Massachusetts Turnpike

{{Short description|Toll road and Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, United States}}

{{Redirect|Interstate 90 in Massachusetts|the entire length of the highway|Interstate 90}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2015}}

{{Use American English|date=September 2022}}

{{Infobox road

| state = MA

| type = MATP

| alternate_name = Interstate 90

| map = {{maplink|frame=yes|plain=yes|frame-align=center|frame-width=290|frame-height=230|type=line|raw={{Wikipedia:Map data/Wikipedia KML/Massachusetts Turnpike}}}}

| map_custom = yes

| map_notes = Massachusetts Turnpike highlighted in green

| length_mi = 138.1

| length_ref = {{cite web |url = http://www.eot.state.ma.us/downloads/planning/dataResources/NumRoutesMilePt-District4.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110719020834/http://www.eot.state.ma.us/downloads/planning/dataResources/NumRoutesMilePt-District4.pdf |title = State Numbered Routes with Milepoints in District 4 |publisher = Commonwealth of Massachusetts |archive-date = July 19, 2011 |access-date = June 21, 2017 }}

| established = 1957

| history = Boston Extension added in 1965, and Ted Williams Tunnel in 2003

| restrictions = No hazardous goods and cargo tankers east of exit 131{{cite web |url = https://www.mass.gov/service-details/hazardous-material-route-designation |title = Hazardous material route designation |publisher = Mass.gov |access-date = January 15, 2018 |archive-date = January 16, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180116082921/https://www.mass.gov/service-details/hazardous-material-route-designation |url-status = live }}

|allocation = {{plainlist|1=

  • {{jct|state=MA|I|90|nolink1=yes}} entire length}}

| direction_a = West

| terminus_a = {{plainlist|*{{Jct|state=NY|I|90|NYBC}} at the New York state line}}

| junction = {{plainlist|

  • {{Jct|state=MA|US|20|MA|102}} in Lee
  • {{Jct|state=MA|US|202|MA|10}} in Westfield
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|91|US|5}} in West Springfield
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|291}} in Chicopee
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|84}} in Sturbridge
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|290|I|395|US|20|Route|12}} in Auburn
  • {{Jct|state=MA|US|20|Route|122A|Route|146}} in Milbury
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|495}} at the HopkintonWestborough line
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|95|Route|128|Route|30}} in Weston
  • {{Jct|state=MA|I|93|US|1|Route|3}} in Boston

}}

| direction_b = East

| terminus_b = {{Jct|state=MA|Route|1A}} in Boston

| counties = Berkshire, Hampden, Worcester, Middlesex, Suffolk

| previous_type = MA

| previous_route = 88

| browse_route = I-90

| next_type = I

| next_route = 91

}}

The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike"){{cite web |url = http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/01/04/massachusetts-turnpike-open-road-tolling-weston/ |title = Open Road Toll Structure Now On Mass Pike In Weston |publisher = WBZ-TV |date = January 4, 2016 |access-date = June 19, 2017 |archive-date = November 26, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171126013332/http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/01/04/massachusetts-turnpike-open-road-tolling-weston/ |url-status = live }} is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). It runs concurrently with the entirety of Interstate 90 (I-90) within the state, and is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, spanning {{convert|138|mi|km}} along an east–west axis.

The turnpike opened in 1957, and it was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System in 1959. It begins at the New York state line in West Stockbridge, linking with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway. 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. The turnpike intersects with several Interstate Highways as it traverses the state, including I-91 in West Springfield; I-291 in Chicopee; I-84 in Sturbridge; the junction of I-290 and I-395 in Auburn; and I-495 in Hopkinton. The eastern terminus of the turnpike was originally at Route 128 (now cosigned with I-95) in Weston, it has been extended several times: to Allston in 1964, to the Central Artery (at the time designated as I-95/Route 3; currently designated as I-93/US 1/Route 3) in Downtown Boston in 1965, and to Route 1A in East Boston as a route to Logan International Airport in 2003 as part of the "Big Dig" megaproject. There are two auxiliary Interstate Highways in Massachusetts for I-90, those being I-190 and I-290.

The turnpike was maintained by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) until the department was replaced by the Highway Division of MassDOT in 2009. The implementation and removal of tolls in some stretches of the turnpike have been controversial; travel between most, but not all, exits requires payment. 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. The original toll booths were demolished and replaced by toll gantries with the transition to open road tolling in 2016, which replaced cash payment with "pay-by-plate" billing.

Route description

The Massachusetts Turnpike is informally divided into two sections by MassDOT: the original {{convert|123|mi|km|adj=on}} "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 {{convert|15|mi|km|adj=on}} "Boston Extension" that continues beyond exit 123 through Boston.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/0/docs/infoCenter/financials/RefinanceTR_Study_042710.pdf |title = Massachusetts Turnpike: Metropolitan Highway System |author = Cambridge Systematics |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date = January 28, 2010 |access-date = June 19, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151020221146/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/0/docs/infoCenter/financials/RefinanceTR_Study_042710.pdf |archive-date = October 20, 2015 |url-status = dead }} It is a four-lane highway from the New York state border through its interchange with I-84 at exit 78 in Sturbridge; it expands to six lanes beyond this interchange and briefly travels with eight lanes from exit 127 in Newton through exit 133 by the Prudential Center in Boston. The {{convert|0.75|mi|km|adj=on}} 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.{{cite web |url = https://www.uhaul.com/SuperGraphics/massachusetts/learn-more/the-end-of-the-road |title = Massachusetts SuperGraphic |publisher = U-Haul |access-date = February 17, 2023 |archive-date = April 5, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180405024340/https://www.uhaul.com/SuperGraphics/57/3/Venture-Across-America-and-Canada-Modern/Massachusetts/The-End-of-the-Road |url-status = dead }} The turnpike is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts,{{cite web |first = Kevin |last = Adderly |date = January 15, 2014 |url = https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/planning/national_highway_system/interstate_highway_system/routefinder/table03.cfm?redirect |title = Table 3: Interstate Routes in Each of the 50 States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico |work = Route Log and Finder List |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |access-date = May 20, 2014 |archive-date = April 30, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140430160519/http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/routefinder/table3.cfm |url-status = live }} while I-90 in full (which begins nationally in Seattle, Washington) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States.{{cite web |title = Eisenhower Interstate Highway System, Previous Facts of the Day - 50th Anniversary - Interstate System |publisher = Federal Highway Administration |website = Highway History |date = February 27, 2019 |url = https://highways.dot.gov/highway-history/interstate-system/50th-anniversary |access-date = August 20, 2021 |archive-date = August 8, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200808130349/https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/interstate/previousfacts.cfm |url-status = live }}

=Western Turnpike=

File:I-90EAST approaching Stockbridge tolls.jpg

File:Weston Toll Plaza.jpg

In the west, the turnpike begins in Berkshire County at the Massachusetts state line in West Stockbridge, where I-90 (routed through the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway) enters from Canaan, New York.{{cite web |url = http://blog.timesunion.com/gettingthere/thruway-connectors-name-spurs-question/697/ |title = Thruway connector's name spurs question |last = O'Brien |first = Tim |newspaper = Times Union |publisher = Hearst Corporation |date = March 25, 2010 |access-date = June 19, 2017 |archive-date = July 18, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160718134622/http://blog.timesunion.com/gettingthere/thruway-connectors-name-spurs-question/697/ |url-status = dead }} Most toll plazas were located on the entrance/exit ramps before entering the turnpike itself. An exception was the mainline West Stockbridge toll plaza, designed for toll collection from inbound traffic from New York; it existed shortly after exit 3, an eastbound-only entrance and westbound-only exit in Massachusetts.{{cite web |url = http://ctps.org/pub/Express_Highway_Count_Locations/23_I_90_MA_Turnpike.pdf |title = I-90: Massachusetts Turnpike |publisher = Central Transportation Planning Staff |access-date = June 19, 2017 |archive-date = December 29, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191229064435/https://www.ctps.org/pub/Express_Highway_Count_Locations/23_I_90_MA_Turnpike.pdf |url-status = live }} The turnpike crosses the Williams River later in West Stockbridge and passes over the Housatonic River in Lee.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelActivities.aspx |title = Travel Activities |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = June 19, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170614183824/https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelActivities.aspx |archive-date = June 14, 2017 |url-status = dead }} The {{convert|30|mi|km|adj=on}} 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 entire length of I-90,{{cite web |url = http://wwlp.com/2016/05/17/hilltown-residents-pushing-for-new-masspike-exit/ |title = Hilltown residents pushing for new Mass Pike exit |last = Sacharczyk |first = Tamara |publisher = WWLP |date = May 17, 2016 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = October 23, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171023010607/http://wwlp.com/2016/05/17/hilltown-residents-pushing-for-new-masspike-exit/ |url-status = dead }} and the fifth-longest gap between exits in the entire Interstate Highway System.{{cite web |url = http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/longest-distances-between-exits-on-US-freeways-415029/1#.WUrceMbMxsM |title = Top 16 longest gaps between Interstate exits |last = Carey |first = Anne |work = USA Today |date = August 13, 2011 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = June 30, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170630190754/http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/longest-distances-between-exits-on-US-freeways-415029/1#.WUrceMbMxsM |url-status = live }} The highest elevation on the turnpike exists in the Berkshires, reaching {{convert|1724|ft|m}} above sea level in Becket; this point is also the highest elevation on I-90 east of South Dakota.{{cite web |url = http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/08/18/becket_massachusetts_next_highest_elevation_oacoma_south_dakota_what_does.html |title = What Does This Beloved Road Sign on the Massachusetts Turnpike Actually Mean? |last = Vanhoenacker |first = Mark |work = Slate |date = August 18, 2014 |access-date = June 19, 2017 |archive-date = July 7, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170707130827/http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_eye/2014/08/18/becket_massachusetts_next_highest_elevation_oacoma_south_dakota_what_does.html |url-status = live }} Beyond the peak elevation and between the exits, an eastbound runaway truck ramp exists in Russell.{{cite web |url = https://www.flickr.com/photos/127911565@N06/36985557326 |title = Runaway Truck Ramp |publisher = Flickr |date = September 9, 2017 |access-date = July 20, 2018 |archive-date = July 29, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220729202927/https://www.flickr.com/photos/127911565@N06/36985557326 |url-status = live }}

After almost {{Convert|50|mi|km}} 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; it passes over the Connecticut River before reaching Route 33 at exit 49 and I-291 at exit 51, both in Chicopee. The turnpike passes through Ludlow at exit 54 before crossing the Quaboag River to exit 63 in Palmer. The turnpike first enters Worcester County in Sturbridge, where exit 78 serves as the eastern terminus of I-84.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/maps/StateMap2016.png |title = Official Massachusetts Transportation Map |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180624204402/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/maps/StateMap2016.png |archive-date = June 24, 2018 |url-status = dead }} In Auburn, exit 90 has a two-Interstate interchange with I-395 traveling southbound and I-290 traveling eastbound. The Blackstone River flows underneath the turnpike in Millbury, where it has an interchange with Route 146 and a second direct connection to US 20 at exit 94. Entering Middlesex County in Hopkinton, it has an interchange with I-495 at exit 106. The turnpike crosses the Sudbury River between exit 111 at Route 9 and exit 117 at Route 30, all located within Framingham. The last connection with another Interstate Highway on the Western Turnpike is located in Weston, at the I-95 and Route 128 concurrency. This multipiece interchange is collectively referred to as the "Weston tolls".{{cite web |url = https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/triennial/2015_Triennial_MHS_Report.pdf |title = 2015 Triennial Inspection: Metropolitan Highway System |publisher = TranSystems |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = July 21, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170721203346/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/triennial/2015_Triennial_MHS_Report.pdf |url-status = dead }} 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. 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) toward Route 30.{{cite web |url = https://blog.mass.gov/transportation/uncategorized/weston-newly-constructed-ramp-opens-friday-june-23rd/ |title = Weston: Newly Constructed Ramp Opens Friday, June 23 |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date = June 22, 2017 |access-date = June 27, 2017 |archive-date = June 27, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170627135444/http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/uncategorized/weston-newly-constructed-ramp-opens-friday-june-23rd/ |url-status = live }} At this junction, the turnpike crosses over the Charles River.

