The Massachusetts Turnpike (locally called "Mass Pike " or " Pike ") is a highway in the state of Massachusetts, USA, maintained by the Department Massachusetts Transportation (MassDOT). Covering 138 miles (222 km) along the west-east axis, it is the easternmost section of Interstate 90 (I-90), which begins nationally in Seattle, Washington. The highway is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, while the full I-90 is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States.
Construction began in 1955, and toll roads opened in 1957; it was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System in 1959. The original western terminal is located on Route 102 in West Stockbridge. Since 1959, the highway has started in West Stockbridge as an I-90 transition from the Berkshire Connector section of the New York State Thruway in Canaan, New York. This intersects several Interstate Highways as it crosses the country, including I-91 in West Springfield; I-291 at Chicopee; I-84 in Sturbridge; junction I-290 and I-395 in Auburn; and I-495 in Hopkinton. The original eastern Terminus is located on Route 128 (now coinciding with I-95) in Weston; it was extended through Allston in 1964, and into the Central Artery (now designated as I-93, US 1, and Route 3) in Boston City Center in 1965. The "Big Dig" megaproject is reserved for the construction of Ted Williams Tunnel, which has brought the toll road to the east terminal is currently on Route 1A outside Logan International Airport since 2003. As Interstate Highway, this highway is equipped by I-190 and I-290 as an additional Interstate Highway.
The toll road was originally administered by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, which, after experiencing an administrative conflict in early 2000, was replaced by the newly formed MassDOT in 2009. The execution and removal of tolls on several highways has been controversial; Nowadays, traveling between most, but not all, outs requires payment. The Quick Track toll collection system was introduced simultaneously with cash payments in 1998; it was then folded into E-ZPass branding in 2012. The original toll gates were destroyed and replaced by toll gantries with a transition to open roads strafing in 2016, replacing cash payments with "pay-per-plate" bills.
Video Massachusetts Turnpike
Route description
The Massachusetts Turnpike is unofficially divided into two parts by MassDOT: a 123-mile (198 km) Western Turnpike stretching from the border of New York state through junctions with I-95 and Route 128 at exits 14 and 15 in Weston; and "Boston Extension" along the 15 miles (24 km) that continues after exit from 14 and 15 through Boston. This is a four-lane highway from the border of New York state through an intersection with I-84 at exit 9 in Sturbridge; it extends to six lanes outside this exchange, and briefly travels with eight lanes from exit 17 at Newton via exit 22 by Prudential Center in Boston. The bottom of the sea 0.75 miles (1.21 km) from Ted Williams Tunnel, which carries the toll road under Boston Harbor to its eastern terminal on Route 1A by Logan International Airport, is reduced to four lines. There are 11 service plazas along the motorway; each including Gulf gas station, Gulf Express convenience store, and toilets, with fast food that varies by location. Lee, Blandford, Ludlow and Charlton have a number of service plazas in both directions, Westborough and Framingham facilities are only accessible west, and the Natick service plaza is accessible only from the east.
Western Turnpike
In the west, the highway begins where the Berkshire Connector section of the New York State Thruway in Canaan, New York (designated as I-90) enters Massachusetts via Berkshire County and becomes a highway in West Stockbridge. Most plaza tolls, now dismantled, are located at the entrance/exit ramps before entering the toll road itself. The exception is the mainline West Stockbridge toll road, designed for collection of tolls from incoming traffic from New York; it exists shortly after exit 1, the only entrance to the east and the exit to the west in Massachusetts. It crossed the Williams River then in West Stockbridge, and passed the Housatonic River in Lee. The distance of 30 miles (48 km) between the 2 to 20 US exit at Lee and exit 3 to US 202 and Route 10 at Westfield (the first in Hampden County) is the longest distance between the exit on the highway, and the longest seventh gap between exit doors throughout the Interstate Toll Road system. The highest altitude on the highway is in The Berkshires, reaching 1,724 feet (525 m) above sea level at Becket; this point is also the highest elevation on I-90 east of a height of 1729 feet (527 m) in Oacoma, South Dakota.
