Are Tolls a Good Way to Finance Roads?

Drivers who live in the towns and cities along the Massachusetts Turnpike west of Route 128 are used to paying tolls.

However, in 2009 the state wrote into law a deadline by which the tolls along Interstate 90 would be taken down once the state’s highway debt was paid off, the Boston Business Journal reported this week. That anticipated date is Jan. 1, 2017.

The state does plan to get rid of the tollbooths as currently constituted in one form by installing a high-speed all-electronic tolling system that bills drivers as they zip through. This change will take effect as early as next year on the Tobin Bridge.

The BBJ reports that top state Department of Transportation official Richard Davey wants to roll the MassPike tolls west of Route 128 in with this plan, thus canceling the previous plan to get rid of tolling along this section of the Pike altogether.

Do you think tolling is a good way to continue to finance the state’s infrastructure needs, or would it be best for transportation officials to take the tolls down and find another way? Sound off in the comments below.