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stopping to pay system - and that system was going to change – literally overnight. MassDOT projected
that by 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 29, the appropriate toll demolition configurations would be in-place
at every toll plaza location statewide.

Planned Sequence: Phase II Courtesy MassDOT

The enormity of this project demanded that the Massachusetts State Police be committed to providing
work-zone safety to everyone involved. With Interstate 90 being a limited access highway with a posted
speed limit of 65 miles per hour, public safety could not be over-emphasized. Troopers were tasked with
assuring that the flow of traffic be affected as minimally as possible, while also assuring the safety of
Mass DOT personnel, private contractor employees, the media, and representatives of Massachusetts
Government, who visited a number of work zone locations to observe the demolition and reconstruction
first hand. In response to this demand, Major Terry Hanson, Commanding Officer of Troop E expected to
“deploy up to 200 State Police officers per day throughout the process, and as many as 100 per shift during
the early part of the initial phase”.

MassDOT also established a Central Command Center at its District 6 headquarters building in Boston so
that work zone activity and electronic tolling operations could be closely monitored by project managers
and engineers, in close collaboration with Massachusetts State Police and other key stakeholders. Daily
phone calls took place to ensure that MSP and MassDOT were aware of and addressed all concerns. Once
the work began on October 28, 2016, it was a round the clock effort, with contractors working 24 hours a
day in order to either complete the project on schedule, or ahead of time – for which they were provided
financial bonuses. To date, the project has been deemed a success. The demolition phase is well ahead of
schedule and drivers are experiencing a smooth transition with very little traffic congestion or delays and
a significant reduction in crashes.

Officially, “Phase One” of the Toll Plaza Demolition and Roadway Reconstruction came to its close on
November 22, 2016. This historic transition to All Electronic Tolling presented challenges and changes to
the way the Massachusetts Turnpike tolling system will function, as well as some short term inconveniences
to Turnpike users. In the end, those challenges and changes were successfully addressed, and in many cases,
went off without a hitch – and demolition of the old tolls was well ahead of schedule. MassDOT Highway
Administrator Thomas Tinlin credited the “months of planning, coordination, and execution. But the real
credit goes to the travelling public.” Tinlin thanked drivers for heeding the many public notices, warnings,

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