will need to come from the Tunnels, Eastern Mass Pike, and the Tobin Bridge. Since the debt doesn't go away just the number of locations you can collect it.
I have no problem with letting the people who benefit from the Big Dig pay for it, (not western ma) but what about route 93 drivers? So far it is the North Shore (Route 1 and 1A) and Metro West (Mass Pike) who get the cost, but the benefit goes to those using 93.

Poor hacks no more cushy salary and bennies!!!!

No one wants to pay a toll but why are we eliminating Tolls west of Boston with a growing $2.2 billion debt? Wouldnt it be smarter to keep these tolls steady, raise the Metro tolls and pay off the debt until the debt is eliminated?

The Mass Turnpike, the best maintained road in the State, will be taken over by the Mass Highway Dept (the department responsible for most of the other roads in the State) and Massport (responsible for the Tobin Bridge), oh great. We better be prepared for very little actual maintenance on the Pike when that happens.

It's about time that patronage haven called the Turnpike Authority got squashed. As far as tolls, they should get rid of them all and increase the gas tax. This way, the more you use the roads the more you pay to maintain them.

This is a class big government, no accountability hack move. The Turnpike Authoritory was a profitable hack's paradise until they loaded it up with all the Big Dig debt (that it has no part in creating btw). Even firing a good amount of the patronage folks couldn't save the agency, but they never intended to do that. They just needed some nameless government entity (or one that everyone disliked already) to take the fall for the Big Dig mismanagement.

Now the shell game continues. Let's burden MassPort with the problem and kill that agency in 5 years.

I've read somewhere that the tolls west of 128 don't cover the costs of collecting them. Apparently, some of the some of the toll booths in western MA don't collect enough to pay the tolltakers needed to staff them.

So you save money by eliminating a lot of tolltakers and the remaining ones work at the I-84 stop, which is certainly profitable enough to keep open. Not sure how profitable the toll on the NY/MA border would be, but there must be a lot of truck traffic that enters the Pke there from NY.

I don't like the idea of Massport getting control of the Boston area highwways. Why can't it all be lumped into Mass Highway as a way to save money. That's what the original justification was - have a single highway department. Why wouldn't they do this? Smells like a political deal was made here.

Makes sense (cents I hope) to have fewer state agencies collecting tolls. It is not fair, however, to make east/west drivers pay for north/south users of the big dig. The only fair way for Massachusetts motorists to pay for the big dig and highway infrastucture repair is an increase in the gas tax. Gas tax money is easy to collect...tolls have a much higher cost per dollar of revenue generated. The problem is the gas tax money will likely be placed in the general fund to be used by legislators for whatever earmarks they decide...a horrible waste of more tax money.

Pay the 2.2 billion debt with toll money, let me figure this out.....
add the 2 , carry the one....ahhh yes , it will only take 543 years.

I'm tired of hearing people complain about the tolls in the western part of the state. You chose to live there knowing there are toll roads, as well as non toll roads, to commute to and from the city. As a resident of the South Shore, I didn't have a choice when the MWRA decided to make me pay to clean Boston Harbor. The fees have gone through the roof. Everyone in the state shares the pain, but it looks like the folks in the greater Boston are will take on a larger piece very soon. This is not fair. Who is fighting for us?

This new "solution" reeks of unfairness...and politics
1. Raise tolls (Again) on Mass Pike to/from Weston and TWT...but no impact (Again) for those who use 93N from South Shore or 93S from North Shore/NH??? Ridiculous. Where is the fairness in this "Commonwealth" ???
2. Give Mass Turnpike Authority to MassPort. Is this the same Massport that charges $22/day to park a car?
As an alternative, why not finally get smart? Fix the Roads, Fix the Bridges, Remove the Tolls. Add a nickel (or maybe a dime) to the gas tax.. A nickel adder is 2% on $2.49/gallon gas....to be shared by those who actually use the Roads and Bridges. Even with the adder, MA gas is still cheaper than CT or NY, and the roads and debt are financed. Done.

How about selling snacks and drinks at the Toll booths- even lottery tickets! I'm on a roll...........

Scott, if you're right then that is just fine with me. End result, two fewer useless state bureaucracies than we started with. It won't fix the big dig fiasco, but it will fix some other problems.

As for highway finance, tolls on 93 are the ONLY equitable way to cover the debt service (in addition to keeping the existing metro highway tolls, east of 128).

Many of you are talking about slapping on a gas tax...the Federal governemnt is also considering that, oh maybe a whole dollar....that plus an additional Mass gas tax brings us where? Right back to 3.30 to 3.60 a gallon.....then what ....we stop driving again and revenue decreases......

Then what? Right back here again.....

Wow, what a great idea...seems like i heard it before, oh yeah, when Gov Romney wanted to do it, only to be stopped by the legislature who care more about politics than the citizens of the commonwealth.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority didn't create the "Big Dig Debt", it inherited it.. Once a "Cash Cow", the "Dig" along with economic bad times has made the MTA an easy target. The MTA had always been one of if not the most profitable Authorities in the State, but the cancerous Dig will soon kill it,
Tolls will increase inside the 128 belt. So what you think is going to happen?
You still need people to collect and manage the tolls. There are a lot of good people only doing their jobs, collecting tolls, taxes, for the people of this state.
They will be absorbed by MASSPORT, legatee of the BIG DIG, and rightfully so. MASSPORT Collects Tolls on the Tobin Bridge, and their union scale is higher than MTA,
The Patrick Administration should take a real look at all agencies. This State is like an iceberg: the 10% that is in view of the public, MTA, MPA, MBTA, MWRA... are constantly under fire. Look at the other 90% and see the real waste. Walk into any state building, 1 Ashburton Place, pick a registry of deeds, and you'll see your real hackerama!
MTA is Deval Patrick's Big Smokescreen.