The expressway has an intersection with I-91 and US 5 at exit 4 in West Springfield; past the Chicopee River before reaching I-291 at exit 6 at Chicopee, and across the Quaboag River at Palmer. The first highway exit to Worcester County in Sturbridge, where exit 9 is east terminal I-84. In Auburn, exit 10 deposit traffic into transition route I-395 traveling south and I-290 heading east. The Blackstone River flows beneath the highway at Millbury, where it has an intersection with Route 146 and a second direct connection to US 20 at exit 10A. Entering Middlesex County in Hopkinton, it cuts off with I-495 at exit 11A. The highway crosses the Sudbury River between exit 12 on Route 9 and exit 13 on Route 30, all located in Framingham. The last connection with the other Interstate Highway at the Western Turnpike is located in Weston, on I-95 and Route 128 concurrency. This multi-part exchange is collectively referred to as the "Weston toll". Exit 14 is the eastern entrance and west entrance, and exit 15 is the exit to the west and the entrance to the east; before demolition, the mainline-toll plaza exists to pass through traffic. After removal of the toll, exit 15 is reconfigured to 15A out for I-95 and Route 128, and exit 15B to Route 30. At this intersection, the highway crosses the Charles River.
Boston Extensions
The first exit from Boston Extension, exit 16 is the entrance to the east and the exit to the west on Route 16 in Newton. The highway entered Suffolk County in Boston before reaching "Allston-Brighton toll", depositing traffic to the Boston neighborhood at Allston and Brighton, and the nearby town of Cambridge. Exit 18 is the left entrance to the east and the west entrance, and exit 20 is the exit to the west and the entrance to the east; an earlier mainline toll plaza was placed between them for traffic, and was classified as "exit 19". Compensation for the entrance distance to the east and the exit to the west at Back Bay and Downtown Boston, a west-to-east turnaround was opened at Allston in 2007; while unsigned with an exit number, it is recognized as exit 20A for administrative purposes. The motorway crosses the Muddy River over the Allston-Brighton freeway.
Exits 22 and 22A are located inside the Prudential Tunnel, which takes the highway under the Prudential Center; the first is the eastward exit to Prudential Center and Copley Square, while the latter is the entrance west of Clarendon Street. Outside the Prudential Tunnel, exit 24 is labeled as the sole exit leading west, but is divided into three ramps for travel eastward; exit 24A is the left exit to the South Station, while the 24B and 24C exits are directed towards I-93 to the north and south, respectively. The highway runs below Fort Point Channel before reaching South Boston at exit 25, after it enters Ted Williams Tunnel to pass under Boston Harbor. Exit 26 to Logan International Airport is the only way out in Ted Williams Tunnel, before the highway exits the tunnel and merges onto Route 1A northwards towards Revere.
Air rights
Much of the air space ("air rights") over the Boston Extension has been leased to third parties for commercial development. The concept was originally designed to "knit together communities" shared by new highways, since toll roads have been described as "wider and more divisive to the city" than the original Artery Center. Recently, income received from air lease rights has been used to pay off Big Dig. Currently, there are 23 areas of air space on the highway, most of which have not been developed. Among other purposes, the guidelines set by the "Vision of Civil Society for Air Rights in Boston" in 2000 recommended that the proposed use of the package "[increase] the use and capacity of public transport" and "[reinforce] the vitality and quality of life in adjacent environment ".
The Star Market (briefly renamed Shaw's Supermarket) in Newton is the earliest example of commercial construction on the highway. In the 1960s, the Massachusetts Civil Authority Authority intends to route the highway through the parking lot at the previous supermarket location in the city; This alignment is finally approved by the Supreme Judicial Court, provided that a replacement Star Market is permitted to be built on toll roads. Other projects developed through air rights include the Crowne Plaza (Sheraton Hotel until 2009) at Newton, Copley Place shopping center in Boston, and Prudential Center in Boston. Proposals for future air rights projects include the mixed Fenway Center, and an extension of the Boston University campus near Boston University Bridge.
Maps Massachusetts Turnpike
Tolls
In 2009, toll revenues generated from the Massachusetts Turnpike will be spent in parts where collected, either Western Turnpike or Boston Extension (or named "Metropolitan Highway System" for administrative purposes). Toll from exit 1 in West Stockbridge via exit 6 at Chicopee was removed by Governor-Bill Weld in 1996, following complaints that the toll collected in West Massachusetts financed Big Dig in Boston; they are finally restored in October 2013.
On the recommendation of former Minister of Administration and Finance Eric Kriss, who suggested that tolls be eliminated along highways with the exception of tunnels leading to Logan International Airport, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chose to remove all tolls west of Route 128 in Weston. in October 2006. Members of the Massachusetts Legislative Transport Committee mentioned the potential need to change state laws and the uncertainty about how toll roads would be maintained as a setback to the elimination of tolls, which ultimately never worked.