=Boston Extension=

File:Eastern Terminus of Interstate 90 Close-Up.JPG

The first exit of the Boston Extension, exit 125, is an eastbound entrance and westbound exit at Route 16 in Newton.{{cite web |url = http://ctps.org/pub/Express_Highway_Count_Locations/24_I_90_Turnpike.pdf |title = I-90: Mass Turnpike (Route 16, Newton, to Route 1A, East Boston) |publisher = Central Transportation Planning Staff |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = December 29, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191229062023/https://www.ctps.org/pub/Express_Highway_Count_Locations/24_I_90_Turnpike.pdf |url-status = live }} The turnpike enters Suffolk County in Boston before reaching the "Allston–Brighton tolls", depositing traffic toward the Boston neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton and the nearby city of Cambridge. This exit is also used to access Soldiers Field Road, a surface parkway that provides local access through central Boston and parallels the Turnpike. 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". Past the tolls, the turnpike reduces to six lanes, heads through the campus of Boston University and passes Fenway Park before crossing over the Muddy River as it approaches the city's central neighborhoods.

Exit 133 and the now-closed Clarendon Street onramp are located within the Prudential Tunnel, which takes the turnpike underneath the Prudential Center;{{cite web |url = http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/03/man_killed_as_car_goes_airborne_in_pru_tunnel |title = Man killed as car goes airborne in Pru tunnel |last = Sweet |first = Laurel |newspaper = Boston Herald |date = March 26, 2017 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = June 8, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170608071407/http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2017/03/man_killed_as_car_goes_airborne_in_pru_tunnel |url-status = live }} the former is an eastbound exit towards the Prudential Center and Copley Square, while the latter is a westbound-only entrance from Clarendon Street. Beyond the Prudential Tunnel, exit 134 is labeled as a singular exit traveling westbound, but splits into three ramps for eastbound travel; exit 134A is a left-hand exit toward South Station, while exits 134B and 134C are directed toward I-93 northbound and southbound, respectively. The turnpike travels under the Fort Point Channel before reaching South Boston at exit 135, after which it enters the Ted Williams Tunnel to pass beneath Boston Harbor.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TheBigDig/TunnelsBridges.aspx |title = Tunnels & Bridges |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170622030807/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TheBigDig/TunnelsBridges.aspx |archive-date = June 22, 2017 |url-status = dead }} Exit 137 to Logan International Airport is the sole exit within the Ted Williams Tunnel, before the turnpike exits the tunnel and meets its eastern terminus at Route 1A northbound toward Revere.

=Service plazas=

class="wikitable sortable"
Location

! Direction

! {{abbr|mi (km)|Miles (kilometers)}}

! class="unsortable" |Services{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelServicePlazasTouristInformationCenter.aspx |title = Travel Service Plazas & Tourist Information Center |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = June 20, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170628051447/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/TravelServicePlazasTouristInformationCenter.aspx |archive-date = June 28, 2017 |url-status = dead }}

rowspan="2" |Lee

|Eastbound

|rowspan="2" |{{convert|8.5|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

}}

Westbound

|{{flat list|

  • EV charging stations
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • McDonald's

}}

rowspan="2" |Blandford

|Eastbound

|rowspan="2" |{{convert|29|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • McDonald's

}}

Westbound

|{{flat list|

  • Gifford's Famous Ice Cream
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • Honey Dew Donuts
  • McDonald's
  • Original Pizza of Boston

}}

rowspan="2" |Ludlow

|Eastbound

|rowspan="2" |{{convert|55.6|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • McDonald's
  • Original Pizza of Boston

}}

Westbound

|{{flat list|

}}

rowspan="2" |Charlton

|Eastbound

|{{convert|80.3|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

  • D'Angelo
  • Fresh City
  • Gifford's Famous Ice Cream
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • Izone
  • McDonald's
  • Papa Gino's

}}

Westbound

|{{convert|83.8|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

  • Auntie Anne's
  • D'Angelo
  • Fresh City
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • Izone
  • McDonald's
  • Papa Gino's

}}

scope="row" |Westborough

|Westbound

|{{nowrap|{{convert|104.6|mi|km|abbr=values}}}}

|{{flat list|

  • Auntie Anne's
  • Boston Market
  • Cheesy Street Grill
  • D'Angelo
  • Dunkin' Donuts
  • Fresh City
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • Papa Gino's

}}

scope="row" |Framingham

|Westbound

|{{convert|114.4|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

  • Boston Market
  • Edy's Ice Cream
  • Fresh City
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • Honey Dew Donuts
  • Izone
  • McDonald's
  • Original Pizza of Boston
  • Starbucks

}}

scope="row" |Natick

|Eastbound

|{{convert|117.6|mi|km|abbr=values}}

|{{flat list|

  • Cheesy Street Grill
  • D'Angelo
  • Dunkin' Donuts
  • EV charging stations
  • E-ZPass MA walk-in service center
  • Gulf
  • Gulf Express
  • Izone
  • McDonald's
  • Papa Gino's
  • Registry of Motor Vehicles Express

}}

File:Ludlow Service Plaza westbound.jpg|Ludlow Service Plaza westbound

File:Lee_Service_Area_on_I-90,_Massachusetts.jpg|Lee Service Plaza eastbound

Tolls

{{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).{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/portals/0/docs/infoCenter/docs_materials/Budget_Plain_English.rtf |title = Transportation Budget in Plain Language Explanation of MassDOT Funding Sources |last = Mullan |first = Jeffrey |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date = December 13, 2010 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233504/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/portals/0/docs/infoCenter/docs_materials/Budget_Plain_English.rtf |archive-date = March 3, 2016 |url-status = dead }}

At the recommendation of former secretary of administration and finance Eric Kriss, who recommended that tolls be eliminated along the entire turnpike except for the tunnels leading to Logan International Airport,{{cite web |url = http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/turnpike_task_force_final_report.pdf |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717015235/http://www.pioneerinstitute.org/pdf/turnpike_task_force_final_report.pdf |title = Turnpike Task Force Final Report |last = Kriss |first = Eric |publisher = Turnpike Task Force |date = October 18, 2006 |archive-date = July 17, 2011 |access-date = June 21, 2017 }} the MTA voted to remove all tolls west of Route 128 in Weston in October 2006.{{cite news |url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/10/19/pike_board_acts_to_end_tolls_west_of_route_128/ |title = Pike board acts to end tolls west of Route 128 |last1 = Misrha |first1 = Raja |last2 = Daniel |first2 = Mac |newspaper = The Boston Globe |date = October 29, 2006 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = August 8, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160808195442/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/politics/candidates/articles/2006/10/19/pike_board_acts_to_end_tolls_west_of_route_128/ |url-status = live }} 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.{{cite news |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/20/ending_pike_tolls_is_called_illegal/ |title = Ending Pike tolls is called illegal |last = Daniel |first = Mac |work = The Boston Globe |date = October 10, 2006 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = March 3, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303220659/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2006/10/20/ending_pike_tolls_is_called_illegal/ |url-status = live }}

In the November 9, 2006, edition of The Boston Globe, Governor Mitt Romney announced his intention to try to remove the tolls before his successor, Deval Patrick, was inaugurated in January 2007, but this did not occur. In 2008, Patrick announced a similar plan to remove most tolls west of I-95,{{Cite news |url = https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20081110/NEWS/311109882 |title = Patrick Planning to Dismantle Mass. Turnpike |first = Glen |last = Johnson |agency = Associated Press |website = MetroWest Daily News |location = Framingham, Massachusetts |access-date = April 23, 2021 |archive-date = April 23, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210423073230/https://www.metrowestdailynews.com/article/20081110/NEWS/311109882 |url-status = live }} but this also did not occur before his term ended in January 2015. State law requires tolls to be removed west of Route 128 when its debt is paid and the road is in "good condition", but MassDOT plans to continue tolls after the bonds are paid off in January 2017, because the road will still need $135 million per year for repairs and maintenance.{{update inline|date=January 2020}}

At a January 22, 2009, board meeting, the turnpike decided to stop charging a one-time $25.95 fee for the acquisition of a Fast Lane toll transponder, replacing it with a 50-cent monthly recurring service fee.

{{cite news |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/01/millions_chose.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090124000143/http://boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/01/millions_chose.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = January 24, 2009 |title = Fast Lane transponders will be free, but users will see a new fee |date = January 21, 2009 |first = Martin |last = Finucane |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = April 3, 2010 }} The implementation of the 50-cent monthly fee was canceled after long delays at toll plazas on Easter Sunday.

{{cite news |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/after_easter_sn.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090425045312/http://www.boston.com/news/local/breaking_news/2009/04/after_easter_sn.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = April 25, 2009 |title = After Easter snafus, Pike puts toll taker layoffs on hold |date = April 22, 2009 |first = Noah |last = Bierman |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = April 3, 2010 }}{{cite news |url = http://wbztv.com/local/free.fast.lane.2.991261.html |title = Fast Lane Transponders Are Now Fee Free |publisher = WBZ-TV |access-date = August 6, 2009 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090428113254/http://wbztv.com/local/free.fast.lane.2.991261.html |archive-date = April 28, 2009 }}

=Tolls=

File:Massachusetts Turnpike Tollbooth - DSC04881.JPG

File:Mass Pike Toll Ticket.jpg

The turnpike traditionally utilized the ticket system for toll collection; a driver would obtain a ticket from an onramp, which they would surrender to an offramp and pay a toll based on traveled distance.{{cite web |url = http://www.gazettenet.com/Automated-Massachusetts-Turnpike-toll-booths-in-testing-phase-3143740 |title = Mass Pike prepares to phase out toll booths |last = Burke |first = Isaac |newspaper = Daily Hampshire Gazette |date = July 1, 2016 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = December 8, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161208081511/http://www.gazettenet.com/Automated-Massachusetts-Turnpike-toll-booths-in-testing-phase-3143740 |url-status = live }} 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 Allston–Brighton. Motorists were previously charged $27.50 (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US|27.50|2003|r=2}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) for Fast Lane transponders, although this fee has since been removed.{{cite web |url = http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/10/27/mass-pike-electronic-tolling-what-you-should-know/ |title = Mass. Pike Electronic Tolling: What You Should Know |publisher = CBS Boston |date = October 27, 2016 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = June 9, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170609041334/http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/10/27/mass-pike-electronic-tolling-what-you-should-know/ |url-status = live }}

When all-electronic tolling went live on the Mass Pike in 2017, the Tobin Bridge, Callahan Tunnel, Sumner Tunnel, and Ted Williams Tunnel joined the system and were converted to charging a single toll in both directions, rather than a double toll in one direction. The Tobin Bridge was converted to all-electronic tolling for southbound only in July 2014.

