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Uncertainty in the air at Pike board meeting

E-mail|Link|Comments () August 20, 2009 12:12 PM

By Matt Collette, Globe Correspondent

One of the final board meetings for the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which Nov. 1 will be incorporated into the new state Department of Transportation, was dominated largely by a sense of uneasiness about the transition.

"Certainly, it is pervasive throughout the entire organization -- anxiety is high and morale is an issue," said Jeffrey B. Mullan, executive director of the Turnpike Authority. "We're changing the status quo, and that is rocky."

Transportation Secretary James A. Aloisi Jr., who chairs the Turnpike board of directors, shared Mullan's concerns, but seemed more optimistic about the future of the Turnpike.

"We're in a time of change, which I think is a useful thing and a good thing," said Aloisi. "Change is turbulent, and that's what we're going through."

The shorter-than-usual meeting was dominated by consideration of several contracts that needed to be approved immediately, including the purchase of salt to be used on the Pike this winter.

The board approved awarding contracts to three vendors who will provide the salt needed on the Turnpike this winter. While prices spiked from 2007 to 2008, they dropped about $50 a ton this year.

The board also voted to pre-approve several measures funded by the state Legislature, most notably a $1.5 million noise barrier to be constructed in Newton. There was some discussion on pre-approving the 2,800-foot-long barrier, with member Mary Z. Connaughton arguing that the authority had decided two years earlier to discontinue building controversial noise barriers.

"No, we decided not to spend our own money on noise barriers," countered Michael P. Angelini, another board member. The board ultimately voted to pre-approve the construction.