The issue of toll removal is highly politically charged. Some members of the Democratic Party of the country declare this as a political maneuver to strengthen the campaign of governor Lt. Governor Kerry Healey, a Republican, who was behind in the poll at the time of the announcement. Also, since the MTA Council was comprised of people appointed by Romney, the former association of Kriss with the Romney government and the ongoing election at that time, the issue was clouded by allegations of political alignment and agenda from both sides of the aisle.
In the November 9, 2006 edition of The Boston Globe, Romney announced his intention to try to clear the toll before Governor-elect Deval Patrick, a Democrat, was inaugurated in January 2007, but this did not happen. In November 2008, Patrick's plan was to wipe out all the tolls west of Interstate 95, except in West Stockbridge and the Sturbridge toll, but this did not happen before the end of his term in January 2015. The state law required a toll to be moved west. of Route 128 when the debts are paid and the roads are in good condition, but MassDOT plans to resume the toll after the bonds are paid off in January 2017, since roads will still require $ 135 million annually for repairs and maintenance.
Tol plaza
Toll roads traditionally use the ticket system for toll collection; a driver will get tickets from on-ramp, which they will hand off to off-ramp and pay tolls based on mileage. While most of the toll plazas are located at the entrance/exit ramps by the expressway, the exceptions include major highways in West Stockbridge, Weston, and Allston-Brighton. Electronic toll collection was introduced as an alternative cash payment with Fast Lane transponder in 1998; when mounted on the vehicle's inner windshield, the equipment will be automatically recognized on a special lane in the toll plaza, and will withdraw the number of tolls from the rider's account. It was first sponsored by BankBoston, and then FleetBoston Financial, before the sponsorship assumed by Citizens Bank in 2003. The previous rider charged $ 27.50 for the hardware itself, even though this charge was removed. Citing federal highway regulations that prohibit sponsorship of toll plaza signs, contracts with Citizens Bank are not renewed after they expire; The Quick Path name is replaced by the E-ZPass brand, with which Fast Lane can be operated, by 2012.
Open the tolling path
In 2014, Raytheon won a $ 130 million contract to convert the Massachusetts Turnpike into an open electronic toll road. The stated purpose of the change is to "make the vehicle trips safer and more efficient". Additional changes include removal of toll booths and toll operators, as well as demolition of toll plazas and reconfiguration of nearby streets. The overhead gantries between most of the exits will read the EZPass transponder. The driver without a transponder will "pay-per-plate", once his plate is photographed and the invoice sent to the registered owner. This payment method adds an additional $ 3 fee per toll transaction, with payments made online, or cash at local retail locations for an additional $ 2.95. Installation of gantry begins in January 2016; The "Go-Live" date is October 28, 2016. The inner segment of the toll gate is destroyed 30 days after this date, allowing traffic speed to be increased. The total demolition of toll gates and reconstruction is completed by the end of 2017, except for Sumner Tunnel.
Since there are no gantries between exits 4 and 7, or between exits 10 and 11, the Massachusetts Turnpike is essentially free between the outlet pairs. Otherwise, the plan is a transition to open a road that reads to a neutral income, which means the toll between any other exit will see only minor adjustments. Tolls will be slightly higher for residents outside the country without EZPassMA transponders, and no-transponder tolls will be even higher.
When all electronic tolling aired on Mass Pike, Tobin Bridge, Callahan Tunnel, Sumner Tunnel, and Ted Williams Tunnel merged with the system and converted to one toll charging in both directions instead of the double expressway in one direction. The Tobin Bridge was converted to an all-electronic tolling for the south only in July 2014.
In addition to the plat information, gantries also collect vehicle speed data, which a MassDOT spokeswoman said "will not use the AET system to issue accelerating violations". Toll data is not a public record that should be disclosed by a Freedom of Information Act request, and MassDOT "All data collected will remain safe and kept confidential." Toll data can be obtained by the subpeona, and law enforcement will be able to determine the license plate number that will generate direct e-mail if detected by the system.
History
Build and open
Plans for the Turnpike date back to at least 1948, when the Western Expressway is being planned. The original part will connect the proposed Inner Belt to Newton with Newton with connection 20 and Route 30 AS for onward westward traffic. Then the extension will take its way to and beyond Worcester. From the start, the corridor was included in the federal plan for the Interstate Highway System, stretching west to the state line of New York and beyond to Albany.