In addition to license plate information, the gantries also collect vehicle speed data; a MassDOT spokesperson said that the agency "will not be using the AET [all-electronic tolling] system to issue speeding violations".{{cite news |first = Noah R. |last = Bombard |date = July 19, 2016 |title = Yes, Those New Electronic Toll Gantries on the Mass. Pike Are Clocking Your Speed |url = http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/07/yes_those_new_electronic_toll.html |access-date = August 9, 2016 |work = MassLive |archive-date = August 10, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160810011216/http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/07/yes_those_new_electronic_toll.html |url-status = live }} Toll data is not a public record and is not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, and MassDOT states that "All data collected will remain secure and kept confidential." The data can be obtained by subpoena, however, and law enforcement will be able to specify license-plate numbers that will generate an immediate email if detected by the system.{{cite news |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/21/new-mass-gantries-can-alert-authorities-certain-vehicles-pass-through/byLvPAMxstcbfGyYU1i5HP/story.html |date = August 22, 2016 |title = New Mass. Gantries Can Send Authorities Alerts |first = Matt |last = Rocheleau |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = September 5, 2016 |archive-date = August 25, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160825072637/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/21/new-mass-gantries-can-alert-authorities-certain-vehicles-pass-through/byLvPAMxstcbfGyYU1i5HP/story.html |url-status = live }}

History

= Background and construction =

File:Boston, Massachusetts 1955 Yellow Book.jpg

In the period following World War II, Boston had fallen into a deep period of stagnant growth. Its former maritime industries had closed as traffic in the harbor declined, the textile mills that had provided a large portion of the city's wealth had migrated out of the region seeking new locations that would allow them to maximize revenues, and property development had ground to a halt with virtually no new construction of any impact occurring since the beginning of the Great Depression.{{cite book |last1 = Tsipis |first1 = Yanni |year = 2002 |title = Building the Mass Pike |location = Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |publisher = Arcadia Publishing |isbn = 0738509728 |url = https://archive.org/details/buildingmasspike00yann |pages = 9–10 }} Boston retail stalwarts such as Filene's 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. As U.S. News & World Report stated, Boston was "dying on the vine".{{cite book |last1 = Berkman |first1 = Toby |year = 1998 |title = Six Lanes, Five Miles, a Decade of Construction |publisher = The Concord Review |page = 200 }}

After the end of the war, Massachusetts entered into a period of new highway projects planning that sought to help end the economic malaise the state was suffering from. It was in 1947 that Republican Governor Robert F. Bradford realized that the commonwealth needed to implement a standard framework to properly guide the planning and construction of these new roadways. He commissioned a study to produce a new Highway Master Plan for the eastern region, and, by 1948, it had been completed. Seeking the political benefits that a major public works project would bring, Bradford sent his plan to the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts General Court for approval; however, the Democrats sat on the project until their candidate, newly elected Democratic Governor Paul A. Dever, took office in January 1949.{{harvp|Tsipis|2002|pp=7–8}}.

It was instead Dever who initiated the program to implement the Highway Master Plan for the city shortly after taking office in 1949. Enjoying a Democratic majority within the State House coupled with a Democratic governor for the first time in the commonwealth's history, he pushed through a series of highway bills with associated gas tax increases totaling over $400 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|400000000|1952}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) between 1949 and 1952.{{cite news |title = Baystate Notes Spending Record |work = The New York Times |date = November 5, 1958 }}{{page needed|date=August 2015}} To oversee this undertaking, Dever brought in the former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, William F. Callahan, to once again head the agency he had helmed from 1934 to 1939. Known for his strong personality and drive to get projects completed, Callahan immediately set out to construct three of the proposed highways (not including what would become I-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. These three projects, totaling more than $92 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|92000000|1947}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}), were seen as being essential to the growth of the city in the future. However, the construction of these roads took such a large portion of funds that the commonwealth was unable to provide funds for the Western Expressway project. However, before Callahan could oversee the completion of the southern leg of Route 128, he was appointed by Dever to run the newly formed MTA.{{cite book |last1 = Tsipis |first1 = Yanni |year = 2003 |title = Building 128 |location = Mount Pleasant, South Carolina |publisher = Arcadia Publishing |isbn = 0738511633 |url = https://archive.org/details/buildingroute12800tsip |pages = 8–9 }}{{harvp|Tsipis|2002|pp=27–28}}.

File:Massachusetts Turnpike Will Start Here Billboard (.jpg

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. Callahan suggested creating a strong, independent, and semipublic 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. Utilizing the political goodwill he accrued during his tenure as public works commissioner, primarily through extensive patronage hires, Callahan was able to push his idea for the new authority through the State House with ease.{{harvp|Berkman|1998|pp=180–181}} The authority was formed in early 1952, and, by 1955, it had issued the required bonds needed to construct a {{convert|123|mi|km|adj=on}} highway from the New York–Massachusetts border to the recently completed Route 128 in Weston. Despite being completed in 1957, many within the commonwealth quickly realized that the local routes used to get into Boston were still insufficient for the automotive traffic burdens placed upon them.{{harvp|Tsipis|2002|pp=27–29}}.

= Extensions and improvements =

The road was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System as I-90 in 1959.{{cn|date=January 2025}} In 1964, exit numbers were introduced.{{cite news |url = https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2016/04/08/massachusetts-highway-exit-numbers-massdot/ |title = Many Massachusetts Highway Exit Numbers Could Soon Change |last = Clauss |first = Kyle Scott |work = Boston Magazine |date = April 8, 2016 |access-date = June 28, 2018 |archive-date = June 29, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180629102251/https://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2016/04/08/massachusetts-highway-exit-numbers-massdot/ |url-status = live }}

In 1965, exit 10 (now exit 90) was rebuilt to connect to I-290 and I-395 (then Route 52).{{cite web |url = http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/mass-pike/ |title = Historic Overview |publisher = Boston Roads |access-date = April 18, 2019 |archive-date = April 18, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190418030105/http://www.bostonroads.com/roads/mass-pike/ |url-status = live }}

File:NYCRR Headlights Cover 196502XX.png (Boston and Albany parent company) employee magazine Headlights from February 1965 showing an aerial photograph of the completed Boston Extension of the Massachusetts Turnpike]]

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.{{cite book |last1 = Kennedy |first1 = Lawrence |year = 1994 |title = Planning the City Upon a Hill: Boston Since 1630 |edition = 3rd |location = Boston |publisher = University of Massachusetts Press |isbn = 0870239236 |page = 168 }} 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. This new highway would connect the Massachusetts Turnpike to the heart of the city with a {{Convert|12.3|mi|km|adj=on}} extension of the Interstate. It was his plan to bring the tolled turnpike from its terminus at Route 128 in West Newton into the city along the path of the Boston and Albany Railroad and connect it to the Southeast Expressway. This plan was in line with the 1948 Master Highway Plan for the city, which had always called for a Western Expressway to be built into the city. However, with the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the federal government provided sufficient funds to the states to construct new highways with a 90-percent subsidy, rendering the need for a toll road into the city obsolete.{{harvp|Tsipis|2002|pp=47–48}}. Complicating the matter, Callahan's planned extension route was not universally accepted by others within the state, such as newly elected Governor John A. Volpe and Newton Mayor Donald Gibbs, who sought to construct a freeway that would follow a different route between the Borders of Newton, Waltham, and Watertown along the Charles River and US 20 and be constructed using the funds now being provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).Britten{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}} Additionally, residents of the city of Newton, who would see significant demolition of neighborhoods within the city along with large portions of its central business district to make way for the turnpike extension, were adamantly against the proposed Boston and Albany routing of the road.{{harvp|Berkman|1998|pp=170–173}} 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. Realizing that the needs and wants of the smaller city could not overcome the influence of Callahan within the state capitol, the smaller city would instead redirect its efforts to blocking the highway at the federal level through the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and federal courts.{{harvp|Berkman|1998|pp=177–181}} 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.Fenton{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}} In the late 1950s, eminent domain takings for the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension into Boston devastated the historic Black-American community named "The Village". Compensation was offered for the homes below market value. Homeowners and renters confronted racial discrimination when trying to purchase or rent homes in Newton. Real estate agents would not work with them. They had to rely on word of mouth to find a new home. It is estimated that 50 percent left Newton as a result of the construction of the turnpike.{{Cite web |url = https://newton.wickedlocal.com/news/20170228/african-american-community-of-newton-has-long-legacy |title = African-American community of Newton has long legacy |first = Laura |last = Lovett |website = Newton TAB |access-date = December 11, 2020 |archive-date = January 22, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210122191736/https://newton.wickedlocal.com/news/20170228/african-american-community-of-newton-has-long-legacy |url-status = live }}

Exit 11A (now exit 106) in Hopkinton opened in 1969. It was built to connect the turnpike with I-495 and enables transit between northern New England and Cape Cod.

The year 1968 saw the beginning of the first major improvement of the turnpike after the completion of the Boston extension in 1965. 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. Starting in 1968, the highway from the I-84 interchange in Sturbridge to Route 9 was widened from its original four lanes to six; that widening project was completed around 1971. However, the mainline right-of-way was constructed to allow future expansion of the roadway, with most bridges over the highway built with the eight-lane roadway in mind, so few bridges had to be rebuilt when it was widened in the late 1960s.

