[131], According to MTA board member Mary Z. Connaughton's blog entry for the Boston Herald, all of the pilgrim-hat signage unique to the Turnpike will be eliminated.

Pike. Interviews | PBS", "Cogliano Sworn In as New Turnpike Chief", "Mass.

[57] Realizing that Boston still needed to be connected to the Turnpike to help reverse its flagging economy and reputation as a municipal has-been, Callahan was tasked in 1955 by the legislature to create an extension into the city designed to facilitate a turnaround of the city's fortunes. [95], After four decades of no new developments, in August 2020, construction began on Parcel 12, and construction was expected to begin within the month at Fenway Center pending a final agreement with MassDOT,[96] leading to planned closure of one lane in each direction for a year. [133], While Massachusetts has used sequential exit numbers since 1964,[134] the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices required that all U.S. states submit plans to transition to milepost-based exit numbering by 2012.

Utilizing the political goodwill he accrued during his tenure as public works commissioner, primarily through extensive patronage hires,[52] Callahan was able to push his idea for the new authority through the Statehouse with ease. Until now", "Get Ready For A Year Of Traffic Restrictions On The Pike Through Back Bay", "Parcel 12 | Boston Planning & Development Agency", "Massachusetts Turnpike project at Boylston Street and Mass. When designing the Central Artery/Tunnel project in the 1970s and 1980s, the horror stories regarding urban renewal projects such as the construction of the old viaduct in the 1950s weighed heavy on the minds of Frederick Salvucci and his team.

[18], As of 2009, toll revenue generated from the Massachusetts Turnpike is to be spent in the section in which it was collected, either the Western Turnpike or the Boston Extension (alternatively named the "Metropolitan Highway System" for administrative purposes).

[8] Most toll plazas were located on the entrance/exit ramps before entering the turnpike itself. [4] The .75-mile (1.21km) underwater section of the Ted Williams Tunnel, which carries the turnpike under Boston Harbor to its eastern terminus at Route 1A by Logan International Airport, is reduced to four lanes.

In the narrowest portion of the project, known as the "throat", the Charles River Bike Path will be put on a boardwalk over the river, and roadway shoulders will be narrowed by a collective four feet for a short length to avoid any permanent filling of the river.

[30][41][42] Overhead gantries between most exits read E-ZPass transponders.

The original western terminus of the turnpike was located at Route 102 in West Stockbridge before I-90 had been completed in New York state. [53][54], Because of the financial strain created by the bond issues used to construct these other highways, the Commonwealth was unable to afford the costs of floating more bonds to fund the expenditures required to construct the Western Expressway along the Western Approach corridor of Boston. [102] The state conducted a study to determine the feasibility of such a project in 2018;[102] land occupied by a service plaza and a maintenance facility (both in Blandford) and Algerie Road in Otis have been suggested as locations for a potential exit.

Drivers without a transponder use pay-by-plate, having their license plate photographed and an invoice sent to the registered owner. [87] Among other objectives, guidelines established by the "Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston" in 2000 recommend that the proposed use of the parcels "[foster] increased use and capacity of public transportation" and "[reinforce] the vitality and quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods". [126][failed verification], The Turnpike Authority also owned the Callahan Tunnel and the Sumner Tunnel, the other two road connections between downtown Boston and East Boston under Boston Harbor. ", "Yes, Those New Electronic Toll Gantries on the Mass. [37] Citing federal highway regulations that prohibit sponsorship of toll plaza signage, the contract with Citizens Bank was not renewed upon expiration; the Fast Lane name was replaced with the E-ZPass branding, with which Fast Lane was interoperable, in 2012. He commissioned a study to produce a new Highway Master Plan for the eastern region, and by 1948 it had been completed.

", "MassDOT narrows possible sites for new Massachusetts Turnpike exit", "State must get Pike project right for Central Mass", "University Wins Land Auction With $151M Bid", "Land at a premium, railroad exploits its air space", "Harvard's Boston Real Estate Move Has Made It 'An Allston University With A Cambridge Campus', "Mass. [86] More recently, the income received from the leased air rights have been used for paying off the Big Dig. This new highway would connect the Massachusetts Turnpike to the heart of the city with a 12.3-mile extension of the Interstate.