Also included in the route is the planned Springfield Bypass , which has been proposed to provide a bypass of US 20 in the Springfield area. Part of this route (and that of the Turnpike finally) uses gradations from Hampden Railroad that never opened. Similarly, West Stockbridge Bypass provides a new route Route 102 of Route 183 in west Stockbridge to Route 102 east of the state line in West Stockbridge; this last route was built before the Turnpike.
The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority was created in 1952 by a special act of the Massachusetts General Court (legislature) on the recommendation of Dever Governor and Public Works Commissioner William F. Callahan. (1952 Acts and Solutions chapters 354; 1952 Senate Doc 1.) Possible actions are modeled on the basis of the Mystic River Bridge Authority (1946 Acts and Solutions chapter 562), but several changes were made that would prove crucial to fifty years then. Callahan served as chair of the Authority until his death in April 1964.
Construction began in 1955, and the entire four-lane road from Route 102 on the state line to Route 128 (now Interstate 95 in Weston) opened on May 15, 1957.
Establishing and expanding interstate
Determination of Interstate 90 was assigned to Turnpike in 1959 with the completion of plans for the Interstate Highway System. The initial proposal took I-90 in the northern part of the state, along Route 2, but this was rejected for being too expensive. With the completion of the Boston Extension, it was designated as I-90. The Berkshire Thruway opened on May 26, 1959, connecting the western end to the main line of the New York State Thruway south of Albany. Prior to its opening, traffic used Route 22 and US 20 in New York. In the Massachusetts/New York state line one can see where the Turnpike abruptly turned right before stopping on Route 102, as the old sidewalks still exist for Government Turnpike vehicles and State Police vehicles to access this distant highway.
After the political and legal battles associated with the Boston Extension on Route 128, construction began on 5 March 1962, with the selected alignment running next to the Boston and Albany Railroad and reducing the line from four to two tracks. In September 1964, part of Route 128 east to exit 18 (Allston) was opened, and the rest completed on February 18, 1965, taking him to the Central Arteries.
In the 1990s, Governor William Weld took the decision to hand over the Big Dig Boston project assets to the Turnpike Authority. During this time he appointed James Kerasiotes to the Turnpike Authority to continue overseeing authority over the Big Dig project.
In 1991, construction began at the Massachusetts Turnpike extension to Logan Airport, via Ted Williams Tunnel as part of the Big Dig interstate/tunnel project. The final extension opened in 2003; the eastern end of I-90 now merges with Route 1A.
The legislature separates the highway to the west, from the New York border to Interstate 95, and the eastern part of the Metropolitan Highway System, which covers a 15 miles (24 km) stretch of the Turnpike from Interstate 95 to East Boston, Ted Williams, Sumner and Callahan tunnels under Boston Harbor, and I-93 from Southampton Street through the Thomas P tunnel. "Tip" O'Neill and Leonard P. Zakim Bridge to the foot of the Tobin Bridge. The finances for the two parts of the Turnpike are recorded separately.
Responding to the fatalities caused by the collapse of the ceiling from the I-90 connector tunnel to the east that approached Ted Williams Tunnel on July 10, 2006, and in response to the refusal of Turnpike Authority Chairman Matthew J. Amorello (at the time) to resign , Romney took legal action to ask Amorello forcibly transferred as head of the Massachusetts Spinning Authority. This effort culminated in Amorello's resignation on August 15, 2006. The next day, John Cogliano was sworn in as new Chair of the Turnpike Authority by Romney.
On November 27, 2006, departing Attorney General Tom Reilly (Democrat) announced the country would launch a civil suit over the collapse of the ceiling in Ted Williams Tunnel. The Commonwealth will seek over $ 150 million from Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff project manager, builder of Modern Continental Construction Co. and an epoxy manufacturer used to hold the ceiling bolt.
Planned and proposed fixes
Future plans call for re-routing from the highway above the Beacon Park Yard, to free up space and make the roads safer. As of July 2016, the project hopes to break in 2019.
There are proposals to add a way out in Becket, Blandford, Warren, and Oxford since the toll gate move. There is a distance of 30 miles (48 km) between exit 2 (Lee) and exit 3 (Westfield) - the longest gap between the exit on Pike - and 17 miles (27 km) between exit 8 (Palmer) and exit 9 (Sturbridge). If a car loses its exit, it is an hour to return. If the exit was built, the distance from Blandford to Westfield would be 11 miles (18 km) and the distance from Lee to Becket is 7 miles (11 km). Warren's exit will cut the distance in half.