The original logo depicted Paul Revere on horseback with the words "Massachusetts Turnpike Authority" in a circle around him. One incarnation of the pilgrim hat shield had a Native-American arrow sticking through the pilgrim hat. It was replaced with a plain pilgrim hat and the words "Mass Pike" in 1989. It has been reported variously that the sign was changed due to confusion among motorists who sometimes mistakenly turned in the direction the arrow pointed (right) when attempting to enter the turnpike{{cite news |url = https://www.proquest.com/docview/294569430 |title = Redrawing the Native American Image |last = Montgomery |first = M. R. |date = February 28, 1991 |work = The Boston Globe |page = 69 |access-date = April 3, 2010 |quote = Too many tourists, non-English readers and reflexive drivers were always turning right, following the politically incorrect arrow to nowhere. |archive-date = July 18, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140718163802/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/boston/doc/294569430.html |url-status = live }} or that it was the result of a letter campaign describing the signs as offensive to Native Americans.{{cite news |last = Bazinet |first = Kenneth R. |date = November 22, 1989 |title = Mass. Turnpike to Change Logo: Teacher, Class Get Arrow Out of Pilgrim's Hat |url = https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19891122&id=2XIhAAAAIBAJ&pg=1152,5928057 |work = Schenectady Gazette |page = A8 |access-date = December 25, 2019 |via = Google News |archive-date = July 29, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220729202928/https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19891122&id=2XIhAAAAIBAJ&pg=1152%2C5928057 |url-status = live }}

Electronic toll collection was introduced as an alternative to cash payment with Fast Lane transponders in 1998; when installed in the inner windshield of a vehicle, the equipment would be recognized automatically in special lanes at toll plazas and would withdraw the toll amount from the motorist's account.{{cite web |url = http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/massmarkets/2012/05/10/massachusetts-pulls-out-of-the-fast-lane-in-favor-of-e-zpass/ |title = Massachusetts pulls out of the Fast Lane in favor of E-ZPass |last = Chesto |first = Jon |publisher = Wicked Local |date = May 10, 2012 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |url-status = dead |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170611105736/http://blogs.wickedlocal.com/massmarkets/2012/05/10/massachusetts-pulls-out-of-the-fast-lane-in-favor-of-e-zpass/ |archive-date = June 11, 2017 |df = mdy-all }}

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.{{cite web |url = http://www.wrrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/03-03transport.pdf |title = Worcester's Link to the MassPike: An Update on the Route 146 Connector |publisher = Worcester Regional Research Bureau |date = May 15, 2003 |access-date = April 18, 2019 |archive-date = April 18, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190418165945/http://www.wrrb.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/03-03transport.pdf |url-status = live }}

File:Boston Highway System Pre Post Big Dig.gif

When designing the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project; Big Dig) 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 P. Salvucci and his team. 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. Mitigation efforts would be of utmost importance in moving ahead with the project.DOT{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}}Altshuler, p. 95–96.{{full citation needed|date=August 2015}} Governor Francis Sargent had shut down any ideas of further freeway construction within the Route 128 beltway in 1970, thereby canceling both the I-695 "inner belt" and the Southwest Corridor freeway projects, placing more emphasis on the already-completed Boston extension of I-90, the extension of I-93 into Boston, and the work to eventually depress Boston's Central Artery below ground level as the only unbuilt freeway-related construction projects "inside" of Route 128 that would be allowed to go forward.{{Cite web |url = https://www.pbs.org/greatprojects/interviews/salvucci_6.html |title = Great Projects: The Building of America . Interviews | PBS |website = www.pbs.org |access-date = August 5, 2020 |archive-date = August 7, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160807032749/http://www.pbs.org/greatprojects/interviews/salvucci_6.html |url-status = live }} The notions of using existing rights of way or areas where neighborhood displacement would be minimized were applied to the second extension of the turnpike as part of the Big Dig. Salvucci deliberately planned to bring the East Boston Extension through areas with little or no occupancy or those properties already owned by the commonwealth. As a result, East Boston saw almost no takings of buildings or homes through eminent domain or the destruction of neighborhoods because construction was relegated to the then-unoccupied areas of the Seaport District and Logan International Airport. 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. The MTA managed the Big Dig, which rerouted the elevated Central Artery into the O'Neill Tunnel through Downtown Boston, and extended the turnpike beyond its terminus at the Central Artery into the Ted Williams Tunnel and connected it to Route 1A beyond Logan International Airport. Construction began in 1991, and the final extension of the turnpike was opened in February 2003. It was for the financial needs of the project that the "Metropolitan Highway System" was created with the turnpike east of Route 128; the Ted Williams, Sumner, and Callahan tunnels under Boston Harbor; and I-93 from Southampton Street through the O'Neill Tunnel and the Zakim Bridge to the foot of the Tobin Bridge.{{cite web |url = http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/mgl/81a-3.htm |title = MGL Chapter 81A, Section 3 |access-date = February 21, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100726222848/http://www.mass.gov//legis/laws/mgl/81a-3.htm |archive-date = July 26, 2010 |url-status = dead }} Finances for the Western Turnpike and the Boston Extension continue to be handled separately with this reorganization.

Fast Lane was first sponsored by BankBoston, and later FleetBoston Financial, before sponsorship was assumed by Citizens Bank in October 2003.{{cite web |url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/10/24/turnpike_users_may_get_a_free_toll_device/ |title = Turnpike users may get a free toll device |last = Flint |first = Anthony |work = The Boston Globe |date = October 24, 2003 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = February 22, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180222232156/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2003/10/24/turnpike_users_may_get_a_free_toll_device/ |url-status = live }}

By 2004, much of the road had been improved with renovated pavement, renovated bridges, and a jersey barrier in the median.

In response to a fatality caused by the collapse of the ceiling of the eastbound I-90 connector tunnel approaching the Ted Williams Tunnel on July 10, 2006, and, in response to MTA Chair Matthew J. Amorello's refusal (at the time) to resign, Romney took legal steps to have Amorello forcibly removed as head of the MTA.{{cite news |url = http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/14/amorello_now_adrift/ |title = Amorello, now adrift |work = The Boston Globe |date = July 14, 2006 |last = Lehigh |first = Scot |access-date = August 20, 2008 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080907160941/http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/14/amorello_now_adrift |archive-date = September 7, 2008 |url-status = dead }} This effort culminated in Amorello's resignation on August 15, 2006. The next day, John Cogliano was sworn in as the new chair of the MTA by Romney.{{cite web |url = http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9688510/detail.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070930165357/http://www.thebostonchannel.com/news/9688510/detail.html |url-status = dead |archive-date = September 30, 2007 |title = Cogliano Sworn In as New Turnpike Chief |date = August 16, 2006 |publisher = WCVB-TV |access-date = October 27, 2009 }} On November 27, 2006, departing Attorney-General Thomas Reilly (Democrat) announced the state would launch a civil suit over the collapse of the ceiling in the Ted Williams Tunnel. The commonwealth sought to recover over $150 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|150000000|2006}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) from project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, builder Modern Continental, and the manufacturer of the epoxy used to hold the ceiling bolts.{{update inline|date=December 2021}}{{cite news |url = https://www.reuters.com/article/sppage023-n27481295-oisbi/mass-to-sue-big-dig-firms-over-tunnel-accident-idUKN2748129520061128 |title = Mass. to sue Big Dig firms over tunnel accident |publisher = Reuters |date = November 28, 2006 |first = Svea |last = Herbst |access-date = December 5, 2019 |archive-date = December 5, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191205030044/https://www.reuters.com/article/sppage023-n27481295-oisbi/mass-to-sue-big-dig-firms-over-tunnel-accident-idUKN2748129520061128 |url-status = live }}{{cite news |title = Wide risk, wide blame |first1 = Sean P. |last1 = Murphy |first2 = Andrea |last2 = Estes |work = The Boston Globe |date = July 11, 2007 |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/11/wide_risk_wide_blame/ |access-date = October 9, 2009 |archive-date = July 25, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120725111651/http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/07/11/wide_risk_wide_blame/ |url-status = live }}{{cite news |title = Companies to settle for $26m in tunnel collapse |first = Jonathan |last = Saltzman |work = The Boston Globe |date = November 15, 2008 |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/11/15/companies_to_settle_for_26m_in_tunnel_collapse/ |access-date = October 9, 2009 |archive-date = October 24, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121024150926/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/11/15/companies_to_settle_for_26m_in_tunnel_collapse/ |url-status = live }}{{cite news |title = AG settles with final two firms in fatal collapse of Big Dig tunnel |first = Martin |last = Finucane |work = The Boston Globe |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/27/ag_settles_with_final_two_firms_in_fatal_collapse_of_big_dig_tunnel/ |date = March 27, 2009 |access-date = October 9, 2009 |archive-date = March 28, 2009 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090328124749/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/03/27/ag_settles_with_final_two_firms_in_fatal_collapse_of_big_dig_tunnel/ |url-status = live }}

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;{{cite web |url = http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/10/pike_u_turn_ramp_opening_delayed/ |title = Pike U-turn ramp opening delayed |last = Estes |first = Andrea |work = The Boston Globe |date = September 10, 2007 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = October 26, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20181026015748/http://archive.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/09/10/pike_u_turn_ramp_opening_delayed/ |url-status = live }} while unsigned with an exit number, it was recognized as exit 20A for administrative purposes.

Under legislation signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick on June 26, 2009, the turnpike was folded into a new superagency that controls all surface transportation in the state. The new agency, MassDOT, operates all highways formerly under MassHighway and the MTA as well as eight urban roadways formerly owned and maintained by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).{{cite web |url = http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw09/sl090025.htm |title = Chapter 25 of the Acts of 2009 |publisher = The 186th General Court of The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date = November 5, 2009 |archive-date = October 7, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121007075227/http://www.malegislature.gov/Laws/SessionLaws/Acts/2009/Chapter25 |url-status = live }} In addition, MassDOT oversees the RMV, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), regional transit authorities, and the state aeronautics commission.{{cite web |url = http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=pressrelease&f=090626_transportation_reform_bill&csid=Agov3 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090630204206/http://www.mass.gov/?pageID=gov3pressrelease&L=1&L0=Home&sid=Agov3&b=pressrelease&f=090626_transportation_reform_bill&csid=Agov3 |url-status = dead |archive-date = June 30, 2009 |title = Governor Patrick signs bill to dramatically reform transportation system |date = June 26, 2009 |publisher = Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date = August 1, 2009 }} The new transportation department began operations on November 1, 2009.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/AboutUs.aspx |title = About Us |publisher = Commonwealth of Massachusetts |access-date = November 3, 2009 |archive-date = September 13, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180913014122/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/AboutUs.aspx |url-status = live }}{{Failed verification|date=March 2021}}

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.{{cite web |url = http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/x1225005098/State-says-goodbye-to-Fast-Lane |title = Mass Pike says goodbye to 'Fast Lane' |last = O'Connell |first = Scott |newspaper = The MetroWest Daily News |publisher = GateHouse Media |date = June 16, 2012 |access-date = June 22, 2017 |archive-date = February 22, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180222225651/http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/x1225005098/State-says-goodbye-to-Fast-Lane |url-status = live }}

