Mass Pike metro to go to Mass Port, rural pike to de-toll except at NY line

Governor Deval Patrick is proposing to abolish the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority - handing over the Metropolitan section to Massachusetts Port Authority (Mass Port) and to de-toll the rural section of the Turnpike west of the MA128 (I-95) circumferential road toward the western outskirts of the Boston metro area. He'd add tolls at the New York state line at the far western end of the Turnpike where it connects to the New York State Thruway.

Tolls on the Metro portion of the Turnpike which includes harbor tunnels would go up drastically in an attempt to carry the debt burden of the Big Dig.

The Metro portion carries about $2,200m in debt much of it Big Dig incurred although the major portion of the Big Dig is untolled. It presently grosses just $175m in tolls per year.

The rural portion has much less debt - less than $200m - but garners about $100m in tolls and $25m in service plaza concession profits. It's a trip toll system with tickets for cash customers and a matching of entry and exit points electronically.

Cars are already free on a long stretch of the western pike.

COMMENT: The Turnpike Authority's possible demise is being treated as almost a done deal by local reporters. None of them address seriously the issue of how the Turnpike's huge debt can be defeased or whether the Metro Turnpike and harbor tunnels can carry that debt.

The obvious fix is to start collecting tolls from the 200k motorists a day benefiting from the Big Dig I-93 tunnels, so that tolls on the undersea tunnels and on the Metro section of Turnpike I-90 don't have to be driven to ridiculous heights.

Even defeasing the debt of the rural section and finding alternative funds for maintenance and operations will be no catwalk.

It remains to be seen how credible is the Patrick proposal and whether the details will fly in difficult financial and political times. Enabling legislation will have to be passed by politicians who may not see the logic or fairness of the plan, or who just can't stand the heat from those who will have to pay for it.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-10-14