Mass Turnpike uses a sequential number exchange system. Any interaction with the highway is numbered and named, regardless of whether or not an escape route is available. All exchanges should be numbered back to mileage-based numbers with a replacement project of two signs scheduled for 2017 to 2018, however, the project contractor was notified in May 2016 that they may be required to put up new signs with the figures. This is certainly true when new sign-ups begin to rise in June 2017. However, the exit tab is designed to be able to hold the next two and three digits larger in the future.
Government oversight
Massachusetts Turnpike Authority
Since 2001, the Turnpike Authority has come under fire from state politicians in the struggle for control of quasi-state institutions. Beginning in 2001, former Massachusetts Governor Jane Jane Swift (Republican) attempts to fire Christy Mihos, former board member of Turnpike and Jordan Levy, current Vice Chairman of the board.
Mihos and Levy have voted on the board to delay the toll hikes. Swift objected, saying such delays were "fiscally irresponsible" and said the two men were "disrupting the effective daily management of the Authority." Mihos and Levy refused to back down and demanded Swift to retain their position. The Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) ruled that Turnpike "is not part of the government machine" and therefore is not subject to the Swift decision.
Governor Mitt Romney, elected in 2002 during the fiscal crisis, ran on the political platform of downsizing the state government and eliminating waste. Part of this is the removal of the Turnpike Authority. Romney wants to fold the highway to MassHighway, the state highway department, which is operated under the Transport Executive Office. The first step for this is to replace the Chairman of the Board, Matthew J. Amorello with someone who is loyal to the Governor. The governor has the power to appoint members to the council, but the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts (SJC) advises in the advisory opinion that "nothing in GLC 81A explicitly arranges for the transfer and reassignment of the chairman to the" member position. "
Romney presses Amorello to back off. Amorello announced it would do so in 2007, after Romney left the office. Romney continued to pressure the legislature to give him the power to remove members of the council, especially the chairman, pointing to a series of financial and construction accidents over the past few years. However, the legislature instead seeks to keep Amorello on board by extending the terms of various board members to prevent Romney removing Amorello.
Massachusetts Department of Transportation
On January 22, 2009, a board meeting, Turnpike decided to stop charging a one-time $ 25.95 fee for the acquisition of the Fast Lane toll transponder, replacing it with a 50-cent recurring service fee per month. Implementation of a 50-cent monthly fee was canceled after a long delay in the toll plaza on Easter Sunday.
Under the plan to save state funds, the Registry Massachusetts Motor Vehicle (RMV) announced plans to close its eleven branches in leased locations and move operations to facilities owned by MassHighway and the Turnpike Massachusetts Authority located in toll plazas, visitor centers and offices. The closing of the RMV branch is planned for Framingham, Lowell, North Attleboro, Cambridgeside Galleria Mall in Cambridge, New Bedford, Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Southbridge, Falmouth, Eastham, Beverly and Boston. Also, some of the newly increased sales taxes in the state avoided a planned toll increase. The MTA will receive approximately $ 100 million of state funds over the next few years, reducing the need for toll hikes.
Under a law signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick on June 26, 2009, the highway folded into a new super-agency that controls all surface transport in the state. The new agency, Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT), operates all previous highways under the MassHighway and Turnpike Authority as well as eight urban highways previously owned and maintained by the Department of Conservation and Recreation of the state (DCR). In addition, MassDOT oversees RMV, MBTA, regional transit authorities, and state aeronautical commissions. The new Department of Transport started operations on November 1, 2009. According to the blog post of MTA member Mary Z. Connaughton for Boston Herald , all the special hat signs for Turnpike will be removed. However, in a personal correspondence with the AARoads.com road blog, a MassDOT official said that the use of the hat would actually increase. When the sign guides on Interstate 95 and 495 are replaced, the current "MassPike" sign will be replaced with a haj cap shield.
The Turnpike Authority also has the Callahan Tunnel and the Sumner Tunnel, two other road connections between downtown Boston and East Boston under Boston Harbor. After completing the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, all tunnels constructed as part of Big Dig, including the O'Neill Tunnel I-93 segment, are transferred to their controls. Authorities do not receive state or federal government funding. Its revenues come from tolls, leases on air rights and air services, and advertising. Its assets are all transferred to a new MassDOT agent as part of an agency restructuring.
Exit list
References
- Ingraham, Joseph C. "Boston To Chicago; New Section of Thruway Completing Express Routes Between Boston City to Chicago". The New York Times . May 24, 1959. Travel Resorts, page XX1.
External links
- Situs Web Resmi
- Jalan Metro Boston - Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90)
- Daftar Spekulatif Nomor I-90/Mass Pike Masa Depan
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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