Tolls from exit 1 in West Stockbridge to exit 6 in Chicopee were removed by then-Governor Bill Weld in 1996, following complaints that the tolls collected in Western Massachusetts were financing the Big Dig in Boston;{{cite web |url = http://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/update-westernmost-pike-tolls-will-return-but-how-much-will-they-be,403565 |title = Update: Westernmost Pike tolls will return, but how much will they be? |last = Fanto |first = Clarence |newspaper = The Berkshire Eagle |date = July 30, 2013 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = December 14, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191214014416/https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/update-westernmost-pike-tolls-will-return-but-how-much-will-they-be,403565 |url-status = live }} they were ultimately reinstated in October 2013.{{cite web |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/10/13/western-mass-turnpike-tolls-set-restored/tJd02fblfIK4N07TkPtYFP/story.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131014042806/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/10/13/western-mass-turnpike-tolls-set-restored/tJd02fblfIK4N07TkPtYFP/story.html |title = Western Mass. tolls set to be restored |work = The Boston Globe |date = October 13, 2013 |archive-date = October 14, 2013 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |url-status = dead }}

File:Mass Pike toll gantry.agr.jpg

In 2014, Raytheon won a $130 million (equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|130000000|2014}}}} in {{Inflation/year|index=US-GDP}}{{Inflation/fn|index=US-GDP}}) contract to convert the Massachusetts Turnpike to all-electronic open road tolling.{{cite press release |first = Cynthia |last = Baker |date = August 13, 2014 |title = Raytheon Awarded $130 Million to Convert Massachusetts to Electronic Highway Tolling System |url = http://investor.raytheon.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84193&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1958169 |publisher = Raytheon |access-date = September 5, 2016 |archive-date = May 7, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170507020040/http://investor.raytheon.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=84193&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1958169 |url-status = live }} The stated goal of the change was to "make vehicle travel safer and more efficient".{{cite news |first = Gintautas |last = Dummies |date = June 7, 2016 |title = New Mass. Pike Electronic Tolling: Will There Be Any Cost Savings from Eliminating Toll Plazas? |url = http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/new_mass_pike_electronic_tolli_1.html |access-date = August 9, 2016 |work = MassLive |archive-date = August 10, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160810023208/http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/06/new_mass_pike_electronic_tolli_1.html |url-status = live }} Additional changes included the elimination of toll booth operators, as well as the demolition of existing toll plazas and reconfiguration of surrounding roadways.{{cite news |title = All-Electronic Tolling Begins Installation on Mass. Pike |date = January 23, 2016 |first = Elaine |last = Thompson |work = Telegram & Gazette |location = Worcester, Massachusetts |url = http://www.telegram.com/article/20160123/NEWS/160129576 |access-date = September 5, 2016 |archive-date = September 1, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160901192021/http://www.telegram.com/article/20160123/NEWS/160129576 |url-status = live }}{{cite news |first = Gintautas |last = Dummies |date = July 27, 2016 |title = New Mass. Pike Toll Rate Structure Expected to Be Released in August |url = http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/07/new_mass_pike_electronic_tolli_4.html |access-date = August 9, 2016 |work = MassLive |archive-date = August 10, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160810000430/http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/07/new_mass_pike_electronic_tolli_4.html |url-status = live }} Overhead gantries between most exits read E-ZPass transponders. Drivers without a transponder use pay-by-plate, having their license plate photographed and an invoice sent to the registered owner. This method of payment adds a $0.60 surcharge per invoice, with payment made online, or in cash at a local retail location.{{cite web |author = Highway Division |year = 2016 |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TollInformation/AllElectronicTolling/PaybyPlateMA.aspx |title = Pay By Plate MA |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = September 5, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160907152531/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TollInformation/AllElectronicTolling/PaybyPlateMA.aspx |archive-date = September 7, 2016 |url-status = dead }}{{cite news |first = David |last = McKay |date = July 19, 2016 |title = 'Open Road Tolling Coming Soon: Time to Get an E-ZPass |url = http://wwlp.com/2016/07/19/open-road-tolling-coming-soon-time-to-get-an-e-zpass/ |access-date = August 9, 2016 |location = Chicopee, Massachusetts |publisher = WWLP-TV |archive-date = August 9, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160809012138/http://wwlp.com/2016/07/19/open-road-tolling-coming-soon-time-to-get-an-e-zpass/ |url-status = live }} Installation of gantries began in January 2016, and open road tolling began on October 28, 2016.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TollInformation/AllElectronicTolling.aspx |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161028152855/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TollInformation/AllElectronicTolling.aspx |title = All Electronic Tolling |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |archive-date = October 28, 2016 |access-date = June 6, 2017 }} The inner segments of the toll booths were demolished 30 days after this date, which allowed traffic speeds to be raised. Complete demolition of toll booths and reconstruction was completed by the end of 2017.{{cite web |author = Highway Division |date = August 22, 2016 |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/0/docs/infoCenter/boards_committees/boardDirectors/AET_TollDemolition.pdf |title = All Electronic Tolling: Toll Plaza Demolition and Roadway Reconstruction |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = September 5, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160824164031/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/0/docs/infoCenter/boards_committees/boardDirectors/AET_TollDemolition.pdf |archive-date = August 24, 2016 |url-status = dead }} As there are no gantries between exits 45 and 54 (former exits 4 and 7) or between exits 90 and 96 (former exits 10 and 11), the Massachusetts Turnpike is essentially free between those pairs of exits. Otherwise, the transition to open road tolling is revenue neutral, meaning the tolls between any other pair of exits only saw small adjustments. Tolls are slightly higher for out-of-state residents without an E-ZPassMA transponder, and no-transponder tolls are higher.{{cite news |first = Matt |last = Rocheleau |date = August 22, 2016 |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/22/how-much-will-your-new-mass-pike-toll/RD6xNPzjNnlkB4mgBymgbN/story.html |title = How Much Will Your New Mass. Pike Toll Be? |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = September 5, 2016 |archive-date = August 26, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160826071243/http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/22/how-much-will-your-new-mass-pike-toll/RD6xNPzjNnlkB4mgBymgbN/story.html |url-status = live }}

Exit 22A was permanently closed in 2019 in an effort to improve safety, as its narrow deceleration lanes frequently caused accidents and congestion.{{cite web |url = https://www.wcvb.com/article/crash-plagued-clarendon-street-mass-pike-ramp-permanently-closed/28897563 |title = Crash-plagued Clarendon Street Mass Pike permanently closed |publisher = WCVB-TV |location = Boston |date = September 3, 2019 |access-date = September 3, 2019 |archive-date = September 3, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190903182521/https://www.wcvb.com/article/crash-plagued-clarendon-street-mass-pike-ramp-permanently-closed/28897563 |url-status = live }}

The 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices required that all US states submit plans to transition to milepost-based exit numbering by 2012.{{cite news |url = http://www.telegram.com/article/20160319/NEWS/160329942 |title = Watchdog Report: No signs yet from state on exit-conversion launch |last = Thompson |first = Elaine |newspaper = Telegram & Gazette |location = Worcester, Massachusetts |date = March 19, 2016 |access-date = June 28, 2018 |archive-date = June 29, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180629075859/http://www.telegram.com/article/20160319/NEWS/160329942 |url-status = live }} All exits on the turnpike were expected to be renumbered following this convention with two sign replacement projects scheduled for completion by 2018; the contractors were ultimately instructed to install the new signs with the existing numbers, albeit with wider exit tabs that would accommodate larger two- and three-digit exit numbers should the conversion take place in the future.{{cite web |url = http://www.gribblenation.net/mass21/miscsigns.html |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305011905/http://www.gribblenation.net/mass21/miscsigns.html |title = Misc. Massachusetts Highway Photos: MassDOT Exit Renumbering Project 2016 |last = Malme |first = Robert H. |publisher = Massachusetts Highways for the 21st Century |archive-date = March 5, 2016 |access-date = July 13, 2018 }}{{self-published source|date=July 2018}} In November 2019, MassDOT announced that statewide milepost-based exit renumbering would begin in Western Massachusetts in summer 2020.{{cite web |url = https://www.newmassexits.com/MassDOT_Documents/Project_Documents/Handout_1.pdf |title = Milepost-based Exit Renumbering |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date = December 5, 2019 |access-date = December 5, 2019 |archive-date = December 7, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191207063339/https://www.newmassexits.com/MassDOT_Documents/Project_Documents/Handout_1.pdf |url-status = live }} 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 I-95 and toward the airport.{{cite web |last = Levin |first = Jake |title = MassDOT Exit Renumbering Project Begins Sunday |website = NBC Boston |date = December 13, 2020 |url = https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/massdot-exit-renumbering-project-begins-sunday/2256094/ |access-date = August 20, 2021 |archive-date = August 20, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210820032256/https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/massdot-exit-renumbering-project-begins-sunday/2256094/ |url-status = live }} The work was completed in one month.{{cite web |title = Interactive Map: Mass Pike Exit Renumbering |publisher = WWLP |location = Springfield, Massachusetts |date = December 22, 2020 |url = https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/interactive-map-mass-pike-exit-renumbering/ |access-date = August 20, 2021 |archive-date = August 20, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210820032255/https://www.wwlp.com/news/massachusetts/interactive-map-mass-pike-exit-renumbering/ |url-status = live }}

