MassDOT Sets Lenox Hearing on Toll Rates| 03:46PM / Monday, September 12, 2016 | |
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LENOX, Mass. — The state Department of Transportation is holding hearings this week on the proposed new gantry prices for all-electronic tolling.
The only hearing in the Berkshires will be held Thursday at District 1 Headquarters at 270 Main St. at 6:30 p.m.
In addition to the hearings, written comments will be accepted for two weeks following the hearings, until 5 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 29.
In October, MassDOT is scheduled to activate all-electronic tolling to collect tolls on I-90 (Massachusetts Turnpike) and the tunnels in the Metropolitan Highway System. All-electronic tolling, or AET, has been in place for vehicles since July 2014 on the Tobin Bridge.
The rates being proposed for public review provide that the cost of driving from one end of I-90 to the other for E-ZPassMA users will drop from the current rate of $6.60 to $6.15. The rates will be finalized on Oct. 6.
The MassDOT Board voted in August to move ahead with plans to completely demolish I-90 toll plazas by the end of 2017 as a milestone in the state's progress toward AET along the Masspike, the Tobin Bridge, and Boston tunnels. AET will "go live" on Oct. 28. The board approved toll demolition contracts, reviewed data security and retention proposals and instructed MassDOT to proceed with public hearings on proposed toll rates designed to be revenue neutral and minimize changes in toll charges for current commuters.
"The AET system will improve driver convenience and safety and reduce greenhouse gas-causing vehicle emissions," said MassDOT Highway Administrator Thomas J. Tinlin. "When toll booths have been removed, AET will allow drivers to maintain regular highway speed as they pass under AET gantries, eliminating the need for drivers to sharply reduce speed and idle in toll booth lines."
Point-to-point tolls may change because of the location of gantries selected by the previous administration and because there will be 16 gantries with the AET system compared with 26 toll plaza locations now. Under the proposed gantry toll rates presented today, just over half of all drivers would see their tolls either decrease or remain the same and another 20 percent of drivers would see an increase of five or 10 cents per trip. Under proposed rates, higher increases would occur on trips that are currently un-tolled, for example, for travel in tunnels headed to the airport or for those drivers in the Newton area where a toll had been removed.
MassDOT officials estimate that the agency will save about $5 million in annual operating costs with AET. The cost of designing and building the physical AET system is about $130 million and toll plaza removal and reconstruction, excluding the Sumner Tunnel, will cost about $133 million. All work to remove toll plazas and reconstruct roadways is to be completed by the end of 2017.
To ensure drivers pay the lowest possible toll rate inside Massachusetts, drivers are encouraged to obtain an E-ZPass MA transponder prior to the launch of All Electronic Tolling.
E-ZPass transponders are available at locations including local Registries of Motor Vehicles, at the E-ZPass customer service center in the Lee Service Plaza (eastbound on I-90; limited hours), or by signing up online for one to be mailed free of charge. There are several ways to set up payments for digital accounts.
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