As the state readies to begin phasing out toll booths and toll booth workers and replacing them with an automated tolling system, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation will hold a series of public hearings on pricing.
The state’s DOT plans to tear down 24 toll plazas between Boston and the New York border and replace them with 16 “gantries,” which will automatically charge E-ZPass holders without requiring them to slow down. For others, cameras in the archways will photograph license plates and send bills to the vehicles’ owner.
The department claims the changeover, slated for October 15, will save the state $50 million a year over the current tollbooth collection system, though some have disputed those claims. The DOT says trips on the highway will likely cost more for some, and less for others.
More information can be obtained at the hearings, all of which start at 6:30 p.m. The first will happen on Sept. 6 inside Union Hall, 2 Washington St. in Worcester. There will be one in Springfield on Sept. 14 in Springfield City Hall room 220, at 36 Court St., and another in Lenox on Sept. 15 in the main conference room of the MassDOT Highway Division District 1 Headquarters at 270 Main St.