Much of the air space ("air rights") over the Boston Extension has been leased to third parties for commercial development. This concept was originally designed to "knit together communities" that were divided by the new highway,{{cite web |url = http://bostoninformer.com/winter_2008-9.pdf |title = Why Develop Air Rights |publisher = The Boston Informer |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = September 25, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180925215858/http://bostoninformer.com/winter_2008-9.pdf |url-status = live }} since the turnpike had been described as "wider and more divisive to the city" than the original Central Artery.{{cite web |url = http://archive.boston.com/advertisers/bigdig/air.shtml |title = Mass Pike Air Rights |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = October 28, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161028215141/http://archive.boston.com/advertisers/bigdig/air.shtml |url-status = live }} More recently, the income received from the leased air rights have been used for paying off the Big Dig. There are 23 parcels of air space over the highway, the majority of which have not been developed.{{cite web |url = https://issuu.com/neuarchitecture/docs/airrights |title = Air Rights by Northeastern School of Architecture |author = ARCH 7130 Research Studio |publisher = Issuu |date = March 14, 2013 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = December 13, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141213041829/http://issuu.com/neuarchitecture/docs/airrights |url-status = live }} 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".{{cite web |url = http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/Planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=43 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20040203011646/http://www.cityofboston.gov/bra/Planning/PlanningInitsIndividual.asp?action=ViewInit&InitID=43 |title = Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston |publisher = Boston Redevelopment Authority |date = March 3, 2003 |archive-date = February 3, 2004 |access-date = June 21, 2017 }} The Star Market (briefly renamed Shaw's Supermarket) in Newtonville is the earliest example of commercial construction over the turnpike. In the 1960s, the MTA 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 SJC, under the condition that a replacement Star Market was allowed to be built above the turnpike.{{cite web |url = http://news.wgbh.org/2017/05/24/local-news/how-did-star-market-end-over-massachusetts-turnpike |title = How Did That Star Market End Up Over The Massachusetts Turnpike? |last = Herwick III |first = Edgar |publisher = WGBH |date = May 24, 2017 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = June 24, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170624090857/http://news.wgbh.org/2017/05/24/local-news/how-did-star-market-end-over-massachusetts-turnpike |url-status = live }} Other projects developed through air rights include the Four Points by Sheraton in Newton,{{cite web |url = http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2009/06/sheraton_over_mass_pike_become.html |title = Sheraton over Mass Pike becomes a Crowne Plaza |work = The Boston Globe |date = June 26, 2009 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = August 6, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170806180917/http://archive.boston.com/yourtown/news/newton/2009/06/sheraton_over_mass_pike_become.html |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = https://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/EngineeringDirectives/policy/p-13-004.pdf |title = Tunnel Inspection and Testing Protocol For Roadways Covered by Air Rights Developments |last = DePaola |first = Frank |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date = March 15, 2013 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170721143913/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Portals/8/docs/EngineeringDirectives/policy/p-13-004.pdf |archive-date = July 21, 2017 |url-status = dead }} the Copley Place shopping mall in Boston,{{cite web |url = http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2006/03/19/building_on_the_pike/ |title = Building on the Pike |last = Palmer |first = Thomas |work = The Boston Globe |date = March 19, 2006 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = August 6, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170806181200/http://archive.boston.com/business/articles/2006/03/19/building_on_the_pike/ |url-status = live }} and the Prudential Center in Boston.{{cite web |url = http://www.bethtreffeisen.com/single-post/2016/10/28/Project-Over-Turnpike-Moves-Closer-to-Reality |title = Project Over Turnpike Moves Closer to Reality |last = Treffeisen |first = Beth |publisher = Beth Treffeisen Photography |date = October 28, 2016 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = August 6, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170806181714/http://www.bethtreffeisen.com/single-post/2016/10/28/Project-Over-Turnpike-Moves-Closer-to-Reality |url-status = dead }} Proposals for future air rights projects include the mixed-use Fenway Center,{{cite web |url = https://boston.curbed.com/2016/10/24/13357238/fenway-center-construction-boston |title = Fenway Center could finally get going next year |last = Acitelli |first = Tom |publisher = Curbed |date = October 24, 2016 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = August 6, 2017 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170806181436/https://boston.curbed.com/2016/10/24/13357238/fenway-center-construction-boston |url-status = live }} and an extension of the Boston University campus near Boston University Bridge.{{cite web |url = http://dailyfreepress.com/2008/05/06/bu-says-campus-future-is-up-in-the-air/ |title = BU says campus future is up in the air |newspaper = The Daily Free Press |publisher = Boston University |date = May 6, 2008 |access-date = June 21, 2017 |archive-date = July 24, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110724062725/http://dailyfreepress.com/2008/05/06/bu-says-campus-future-is-up-in-the-air/ |url-status = live }} 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,{{Cite web |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/10/business/its-been-40-years-since-someones-built-over-mass-pike-until-now/ |title = It's been 40 years since someone has built over the Mass. Pike. Until now |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-date = August 14, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200814151254/https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/07/10/business/its-been-40-years-since-someones-built-over-mass-pike-until-now/ |url-status = live }} leading to planned closure of one lane in each direction until August 2021.{{Cite web |url = https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/08/21/massachusetts-turnpike-closures-back-bay-parcel-12-boston |title = Get Ready For A Year Of Traffic Restrictions On The Pike Through Back Bay |website = www.wbur.org |access-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200824173505/https://www.wbur.org/news/2020/08/21/massachusetts-turnpike-closures-back-bay-parcel-12-boston |url-status = live }} Parcel 12{{Cite web |url = http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/parcel-12 |title = Parcel 12 | Boston Planning & Development Agency |access-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-date = August 5, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200805121541/http://www.bostonplans.org/projects/development-projects/parcel-12 |url-status = live }} is between Newbury Street, Boylston Street, and the west side of Massachusetts Avenue and is expected to feature a 13-story citizenM hotel, a 20-story office tower (including the headquarters of CarGurus), a reconstructed bus shelter, a public park, street-level retail, and a new entrance to the Hynes Convention Center station of the Green Line subway. The developer of Parcel 13, on the east side of Massachusetts Avenue along Boylston Street, submitted updated plans in February 2020, with 17 stories of condos, hotel, parking, and public space.{{Cite web |url = https://boston.curbed.com/boston-development/2020/2/10/21128713/massachusetts-turnpike-tower-peebles |title = Massachusetts Turnpike project at Boylston Street and Mass. Ave. comes back to life |first = Tom |last = Acitelli |date = February 10, 2020 |website = Curbed Boston |access-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-date = October 25, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201025031737/https://boston.curbed.com/boston-development/2020/2/10/21128713/massachusetts-turnpike-tower-peebles |url-status = live }} An approved plan for Parcel 15 (known as 1000 Boylston Street) was canceled by the developer in August, 2019,{{Cite web |url = https://boston.curbed.com/boston-development/2019/8/19/20810547/1000-boylston-air-rights-development-boston |title = Back Bay's 1000 Boylston Street a no-go over the Massachusetts Turnpike |first = Tom |last = Acitelli |date = August 19, 2019 |website = Curbed Boston |access-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-date = October 12, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201012230604/https://boston.curbed.com/boston-development/2019/8/19/20810547/1000-boylston-air-rights-development-boston |url-status = live }} with the dissolution resulting in a lawsuit.{{Cite web |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/10/27/desperate-plea-save-development-project-who-ever-going-trust-again/qePn4E7qdmUhahnatF2O1J/story.html |title = A desperate plea to save a development project: 'Who is ever going to trust me again?' |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = August 24, 2020 |archive-date = July 14, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200714001720/https://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2019/10/27/desperate-plea-save-development-project-who-ever-going-trust-again/qePn4E7qdmUhahnatF2O1J/story.html |url-status = live }}

Future

=Proposed exits=

For decades, there has been discussion about a potential new interchange with Route 56 in Oxford. This new interchange would be located between exit 78 (old exit 9) in Sturbridge and exit 90 (old exit 10) in Auburn. Former Leicester selectman Thomas V. Brennan Jr. created the idea for this potential new exit in 1996, and he continued to advocate for the idea into the late 2000s.{{cite web |url = https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/east-valley/2008/03/06/state-urged-to-consider-new/52514997007/ |title = State urged to consider new Pike exit |last = Lilyestrom|first = Betty|work = Telegram & Gazette|location= Worcester, Massachusetts|date = March 6, 2008 |access-date = February 26, 2023 |archive-date = February 26, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230226070922/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/east-valley/2008/03/06/state-urged-to-consider-new/52514997007/ |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/east-valley/2008/01/09/pike-entrance-proposal-for-route/52684034007/ |title = Pike entrance proposal for Route 56 resurrected |last = Lilyestrom|first = Betty|work = Telegram & Gazette|location= Worcester, Massachusetts|date = January 9, 2008 |access-date = February 26, 2023 |archive-date = February 26, 2023 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230226070300/https://www.telegram.com/story/news/local/east-valley/2008/01/09/pike-entrance-proposal-for-route/52684034007/ |url-status = live }} In 2011, the Town of Oxford included the construction of a new interchange as a long-term recommendation in their municipal transportation plan; construction estimates were $60 million to $75 million (equivalent to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|65000000|2011}}}} to ${{formatprice|{{inflation|US-GDP|75000000|2011}}}} in {{inflation-year|US-GDP}}{{inflation-fn|US-GDP}}).{{cite web |url = https://www.oxfordma.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif4836/f/uploads/transportation_plan.pdf |title = Oxford Transportation Plan |last = |first = |work = Town of Oxford, Massachusetts|date = April 2011 |access-date = February 26, 2023 |archive-date = February 26, 2023|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230226071131/https://www.oxfordma.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif4836/f/uploads/transportation_plan.pdf|url-status = live }}

The construction of an exit between exit 10 (former exit 2) in Lee and exit 41 (former exit 3) in Westfield, separated by a {{convert|30|mi|km|adj=on}} gap, has been controversial since the 1960s.{{cite web |url = https://www.masslive.com/expo/erry-2018/05/3c8bb35c75615/mass_pike_highway_exits.html |title = Exit 2.5 next right: Where could a new Massachusetts Turnpike exit go between Westfield and Lee? |last = Kinney |first = Jim |work = MassLive |date = May 9, 2018 |access-date = July 20, 2018 |archive-date = July 21, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180721073301/https://www.masslive.com/expo/erry-2018/05/3c8bb35c75615/mass_pike_highway_exits.html |url-status = live }} The state conducted a study to determine the feasibility of such a project in 2018; 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.{{cite web |url = https://www.masslive.com/expo/news/erry-2018/09/8c702497a94071/massdot-narrows-possible-sites.html |title = MassDOT narrows possible sites for new Massachusetts Turnpike exit |last = Kinney |first = Jim |work = MassLive |date = September 11, 2018 |access-date = September 19, 2018 |archive-date = September 20, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180920084041/https://www.masslive.com/expo/news/erry-2018/09/8c702497a94071/massdot-narrows-possible-sites.html |url-status = live }}

=Allston interchange=

The "I-90 Allston Multimodal Project"{{cite news |last1 = Murray |first1 = Timothy P. |date = September 6, 2020 |title = State must get Pike project right for Central Mass. |url = https://www.telegram.com/story/business/columns/2020/09/06/opinion-chamber-corner-state-must-get-pike-project-right-for-central-mass/42444941/ |work = Telegram & Gazette |location = Worcester, Massachusetts |access-date = June 16, 2022 |archive-date = June 22, 2021 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210622180235/https://www.telegram.com/story/business/columns/2020/09/06/opinion-chamber-corner-state-must-get-pike-project-right-for-central-mass/42444941/ |url-status = live }} 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 Yard, which is now owned by Harvard University,{{cite news |last1 = Delawala |first1 = Imtiyaz H. |date = June 30, 2000 |title = University Wins Land Auction With $151M Bid |url = https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2000/6/30/university-wins-land-auction-with-151m/ |work = The Harvard Crimson |access-date = June 16, 2022 |archive-date = June 13, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220613073148/https://www.thecrimson.com/article/2000/6/30/university-wins-land-auction-with-151m/ |url-status = live }}{{cite news |last = Dyer |first = John |date = February 14, 2011 |title = Land at a premium, railroad exploits its air space |url = http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/02/14/land_at_a_premium_railroad_exploits_its_air_space/ |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = June 16, 2022 |archive-date = March 8, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220308073310/http://archive.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2011/02/14/land_at_a_premium_railroad_exploits_its_air_space/ |url-status = live }} along with improvements to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Framingham/Worcester Line.{{cite web |title = Allston Multimodal Project |url = https://www.mass.gov/allston-multimodal-project |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = January 10, 2020 |archive-date = January 9, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200109004017/https://www.mass.gov/allston-multimodal-project |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/mixed-use/is-harvards-allston-push-creating-kendall-square-20-depends-who-you-ask-80254 |title = Harvard's Boston Real Estate Move Has Made It 'An Allston University With A Cambridge Campus' |last = Sperance |first = Cameron |work = Bisnow |date = October 12, 2017 |access-date = June 28, 2018 |archive-date = June 29, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180629102230/https://www.bisnow.com/boston/news/mixed-use/is-harvards-allston-push-creating-kendall-square-20-depends-who-you-ask-80254 |url-status = live }} The preliminary design plan called for the turnpike to be realigned at-grade and off 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. The design is of a considerably smaller footprint than the existing configuration; this would facilitate the construction of the proposed West Station and the expansion of Harvard University on land where the existing viaduct is located.{{cite web |url = https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/10/mass-pike-rebuilt-gorund-level-soldiers-field-road-elevated-giant-allston-project/vV3UpnbIRkgstimTdYNLqM/story.html |title = Mass. Pike in Allston, Soldiers Field Road are set for a major overhaul |last = Vaccaro |first = Adam |newspaper = The Boston Globe |date = January 10, 2019 |access-date = January 20, 2019 |archive-date = January 21, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190121064314/https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2019/01/10/mass-pike-rebuilt-gorund-level-soldiers-field-road-elevated-giant-allston-project/vV3UpnbIRkgstimTdYNLqM/story.html |url-status = live }} The design phase was expected to be completed in 2019 and with a planned ground breaking in 2020.{{cite web |url = https://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/i-90-allston-interchange-improvement-project-update/ |title = I-90 Allston Interchange Improvement Project Update |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |date = November 14, 2017 |access-date = June 28, 2018 |archive-date = June 25, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180625221245/http://blog.mass.gov/transportation/massdot-highway/i-90-allston-interchange-improvement-project-update/ |url-status = live }}