[9] Following the removal of the toll plazas, exit 15 was reconfigured into exit 15A (now exit 123A) for I-95 and Route 128, and exit 15B (now exit 123B) towards Route 30.

However, before Callahan could oversee the completion of the southern leg of Route 128, he was appointed by Dever to run the newly formed Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.

[64][65], Logue was in many ways the equal to Callahan; a driven man who sought the power to get things done as the head of a semi-independent authority whose structure had been modeled on Callahan's Turnpike Authority. These three projects, totaling more than US$92 million (US$913 million in 2014, adjusted for inflation) were seen as being essential to the growth of the city in the future. Callahan suggested creating a strong, independent, and semi-public transportation authority that could fund the new expressway by floating its own bond issues and financing them through tolls along the highway while having its own powers of eminent domain to secure the land needed to build it. [9] The turnpike crosses the Sudbury River between exit 111 at Route 9 and exit 117 at Route 30, all located within Framingham. [4] Before being renumbered exit 131 in both directions, exit 18 was a left-hand eastbound exit and westbound entrance, and exit 20 was a westbound exit and eastbound entrance; a mainline toll plaza was previously placed in between them for through traffic, and was classified as "exit 19".

In the November 9, 2006, edition of The Boston Globe, Romney announced his intention to try to remove the tolls before Governor-elect Deval Patrick, a Democrat, was inaugurated in January 2007, but this did not occur. [56], While the highway construction boom proved to be fortunate for the suburban communities these new roadways passed through, the economy of Boston was still in a fragile state. [84], Much of the air space ("air rights") over the Boston Extension has been leased to third parties for commercial development. The turnpike was maintained by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority until the department was replaced by the Highway Division of MassDOT in 2009.

[121], Under a plan to save state funds, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) announced plans to close eleven of its branches in leased locations and move the operations into facilities owned by MassHighway and the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority located in toll plazas, visitor centers, and offices.

Also, because the MTA Board is composed of Romney appointees, Kriss's former association with the Romney administration and the ongoing election at the time, the issue was clouded by accusations of partiality and political agendas from both sides of the aisle.

[16] Before being renumbered exit 123 in both directions, exit 14 was an eastbound exit and westbound entrance, and exit 15 was a westbound exit and eastbound entrance; prior to demolition, a mainline toll plaza existed for through traffic. Mitigation efforts would be of utmost importance in moving ahead with the project. [35] It was first sponsored by BankBoston, and later FleetBoston Financial, before sponsorship was assumed by Citizens Bank in 2003. [136] In November 2019, MassDOT announced that statewide milepost-based exit renumbering would begin in Western Massachusetts in summer 2020. This proposed development stood square in the middle of the Boston leg of Callahan's planned Turnpike extension, and could possibly kill his proposed extension. The issue of the removal of the tolls is highly charged politically. [125] The new Transportation Department began operations on November 1, 2009. This led to failed series of bond issues that critics hoped would prevent the Turnpike Authority from raising the needed funds for construction. ", "Official Massachusetts Transportation Map", "2015 Triennial Inspection: Metropolitan Highway System", "Weston: Newly Constructed Ramp Opens Friday, June 23", "I-90: Mass Turnpike (Route 16, Newton, to Route 1A, East Boston)", "Man killed as car goes airborne in Pru tunnel", "Travel Service Plazas & Tourist Information Center", "Transportation Budget in Plain Language Explanation of MassDOT Funding Sources", "Update: Westernmost Pike tolls will return, but how much will they be? The eastern terminus of the turnpike was originally at I-95 in Weston, it has been extended several times: to Allston in 1964, to the Central Artery (designated as I-93, US 1, and Route 3) in Downtown Boston in 1965, and to East Boston as a route to Logan International Airport in 2003 as part of the "Big Dig" megaproject. [64][66] Logue, who was responsible for many urban renewal projects in Boston at the time, including the construction of Storrow Drive and the West End redevelopment project, realized the Prudential project was essential to Boston's redevelopment efforts. [39] The stated goal of the change was to "make vehicle travel safer and more efficient". [107][108] The preliminary design plan called for the turnpike to be realigned at-grade and off of the existing viaduct, and for the adjacent Soldiers Field Road to be partially realigned onto a new viaduct above the turnpike and off of the existing at-grade roadbed.

