Pike plan to test new governor

Deval L. Patrick has said it was a plan timed to boost the candidacy of his chief rival, Lieutenant Governor Kerry Healey.

But if he is elected governor on Tuesday, the proposal to abolish tolls on the Massachusetts Turnpike west of Route 128 could be reality .

Six months after the governor's inauguration in January, the tolls would come down, thousands of commuters would rejoice, and the new administration would be forced to deal with the financial and legal ramifications, which some specialists say could throw the state's transit system further into debt.

The Turnpike Authority's board still has to approve the plan in a Nov. 15 vote. Governor Mitt Romney, who appointed four of the five members of the board, has said he is confident the measure will pass.

Removing the tolls would save commuters as much as $5.40 per trip, but cost the authority $114 million in annual revenue. To offset about $40 million of the lost revenue, supporters of the plan say, about half of the turnpike's 400 toll collectors would be laid off.

The cost of running and maintaining the western portion of the turnpike -- all but 15 miles of the 138-mile highway -- would fall to the Highway Department, which answers to the governor. The Legislature would have to repay the $199 million the Turnpike Authority owes in bonds.

On Beacon Hill, the complaints have already begun that the plan, while popular among toll-weary commuters, could harm the state's finances.

"Let's make the decision based on the facts and the law, not based on politics," said Senator Steven A. Baddour , a Methuen Democrat and Senate chairman of the Transportation Committee. "It might be appropriate, but let's study it and let's make sure it doesn't have a negative impact on the finances of the whole transportation network."

The plan to abolish the tolls emerged Oct. 18 when the Turnpike Authority board tentatively approved the plan and ordered a legal and financial review. The vote was 5 to 0. Healey announced the news to the press, leading some to speculate that the proposal had been engineered to help her candidacy.

In a gubernatorial debate at Faneuil Hall on Oct. 19, Patrick said, "It was very, very questionable coming as it does on the eve of the election."

Healey defended the plan.

"This is not a political ploy," she said during the debate. "We have the money to pay off the debt. This is a certainty."

Last week, a special commission examining the finances of the state's transportation system urged the Turnpike Authority to slow plans to scrap the tolls. Members of the panel warned that the state could not afford to lose $114 million in revenue.

"It's just too much money. It's a bad idea as we understand it," said Stephen J. Silveira , chairman of the Transportation Finance Commission. "We see no need to rush judgment."

Despite the warnings, Eric Fehrnstrom , a spokesman for Romney, said he expected the Turnpike board to approve the plan Nov. 15, which would remove the tolls June 30. Only a vote by the Legislature could reverse the plan, he said. Such a move would probably face strong opposition from lawmakers in the western part of the state whose constituents are thought to be in favor of abolishing the tolls.

"We're moving forward to take down the tolls on the western Pike, which should have been done decades ago," Fehrnstrom said. "Some people want to keep this high-cost transportation bureaucracy in place and throw more money at it. We think the better approach is to take the costs out of the system, and the only way you can do that is by dismantling the old patronage bureaucracy at the Turnpike Authority."

Doug Rubin, spokesman for Patrick, said the candidate is "very open and willing to look at" removing the tolls.

"But you need to really look at the financial picture behind it and whether we can afford it," Rubin said.

Baddour warned the next administration could face a tough situation. He hopes the Turnpike Authority board will postpone its vote.

"Metrowest commuters do pay an unfair share at this point, so there's got to be something to strike that balance," he said. "But to take $100 million out of the transportation system is hard to overcome. We already have the second and third worst roads and bridges in the country."

Michael Levenson can be reached at mlevenson@globe.com.