The brunt of toll-paying will continue to be an exclusive problem for Mass. Pike drivers and the bane of MetroWest commuters in particular.
Echoing sentiments of the Patrick administration, Secretary of Transportation Bernard Cohen has made one thing clear in recent days: no tolls on Interstate 93, the major route that runs north-south through the state capital.
"Tolls on I-93 are not under consideration and our position has not changed," said Klark Jessen, spokesman for Cohen, yesterday.
The announcement comes to the chagrin of people like Mary Z. Connaughton, who has served on the Mass. Turnpike Authority's toll equity working group since last fall.
Connaughton, who lives in Framingham, sees the Mass. Pike tolls as an unfair fee structure that places a disproportionate fiscal burden on MetroWest commuters. Expanding the tolls to I-93, both north and south of Boston, is a proposal she would like to see fleshed out.
Through tolls, MetroWest commuters have shouldered the brunt of projects like the Big Dig and supported Turnpike infrastructure outside of the region for too long, Connaughton said.
In fiscal 2008, tolls throughout the state raised $294 million in revenue.
That number is dwarfed by a looming funding gap in the state's highway infrastructure. During the next 20 years the state could face a $19 billion funding gap just to maintain roadways, notwithstanding new projects, said Connaughton.
For someone who drives into Boston from Framingham during the work week, the tolls could cost $1,400 annually, she said.
Considering toll money has gone to projects like the Big Dig and supports Turnpike toll infrastructure in the western part of the state, where passenger cars travel on portions of the Pike for free, to have one portion of the state population bearing the brunt of fees is inequitable, Connaughton said.
She was not alone in those thoughts.
In a May letter to the Turnpike Authority, Paul Matthews, executive director of the Westborough-based 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, wrote Pike tolling options should be reviewed and tolling strategies should be developed where daily commuting cost is "more equitable from all directions."
"We're disappointed the option is seemingly being taken off the table despite the state infrastructure needs," said Matthews.
As highways and bridges continue to age, lawmakers should consider a statewide solution to close potential funding gaps, said state Sen. Karen Spilka, D-Ashland.
"If that's off the table then any toll increase should be off the table as well," Spilka said.
However, placing more tolls on non-Pike roads is not a popular notion outside of the MetroWest region. Now, the I-93 idea appears to be dead in the water.
House Minority Leader Bradley Jones, R-North Reading, was not convinced that more tolls would lessen the financial burden on MetroWest commuters.
Interstate 93 runs through his district.
Tolls, he said, are an inefficient way to collect money and pose traffic and environmental problems.
Jones also questioned whether erecting tolls on I-93 would be possible without federal approval.
(Dan McDonald can be reached at 508-626-4416 or dmcdonal@cnc.com.)