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. 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.{{cite news |first = Chris |last = Lisinski |date = September 30, 2021 |url = https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/09/30/mass-pike-overhaul-allston-highway-upgrade-boardwalk-soldiers-field |title = At-Grade Option Recommended For Allston Megaproject |location = Boston |publisher = WBUR-FM |agency = State House News Service |access-date = April 12, 2022 |archive-date = January 7, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220107092126/https://www.wbur.org/news/2021/09/30/mass-pike-overhaul-allston-highway-upgrade-boardwalk-soldiers-field |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/state-embraces-all-at-grade-allston-project/ |title = State embraces all-at-grade Allston project |first = Bruce |last = Mohl |date = September 29, 2021 |access-date = January 7, 2022 |archive-date = January 7, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220107090354/https://commonwealthmagazine.org/transportation/state-embraces-all-at-grade-allston-project/ |url-status = live }} This significantly delayed the project, and, {{As of|2022|01}}, preliminary design is in progress, and modified project permits need to be obtained; construction was expected to start in 2023 and last for 6–10 years.{{cite web |title = About the Allston Multimodal Project |url = https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-the-allston-multimodal-project#project-timeline- |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = January 7, 2022 |archive-date = January 3, 2022 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20220103083345/https://www.mass.gov/info-details/about-the-allston-multimodal-project#project-timeline- |url-status = live }} As of October 2023, the project is undergoing the federal environmental permitting process, which will continue into 2024.{{Cite web |title=Allston Multimodal Project {{!}} Mass.gov |url=https://www.mass.gov/allston-multimodal-project |access-date=2023-10-22 |website=www.mass.gov |language=en}} The project did not win a National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program (MEGA) competitive grant on its 2021 application{{cite web |url=https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/22038281-allston-multimodal-project-2022-usdot-mega-grant-application |title=I-90 Allston Multimodal Project: FY 2022 Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant Application |date=May 23, 2022 |author=Massachusetts Department of Transportation}} for $1.2 billion in federal funding, nor the $200 million applied for from the same program in 2023.[https://mass.streetsblog.org/2024/02/05/massdots-allston-i-90-plans-suffer-another-rejection-for-federal-funding MassDOT’s Allston I-90 Plans Suffer Another Rejection for Federal Funding]

=I-495 interchange=

The "I-495/I-90 Interchange Improvements Project" is intended to realign exit 106 (former exit 11A) in Hopkinton, where the existing interchange (designed for the now-demolished toll plazas) is notoriously congested and accident-prone during rush hour and holiday travel times.{{cite web |url = https://www.mass.gov/service-details/project-background-i-495i-90-interchange-improvements |title = Project background: I-495/I-90 interchange improvements |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = April 19, 2019 |archive-date = April 20, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190420020941/https://www.mass.gov/service-details/project-background-i-495i-90-interchange-improvements |url-status = live }} {{As of|2018}}, MassDOT is examining three design proposals, which have raised the suggestions of separate northbound/southbound I-495 exits and the extension of acceleration lanes through exit 111 (former exit 12) in Framingham. The project initially was estimated to cost between $296–413 million, and the design phase expected to be 25-percent complete by 2020.{{cite news |url = https://www.telegram.com/news/20181010/three-designs-for-turnpike495-interchange-rise-to-top |title = Three designs for turnpike/495 interchange rise to the top |last = Phelps |first = Jonathan |newspaper = Telegram & Gazette |location = Worcester, Massachusetts |date = October 10, 2018 |access-date = April 19, 2019 |archive-date = April 20, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190420020941/https://www.telegram.com/news/20181010/three-designs-for-turnpike495-interchange-rise-to-top |url-status = live }} 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. The state expects that the construction would begin in 2022 and run through 2026 at an estimated cost of approximately $296.4 million.{{cite news |last1 = Malachowski |first1 = Jeff |title = State officials unveil preferred design for overhaul of I-495-Mass Pike interchange |url = https://www.telegram.com/news/20190726/state-officials-unveil-preferred-design-for-overhaul-of-i-495-mass-pike-interchange |website = Telegram & Gazette |location = Worcester, Massachusetts |access-date = January 10, 2020 |date = July 26, 2019 |archive-date = March 26, 2020 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200326010708/https://www.telegram.com/news/20190726/state-officials-unveil-preferred-design-for-overhaul-of-i-495-mass-pike-interchange |url-status = live }}{{Update after|2026}}

Government oversight

File:Masspike25.JPG exit]]

Since 2001, the MTA had come under fire from state politicians in a fight for control of the quasistate agency. Beginning in 2001, former Massachusetts acting Governor Jane Swift (Republican) attempted to fire Christy Mihos, a former turnpike board member and Jordan Levy, the vice chair of the board.

Mihos and Levy had cast votes on the board to postpone a toll hike. Swift objected, saying such a delay was "fiscally irresponsible" and saying the two men "interfered with the effective daily management of the Authority".{{cite web |url = http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ma&vol=sjcslip/sjcMay02h&invol=1 |title = Jordan Levy & another vs. the Acting Governor & another |access-date = July 13, 2007 |date = November 19, 2001 |archive-date = July 9, 2012 |archive-url = https://archive.today/20120709033612/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=ma&vol=sjcslip/sjcMay02h&invol=1 |url-status = live }} Mihos and Levy refused to step down and sued Swift to retain their positions. The SJC ruled that the turnpike was "not part of the machinery of the government" and therefore not subject to Swift's decisions.{{cite web |url = http://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/display_docket.php?dno=SJC-08730 |title = Jordan Levy & another vs. the Acting Governor & another SJC-08730 |access-date = July 2, 2007 |date = May 7, 2002 |archive-date = October 18, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151018170403/http://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/display_docket.php?dno=SJC-08730 |url-status = live }}

Governor Mitt Romney, elected in 2002 during a fiscal crisis, ran on a political platform of streamlining state government and eliminating waste. Part of this was the elimination of the MTA. Romney wanted to fold the turnpike into the Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway), the state highway department, operated under the Executive Office of Transportation. A first step to this was to replace the chair of the board, Matthew J. Amorello, with someone loyal to the governor. The governor has the power to appoint members to the board, but the SJC advised in an advisory opinion that "nothing in G. L. c. 81A explicitly provides for the removal and reassignment of the chairperson to the position of 'member{{' "}}.{{cite web |url = http://www.socialaw.com/slip.htm?cid=15320&sid=120 |title = Answer of the justices to the governor. |access-date = July 2, 2007 |date = June 29, 2005 |archive-date = May 15, 2011 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110515145652/http://www.socialaw.com/slip.htm?cid=15320&sid=120 |url-status = live }}{{cite web |url = http://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/display_docket.php?dno=SJC-09461 |title = Request for Advisory Opinion, A-108 SJC-09461 |access-date = July 2, 2007 |date = June 29, 2005 |archive-date = October 18, 2015 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20151018170403/http://www.ma-appellatecourts.org/display_docket.php?dno=SJC-09461 |url-status = live }}

Romney put pressure on Amorello to step down. Amorello announced he would do so in 2007, after Romney would have left office. 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. However, the legislature instead sought to keep Amorello on board by extending the terms of various board members to prevent Romney from removing Amorello.{{cite news |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/06/02/budget_amendment_in_senate_would_let_amorello_keep_job/ |title = Budget amendment in Senate would let Amorello keep job |date = June 2, 2006 |last = Murphy |first = Sean P. |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = August 21, 2008 |archive-date = June 14, 2006 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20060614114618/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/06/02/budget_amendment_in_senate_would_let_amorello_keep_job/ |url-status = live }}

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 MTA located in toll plazas, visitor centers, and offices. RMV branch closings were planned for Framingham, Lowell, North Attleborough, Cambridgeside Galleria Mall in Cambridge, New Bedford, Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Southbridge, Falmouth, Eastham, Beverly, and Boston.{{cite web |url = http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x877771291/Registry-to-close-Framingham-branch-10-other-locations |title = Registry to close Framingham branch, 10 other locations |last = Riley |first = David Riley |date = July 3, 2009 |work = The MetroWest Daily News |access-date = August 1, 2009 }} Also, a portion of the newly increased sales tax in the state averted a planned toll increase. The MTA will receive approximately $100 million from the state general fund over the next few years, alleviating the need for the toll hike.{{cite news |url = http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/massachusetts/wwlp_ap_ma_masspiketollhikescrapped_200906290717 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110927174208/http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/news/massachusetts/wwlp_ap_ma_masspiketollhikescrapped_200906290717 |url-status = dead |archive-date = September 27, 2011 |title = Masspike toll hike scrapped |date = June 29, 2009 |publisher = WWLP |agency = Associated Press |access-date = August 1, 2009 }}

