Campaign Promise Dies, Only Months After Campaign

Seemed like a good political move. Romney and Healey Introduced a proposal in 2006, nary ten years after Republican Governor Bill Weld removed the tolls from the Pike west of the Palmer exit, to remove the tolls west of Weston. The elimination of the tolls on the road was a long standing promise that seemed unlikely to be honored (for a while it seemed unlikely that the far west tolls would be removed, but it happened - you can even get an orange transponder for FastLane just for the free tolls). The proposal by the Romney administration met immediate opposition; opponents labeled it a campaign move on behalf of Kerry Healey who was lagging in the polls at the time. The plan was even called illegal – citing policies that precluded the Turnpike Authority from collecting revenue. Then there was the environmental study possibility that caused more dragging of the feet by officials. All told the proposal cost Commonwealth taxpayers $591,000 according to the Globe. Today the proposal is officially dead in the water. As the MetroWest Daily News quotes "'There's no plan to move forward with this in the foreseeable future,' said Turnpike spokesman Jon Carlisle." Done. While facing a projected tight budget, Deval Patrick's team isn't ready to get rid of any revenue sources. The Turnpike tolls included.