With the switch to all-electronic tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike (Mass Pike) set to begin Friday, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) wants drivers to be prepared for a “short-term inconvenience” as the old tollbooths are demolished.
At a news conference Monday, Highway Administrator Tom Tinlin said the final cash payments at the tolls will take place at 9:45 p.m. Friday, with the new electronic system going into effect fifteen minutes later.
Traffic will be diverted to the outside lanes of the Pike while demolition work takes place in the center lanes. This phase will last until November 22. Then, during a second phase, drivers will be diverted to the center lanes while work to demolish the booths in the outside lanes finishes.
Tinlin said traffic is expected to slow down at the 16 gantries and 23 work zones starting Friday night. He urged drivers to slow down in the construction zones, drive during off-peak hours, and even consider taking the train, and told them “the world as you know it is going to look a lot different” next week.
In addition, unseen to drivers, the new system means that tunnels under the toll booths will need to be filled, and the roads themselves, which grade upward on the approach to the tolls, will need to be leveled off.
Under the new tolling system, drivers’ E-ZPass transponders will be scanned, or a photo of their license plate will be taken and they will be billed via an orange envelope in the mail.
Officials from Raytheon, the company that installed the new electronic toll gantries, said they had installed similar systems in 20 other locations around the world. They claim the new system will improve traffic safety and lessen congestion.