The MTA also owned the Callahan and Sumner tunnels, the other two road connections between Downtown Boston and East Boston under Boston Harbor.{{cite map |author = Office of Transportation Planning |date = January 12, 2007 |title = Jurisdiction of Roads in District 4 |url = http://www.state.ma.us/eot/downloads/planning/dataResources/Jurisdiction-District4.pdf |scale = 1:95,040 |location = Boston |publisher = Massachusetts Executive Office of Transportation |archive-url = https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20070615093147/http://www.state.ma.us/eot/downloads/planning/dataResources/Jurisdiction-District4.pdf |archive-date = June 15, 2007 }} Upon completion of the Big Dig, including the O'Neill Tunnel segment of I-93, were transferred to its control.{{cite web |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Highway/bigdig/projectbkg.aspx#achievements |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091213200252/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/Highway/bigdig/projectbkg.aspx |url-status = dead |archive-date = December 13, 2009 |title = The Big Dig |access-date = October 4, 2014 }} The authority received no state or federal government funding. Its revenues came from tolls, leases on air rights and service areas, and advertising. Its assets were all transferred to the new MassDOT agency as part of the restructuring of agencies.{{cite news |url = http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/16/end_of_road_for_mass_pike_board/?page=full |title = End of the road for Mass. Pike |last = Schworm |first = Peter |date = October 16, 2009 |work = The Boston Globe |access-date = November 3, 2009 |archive-date = July 23, 2012 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120723185905/http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/10/16/end_of_road_for_mass_pike_board/?page=full |url-status = live }}

{{multiple image

|total_width = 300

|align = right

|direction = horizontal

|header =

|image1 = Masspike logo 1955.jpg

|caption1 = Original logo

|image2 = Sumner Tunnel shield hat closeup.jpg

|caption2 = Previous incarnation of the pilgrim hat, seen on a shield for the Sumner Tunnel

}}

Exit list

{{jcttop|old|state=MA|length_ref={{cite web |url = http://services.massdot.state.ma.us/mrla/RouteSelection.htm |title = Massachusetts Route Log Application |author = Planning Division |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = August 22, 2014 |archive-date = August 26, 2014 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140826161150/http://services.massdot.state.ma.us/mrla/RouteSelection.htm |url-status = dead }}|location_ref=|exit_ref={{cite web |author = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |title = Exit Numbers and Names: Route I-90 (West Stockbridge to Boston) |url = http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/MajorRoutesWithExitInformation.aspx |publisher = Massachusetts Department of Transportation |access-date = June 13, 2016 |archive-date = May 27, 2016 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160527153710/http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/MajorRoutesWithExitInformation.aspx |url-status = live }}|dest_ref=}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Berkshire

|cspan = 5

|location = West Stockbridge

|lspan = 2

|mile = 0.000

|road = {{jct|state=NY|I|90|dir1=west|NYBC||dir2=west|noshield4=yes|to3=to|I-Toll|87|NYST||city1=Albany}}

|notes = Continuation into New York

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 2.736

|old = 1

|exit = 3

|type = incomplete

|road = {{jct|state=MA|Route|41|Route|102|city1=West Stockbridge}}

|notes = Westbound exit and eastbound entrance

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Lee

|lspan = 3

|mile = 8.5

|place = Lee Service Plaza

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 10.01

|type = etc

|place = Lee Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 10.592

|old = 2

|exit = 10

|road = {{jct|state=MA|US|20|Route|102|dir2=west|city1=Lee|areadab1=CDP|city2=Pittsfield}}

|notes = Route 102 not signed

}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Hampden

|cspan = 11

|location = Blandford

|lspan = 2

|mile = 26.25

|type = etc

|place = Blandford Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 29.0

|place = Blandford Service Plaza

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Westfield

|lspan = 2

|mile = 40.434

|old = 3

|exit = 41

|road = {{jct|state=MA|US|202|MA|10|city1=Westfield|city2=Northampton}}

|notes =

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 40.86

|type = etc

|place = Westfield Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = West Springfield

|mile = 45.740

|old = 4

|exit = 45

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|91|US|5|city1=Springfield|city2=Holyoke}}

|notes=Exit 11 on I-91

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Chicopee

|lspan = 2

|mile = 49.041

|old = 5

|exit = 49

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|33|city1=Chicopee|city2=Holyoke}}

|notes =

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 51.154

|old = 6

|exit = 51

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|291|dir1=west|city1=Springfield|location2=Hartford, CT}}

|notes = Eastern terminus and exit 7 on I-291

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Ludlow

|lspan = 3

|mile = 54.780

|old = 7

|exit = 54

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|21|city1=Ludlow|city2=Belchertown|areadab2=CDP}}

|notes =

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 55.6

|place = Ludlow Service Plaza

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 57.68

|type = etc

|place = Ludlow Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Palmer

|mile = 62.641

|old = 8

|exit = 63

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|32|city1=Palmer|city2=Ware}}

|notes = To US 20

}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Worcester

|cspan = 9

|location = Warren

|mile = 69.78

|type = etc

|place = Warren Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Sturbridge

|mile = 78.300

|old = 9

|exit = 78

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|84|dir1=west|location1=Hartford, CT|location2=New York City}}

|notes = Eastern terminus of I-84; former I-86

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Charlton

|lspan = 3

|mile = 80.3

|place = Charlton Service Plaza (eastbound)

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 83.1

|type = etc

|place = Charlton Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 83.8

|place = Charlton Service Plaza (westbound)

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Auburn

|mile = 90.049

|old = 10

|exit = 90

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|290|dir1=east|I|395|dir2=south|US|20|dir3=east|MA|12|city1=Worcester|location2=New London, CT}}

|notes = US 20 not signed; exit 12A on I-290

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Millbury

|lspan = 2

|mile = 93.642

|old = 10A

|exit = 94

|road = {{jct|state=MA|US|20|MA|146|name2=Route 122A|city1=Millville|location2=Providence, RI}}

|notes = Exit 18 on Route 146

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 96.343

|old = 11

|exit = 96

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|122|city1=Millbury|city2=Worcester}}

|notes = To Route 30 and Route 140

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Westborough

|mile = 104.6

|place = Westborough Service Plaza (westbound only)

}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Middlesex

|cspan = 2

|location = Hopkinton

|mile = 104.86

|type = etc

|place = Hopkinton Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 106.236

|location1 = Hopkinton

|location2 = Westborough

|old = 11A

|exit = 106

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|495|location1=Portsmouth, NH|city2=Taunton}}

|notes = Exit 58 on I-495

}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Worcester

|location = Southborough

|mile = 109.07

|type = etc

|place = Southborough Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Middlesex

|cspan = 11

|location = Framingham

|lspan = 4

|mile = 111.181

|old = 12

|exit = 111

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|9|city1=Framingham|city2=Southborough}}

|notes =

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 113.92

|type = etc

|place = Framingham Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 114.4

|place = Framingham Service Plaza (westbound only)

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 116.600

|old = 13

|exit = 117

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|30|city1=Natick|city2=Framingham}}

|notes =

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Natick

|mile = 117.6

|place = Natick Service Plaza / Fast Lane Service Center (eastbound only)

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Weston

|lspan = 3

|mile = 120.21

|type = etc

|place = Weston Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 122.600

|mile2 = 123.458

|mspan = 2

|old = 14 (EB)
15 (WB)

|exit = 123A

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|95|name1=Route 128|city1=Waltham|location2=Portsmouth, NH|location3=Providence, RI}}

|notes = Signed as exit 123 eastbound; signed for Waltham westbound, Portsmouth eastbound; exit 39B on I-95

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = none

|old = 15

|exit = 123B

|road = {{jct|state=MA|to1=yes|MA|30|city1=Weston}}

|notes = Westbound exit and eastbound entrance; access via Park Road

|type = incomplete

}}

{{MAint|old

|location = Newton

|lspan = 3

|mile = 125.207

|old = 16

|exit = 125

|type = incomplete

|road = {{jct|state=MA|Route|16|city1=West Newton|city2=Wellesley}}

|notes = Westbound exit and eastbound entrance

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 126.18

|type = etc

|place = Newtonville Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 127.553

|old = 17

|exit = 127

|road = Newton, Watertown

|notes = Access via Washington Street

}}

{{MAint|old

|county = Suffolk

|cspan = 17

|location = Boston

|lspan = 17

|mile = 130.04

|type = etc

|place = Brighton Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 130.991

|mspan = 2

|old = 18 (EB)
20 (WB)

|exit = 131

|road = Allston–Brighton, Cambridge

|notes = Left eastbound exit; access via Cambridge Street

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = none

|old =19

|type = incomplete

|road = U-turn to Boston

|notes = Westbound U-turn only; shared ramp with exit 131

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 131.15

|type = etc

|place = Allston Toll Gantry

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 132.863

|type = incomplete

|old = 21

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|2A|name1=Massachusetts Avenue}}

|notes = Westbound entrance only

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 132.889

|tunnel = West end of Prudential Tunnel

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 133.344

|old = 22

|exit = 133

|type = incomplete

|road = Prudential Center, Copley Square

|notes = Eastbound exit and westbound entrance; access via Dartmouth Street; to Route 9 west

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 133.576

|old = 22A

|type = closed

|road = Clarendon Street

|notes = Former westbound entrance only; permanently closed on September 3, 2019

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 133.586

|tunnel = East end of Prudential Tunnel

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 133.876

|type = incomplete

|old = 23

|road = Arlington Street

|notes = Westbound entrance only

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 134.315

|mspan = 2

|old = 24A

|exit = 134A

|type = incomplete

|road = South Station

|notes = Eastbound exit only; access via Atlantic Avenue

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = none

|old = 24

|exit = 134

|road = {{jct|state=MA|I|93|name1={{jct|state=MA|US|1|MA|3|noshield1=yes|noshield2=yes}}|location1=Concord, NH|city2=Quincy}}

|notes = Signed as exits 134B (north) and 134C (south) eastbound; exit 16A on I-93

}}

{{jctbridge|old

|mile = 134.275

|tunnel = Fort Point Channel Tunnel under Fort Point Channel

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 134.773

|old = 25

|exit = 135

|road = South Boston

|notes = Access via Congress Street

}}

{{jctbridge|old

|mile = 136

|type = etc

|tunnel = Ted Williams Tunnel under Boston Harbor

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 137.239

|old = 26

|exit = 137

|type = incomplete

|road = {{jct|extra=airport}} Logan Airport

|notes = Eastbound exit only

}}

{{MAint|old

|mile = 138.15

|exit = 138

|road = {{jct|state=MA|MA|1A|dir1=north|city1=Revere}}

|notes = Eastern terminus of I-90

}}

{{jctbtm|old|keys=closed,etc,incomplete}}

References

{{reflist}}

Further reading

{{refbegin}}

  • {{Cite news |last = Ingraham |first = Joseph C. |date = May 24, 1959 |title = Boston to Chicago; New Section of Thruway Completes Express Route Between Cities Boston to Chicago |url = https://www.nytimes.com/1959/05/24/archives/boston-to-chicago-new-section-of-thruway-completes-express-route.html |work = The New York Times |access-date = July 22, 2018 |archive-date = July 22, 2018 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180722095852/https://www.nytimes.com/1959/05/24/archives/boston-to-chicago-new-section-of-thruway-completes-express-route.html |url-status = live }}
  • {{cite book |last1 = Tsipis |first1 = Yanni K. |year = 2001 |title = Boston's Central Artery |location = Charleston, South Carolina |publisher = Arcadia Publishing |isbn = 0738505269 }}

{{refend}}