I live close to exit 1 (West Stockbridge). I would absolutely have no problem with tolls being reinstated on the western part of the turnpike. Most cars I see on that stretch of road have either NY or CT plates on them. Why should they get a free ride?

Closing the tolls west of 128 allows them to get rid of some of these $70,000 a year toll collectors. The rest of the pike should see fast lanes in EVERY lane, and people not using the transponder paying more, since it costs more to process their toll (see $70,000 toll collectors).

Moving it from from one unaccountable government authority to another untouchable government authority accomplishes nothing. It's just shifting the deck chairs on the Titanic.

Eliminating tolls for someone driving from Worcester to Natick doesn't help much. Only if they eliminate the toll at 128 entirely does it do the commuters in from central and western mass any good. We're still paying for improvements to a road I-93 that we don't use.

By the way, since when is 128 a state border - oh, yeah, the pols in Boston don't think anyone outside of Boston lives in their state.

Somehow 25 years ago, Connecticut was able to eliminate tolls on I-95, what used to be called the Connecticut Turnpike along with tolls on the Meritt and Wilbur Cross Pkwys. How did they do it? Of course they did not have a Big Dig scandal but did reconstruct nearly all of these roads over a 20 year period.
I think the tolls at the state line should be eliminated as well. It's bad to PR.
Has NY State considered eliminating tolls on the Thruway?
It can be done.

What will the poor toll booth employees do? where else can they find a job that pays $50K a year and requires the aptitude of a trained monkey. On second hand that's an insult to a trained monkey.

Another cloud of smoke from under the Golden Done! Patrick is smoooth.

Noah----I proposed this plan in September 2003 and it was adopted by the Turnpike Board on a 4 to 1 vote. The one negative vote was mine as the Board voted to study the impacts of my idea/proposal. The study cost $1million and we never heard from them again; Brian McGrory wrote this story in early Sept. 2003. its a great savings for the people west of Route 128. it does not need legislative approval as it is set forth in MGL Ch. 81A the enabling act of the MTA. should be interesting how the MPA handles this issue. they do have the money though.

If we sell enough gas to add $0.05 - $0.15 to a gallon of gas and everyone gets better roads, I am all for it as long as the statute authorizing the tax mandates that it be placed in a special fund managed by the State Treasurer and that none of it can be used for any other purpose until the big dig is paid off. Does anyone know how many gallons of gas are sold in MA every day? I don't know where to find that data but since we already have an agency collecting $ from every gallon of gas, this solution is too efficient for the hacks to allow Gov. Patrick to pass.

Do you actually think moving the problem from one Hack Laden authority to another is going to fix the issues?

What a joke!!! Pick your thief......would you rather be robbed by the Pike or the Port?

In case you all forgot: Massport was told by Romney to come more in line with what the rest of the state was doing for retirement. Okay so there is no more retire with 8 million sick hours but it hasn't changed that much!!

Take a look at Massports payroll before you vote on it Deval!!!

What a JOKE!!!

If they started paying the booth operators what they are worth [half of what they are currently paid (which is now an average of $71,000 and as high as $91,000) ] and opened the jobs up to the general public (not hack relatives), Governor Patrick would need to call in the National Guard because the line of applicants would be so long.

Without eliminating one job, that would save over $15 million per year plus safe millions more in retirement bennies.

Let’s get rid of all the tolls for a toll road that was paid for in full years ago. Then raise the gas tax and establish a fund to create a new highway to get through Boston since it will need to be replaced in ten years or less with all the water leaks. Please bring back civil service so that those who obtain there positions due to familial relationships will not be allowed do so. Its time we employ people in public service who are competent, capable and qualified. One it’s fair, it’s the right way to do things and it will restore the public trust.

About the Thruway since Joe brought it up. Like the Pike tollpayers from a certain part of the state (Upstate/Buffalo area) pay tolls to subsidize projects in New York City. Why should Metrowest continue to pay for a project that benefits Boston? Let Boston pay for their hole in the ground.

Of course I'd rather pay for the roads with gas taxes that collect equally from all users of the roads, but this is a step in the right direction.
Paul, I'd rather be robbed by the Pike OR the Port than BOTH. Enough with the negativity - it stinks and it sucks. Deval Patrick deserves a LOT of credit here for having the stomach to do the right thing and save the taxpayers money. It takes real stones to go after entrenched agencies and things like police details at construction sites. We've gotten more fiscally conservative government from Democrat Deval than we got from putative outsiders like Mitt. Talk is cheap, Mitt! Government is serious business, and these are serious times. Taxes are the price we pay to live in a civilized society, but $75K toll-taker hack jobs are an insult to us all.

Tolls are an inefficient, they waste time and gas, they are unfair, and are outright dangerous. Metrowest commuters are paying thousands of dollars a year more than even NH and RI commuters do. Either put tolls on EVERY road, or none. I can't imagine that a nickel gas tax will kill anyone and will be much more efficient means of collecting revenue than paying some toll collector an average of $70,000+year. Never mind how dangerous it is going from 2-4 lanes to 4-6 lanes and back to 2-4 lanes at rush hour. It is time that we do away with the the tolls altogether and have a 21st century approach to tax collection.

Deval robs Peter to pay Paul. It makes no sense. Massport should give up the Tobin,and focus on ports (air sea, etc.)
The Pike should run all the toll roads under a tightened leash and the tolls to Stockbridge should remain and even reinstated in the western portions.
The pike is expensive but it is the best road in the northeastern US. I don't mind paying for driving on it.
Give it to Masport and tolls will be used to build runways and fancy terminals.

I know Massachusetts Transit really needs restructuring, but cutting jobs in an economy like this? What is he thinking.