Since 2001, the Turnpike Authority had come under fire from state politicians in a fight for control of the quasi-state agency. [40] Additional changes included the elimination of toll booth operators, as well as the demolition of existing toll plazas and reconfiguration of surrounding roadways. [13] Beyond the peak elevation and between the exits, an eastbound runaway truck ramp exists in Russell. ", "New Mass. [38], In 2014, Raytheon won a $130million contract to convert the Massachusetts Turnpike to all-electronic open road tolling. [89] Other projects developed through air rights include the Newton Plaza Hotel in Newton,[90][91] the Copley Place shopping mall in Boston,[91][92] and the Prudential Center in Boston. The turnpike is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, while I-90 in full (which begins in Seattle, Washington) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States. Its assets were all transferred to the new MassDOT agency as part of the restructuring of agencies. The year 1968 saw the beginning of the first major expansion of the Turnpike after the completion of the Boston extension in 1965. [64][68], Adding to the problems associated with the Prudential project, during 1960 and 1961 there was a series of allegations made against Callahan claiming he had been engaging in illegal activities related to his second tenure as Public Works Commissioner.

On top of the legal allegations, a group of three professors from MIT and Harvard made public allegations that the Turnpike Authority had been using inflated numbers to push through its bond issues, thus artificially inflating their values.

This concept was originally designed to "knit together communities" that were divided by the new highway,[85] since the turnpike had been described as "wider and more divisive to the city" than the original Central Artery. [18] Compensating for the sparsity of eastbound entrances and westbound exits in Back Bay and Downtown Boston, a westbound U-turn ramp heading eastbound was opened in Allston in 2007;[19] while unsigned with an exit number, it was recognized as exit 20A for administrative purposes. One incarnation of the pilgrim hat shield had a Native American arrow sticking through the pilgrim hat. The Massachusetts Turnpike is informally divided into two sections by MassDOT: the original 123-mile (198km) "Western Turnpike" extending from the New York state border through the interchange with I-95 and Route 128 at exit 123 in Weston, and the 15-mile (24km) "Boston Extension" that continues beyond exit 123 through Boston.

As U.S. News and World Report stated, Boston was "dying on the vine". [10][9] The last connection with another Interstate Highway on the Western Turnpike is located in Weston, at the I-95 and Route 128 concurrency. [115] In July 2019, MassDOT announced that the state would be moving ahead with preferred design for overhaul of I-495-Mass Pike interchange consisting of a series of "flyover ramps" that would eliminate the interweaving of traffic that causes bottlenecks and crashes at the interchange.

[101], The construction of an exit between exit 10 (former exit 2) in Lee and exit 41 (former exit 3) in Westfield, separated by a 30-mile (48km) gap, has been controversial since the 1960s.

[34] While most toll plazas were located on the entrance/exit ramps by the turnpike, exceptions included the mainline toll plazas in West Stockbridge, Weston, and AllstonBrighton. In the 1960s, the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority intended to route the highway through the parking lot of the supermarket's previous location in the city; this alignment was ultimately approved by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, under the condition that a replacement Star Market was allowed to be built above the turnpike. [49] Boston retail stalwarts such as Filenes and Jordan Marsh had decided to focus their energies and growth into the suburbs; Boston's citizens had begun to flee to the same suburban pastures as property taxes in the city skyrocketed. [124] In addition, MassDOT oversees the RMV, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), regional transit authorities, and the state aeronautics commission.

[110], In September 2021, after much public criticism of the viaduct and river impact during construction, a new final design was announced, which keeps the Turnpike and Soldiers Field Road at-grade.

The bill also gave Logue's BRA considerable powers over the redevelopment project, allowing him to rapidly move forward with permit approvals and tax issues.

The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruled that the Turnpike was "not part of the machinery of the government" and therefore not subject to Swift's decisions. [61] Affected property owners within Boston who were also looking at the possibility of losing their homes and business followed Newton's lead by filing a series of state and federal lawsuits that they hoped would derail the proposed extension.

[83] Exit 94 (former exit 10A) in Millbury connects the turnpike to Route 146 and US 20 via the Route 20 Connector, which in turn facilitates movement between Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island; construction began in 1996 and was opened in 1998 before being completed in 1999.

