Massachusetts Turnpike Authority

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Turnpike History

The need for an east/west, limited access interstate highway was clear as Massachusetts entered the post-war era of the 1950s. The suburbs were expanding. Drivers were spending too much time stuck on state highways designed for lighter traffic volumes. And goods hauled in trucks took too long to move across the state. 

To break the gridlock, the Massachusetts Legislature created the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority in 1952 and gave it responsibility for constructing, maintaining and operating a 123-mile east/west toll highway.

The Massachusetts Turnpike would become Massachusetts' segment of Interstate 90, the transcontinental highway ending in Seattle. Revenue from tolls - not state or federal tax revenue - would pay the bonds sold to finance the highway's construction, and no state or federal funds would be spent to operate or maintain the completed Turnpike.

Turnpike Opens

William F. Callahan, who had headed the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, was appointed the Turnpike Authority's first chairman. Construction of the Turnpike began on January 24, 1955, at the New York border. A little more than two years later - on May 15, 1957 - the Massachusetts Turnpike opened between West Stockbridge on the New York State border and Route 128/I-95 at Boston's doorstep on the Weston/Newton line. The original Turnpike cost $257 million to build.

The Turnpike Authority's next job was to bring the new highway into downtown Boston through an existing rail corridor in Newton. The groundbreaking for what would be called the Boston Extension occurred on March 5, 1962. The Boston Extension opened in two stages, first to the Allston/Brighton toll plaza in September 1964 and then all the way to I-93 in downtown Boston on February 18, 1965. The new extension added 12 miles to the MassPike's original 123.

The Boston Extension gave residents west of Boston a reliable commuter route into Massachusetts' capital city. But providing a quicker ride to Logan Airport in East Boston required a tunnel capacity beyond that of the Sumner Tunnel. Opened in 1934 by the City of Boston, the Sumner provided one lane in each direction between the North End and East Boston.

In 1958, the Legislature again turned to the Turnpike, entrusting the Authority to operate the Sumner Tunnel and to construct a second passage beneath Boston Harbor, the adjacent Callahan Tunnel. The new tunnel opened in 1961 and was named for Callahan's son, William F. Callahan Jr., a U.S. Army lieutenant killed in Italy just days before the end of World War II.

Once the Callahan Tunnel opened, the Sumner, now owned by the Turnpike Authority, closed briefly for repairs. The twin tunnels began joint operation in 1962, doubling the traffic lanes connecting the city and the airport. The Sumner and Callahan Tunnels lie side-by-side and function as a single tunnel, with the Callahan bringing cars from downtown Boston to East Boston and the Sumner bringing cars back from East Boston into the North End. Tolls have been collected one-way, on the East Boston side, since 1983.

Turnpike Expands

In 1968 the Turnpike was widened from four lanes to six (three in each direction) to make room for the growth in traffic. The widening project took place between Interchange 9 in Sturbridge and Interchange 12 in Framingham, a 33-mile stretch.

The following year a new interchange - 11a - on opened on the Hopkinton/Westborough line at Interstate 495. The interchange put the Turnpike on the travel route for millions of vacationers destined for Cape Cod or New Hampshire and Maine.

Both the widening and the new interchange were implemented under the direction of the Turnpike Authority's second chairman, John J. Driscoll.

In 1995, the Turnpike opened the Ted Williams Tunnel, a new harbor crossing from South Boston to East Boston constructed as part of the Central Artery/Tunnel Project. This third harbor crossing doubled traffic capacity between downtown Boston and Logan International Airport in East Boston.

The MHS Era

In 1997, the Legislature passed the Metropolitan Highway System (MHS) act, giving the Turnpike Authority responsibility for supervising the completion of the entire Central Artery/Tunnel Project. The Turnpike was also mandated to assume ownership and operation of the new roadway facilities upon completion.

The MHS law, approved during James J. Kerasiotes' tenure as chairman, rewrote the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority's enabling legislation. It divided the Turnpike Authority into separate halves: The original, 123-mile Turnpike and the Metropolitan Highway System (MHS), which currently includes the Boston Extension from Route 128/I-95 to the terminus of I-90 in East Boston, the Sumner, Callahan and Ted Williams Tunnels and all other roadways built as part of the CA/T Project. 

The Turnpike Authority now operates the Western Turnpike and the MHS as independent and financially self-sustaining road systems.

While the Big Dig was under construction, some significant changes took place along the Turnpike.

In 1998 the Turnpike Authority opened Interchange 10A on the Millbury/Worcester line, connecting directly to Route 146 as well as Route 20.

The new Route 146 to Worcester that is now under construction by the Massachusetts Highway Department will replace the existing, two-lane unlimited access highway with a four-lane, limited access highway, and will be the final piece of a redesigned state highway network at the new interchange.

FAST LANE Introduced

That same year, the Turnpike introduced FAST LANE, a new electronic toll collection system. FAST LANE has proven incredibly popular and has produced congestion relief, reduced backups at toll plazas and offered rapid, efficient processing of toll transactions. FAST LANE came on line in the summer and fall of 1998 at the Ted Williams Tunnel and the Boston Extension. In June 1999, the system was turned on at every interchange.

Today, nearly 60 percent of all toll transactions are processed via FAST LANE, which is fully compatible with the E-ZPass system in use throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic States.

In 2000, the Turnpike Authority approved a new lease agreement with McDonalds's Corp. for the Turnpike's 11 service plazas. As part of that contract, McDonald's demolished the old restaurants at the service plazas and built modern, full-service facilities which opened to the public in 2001 and 2002.

The Turnpike is now a 138-mile long roadway with 1,100 lane miles. It has 260 bridges - 180 on the Western Turnpike and 80 on the Boston Extension. The Turnpike bisects 32 Massachusetts cities and towns.

During its first full year of operation, Turnpike revenues were about $10 million. In 2003, revenue on the Western Turnpike and the MHS totaled $324.8 million, with $244.1 million coming from tolls and the balance from other, non-toll sources of revenue.

The original toll to drive the full length of the Western Turnpike (from the New York border to Route 128) was $2.45. Today, that same trip costs $2.70.