[139], Toll road and Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, United States, "Interstate 90 in Massachusetts" redirects here.

[10] The 30-mile (48km) gap between exit 10 to US 20 in Lee and exit 41 to US 202 and Route 10 in Westfield (the first in Hampden County) is the longest gap between exits on the turnpike,[11] and the fifth-longest gap between exits in the entire Interstate Highway System.

[86] There are 23 parcels of air space over the highway, the majority of which have not been developed. [123], Under legislation signed into law by Gov.

[127] Upon completion of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project, all tunnels constructed as part of the Big Dig, including the O'Neill Tunnel segment of I-93, were transferred to its control. Deval Patrick on June 26, 2009, the turnpike was folded into a new super-agency that controls all surface transportation in the state.

Known for his strong personality and drive to get projects completed,[52] Callahan immediately set out to construct three of the proposed highways (not including what would become Interstate 495, which had been included in the 1947 plan): the "original outer" circumferential highway which became Route 128, the Southeast Expressway, and the Central Artery through the heart of the Boston's downtown. [71] By 1965 the Massachusetts Turnpike had been connected to the Central Artery, and the Prudential Center was on its way to completion; however, Callahan did not live to see this. Like the first Turnpike extension, the connection of the Turnpike to East Boston was also designed to provide an economic stimulus to the city, this one to revitalize the desolate Seaport district.[74]. Mihos and Levy had cast votes on the board to postpone a toll hike.

When guide signs on I-95 and I-495 are replaced, the "Mass Pike" signage will be replaced with pilgrim hat shields. While the original design of the roadway called for an eight-lane expressway along the majority of the route, it was only constructed as a four-lane roadway along most of its length until it reached the junction of Route 9 in Framingham, where the roadway expanded to six lanes. The Fast Lane electronic toll collection system was introduced alongside cash payment in 1998; it was later folded into the E-ZPass branding in 2012. [103], The "I-90 Allston Multimodal Project"[104] is a plan to replace a deteriorating viaduct in Allston by redeveloping the turnpike through the land of the former CSX Transportation's Beacon Park Rail yard, which is now owned by Harvard University,[105][106] along with improvements to the MBTA's Framingham/Worcester Line.

[14], After almost 50 miles of relative ruralness, I-90 has an interchange that leads to the separate routes of I-91 and US 5 at exit 45 in West Springfield;[9] it passes over the Connecticut River before reaching Route 33 at exit 49 and I-291 at exit 51, both in Chicopee. It was only after a series of meetings between Volpe, Callahan and Prudential executives that the governor was finally persuaded to withdraw the ICC filing and reluctantly support the toll road. [77] This effort culminated in Amorello's resignation on August 15, 2006. The turnpike begins at the New York state line in West Stockbridge, linking with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway. [137] The work began along I-90 during the week of December 13, 2020, starting from Weston (I-95) and working westward before renumbering the exits inside the 95 and towards the airport.

[27] Members of the Massachusetts Legislature Transportation Committee cited the potential need to amend state law and the uncertainty of how the turnpike would be maintained as setbacks to the toll removal, which ultimately never came to fruition.[28]. It was realized early on that the Commonwealth could not just lay waste to parts of the city and pave them over; the state would have to ensure that construction would balance the needs of the highways against the livability of the city and neighborhoods the project would pass through. However, the legislature instead sought to keep Amorello on board by extending the terms of various board members to prevent Romney from removing Amorello. Romney continued to press the legislature to give him the power to remove members from the board, specifically the chairman, pointing to a series of financial and construction mishaps over the last several years.

[70] With the new deal in place, a not-guilty finding in the criminal case, and public relations push-back to the allegations of market tampering by the Turnpike Authority, the bond measures were once again seen as a sound investment and investors quickly picked up the $175 million (US$1.4 billion in 2014, adjusted for inflation) bond issuance. Starting in 1968 the highway from the Interstate 84 interchange in Sturbridge to Route 9 was widened from its original four lanes to six; that widening project was completed around 1971. [43][44] Installation of gantries began in January 2016, and open road tolling began on October 28, 2016. [60] Newton, through the terms of two mayors, set about fighting the Turnpike proposal through a series of increasingly futile legislative maneuvers in the General Court.