NEW: MassDOT Changing Up the Signage at Toll Plazas

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Friday, May 04, 2012

Walter Bird Jr., GoLocalWorcester Reporter

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (DOT), in an effort to boost driver safety, is changing the signs motorists see as they approach toll booths on the Mass Pike, Tobin Bridge and Airport Tunnels.

“Fast Lane” signs will be replaced by “E-ZPass” signs and “Cash Only” signs will be updated. The work starts next week and will include toll plazas from West Stockbridge to Boston.

“Driver hesitation and confusion can jeopardize safety at our toll plazas,” said MassDOT Secretary and CEO Richard A. Davey. “We want the general public and our 1.7 million transponder holders to know that E-ZPass and Fast Lane are now one in the same.”

The most noticeable change will be in the Fast Lane, which is reserved for customers with a transponder who pay for the service. Purple and white E-ZPass signs will be put up in place of the current Fast Lane signs. The new signs are already in place on toll roads in more than a dozen states, including Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. There are more than 22 million E-ZPass holders in the country.

“‘Fast Lane’ customers will be driving through the electronic collection lanes just like before, but with new E-ZPass signs overhead,” said Highway Administrator Frank DePaola. “No action is necessary by our customers. Their transponders will still work and their contact and financial information will remain the same.”

A federal safety grant is paying for the bulk of the $1.2-million project, with $185,000 coming from the Western Turnpike Capital fund. The project is expected to continue through the summer months with work performed during off-peak hours, 9 p.m. to 5 a.m., to reduce the impact on the motoring public.

Motorists will start seeing “Coming Soon: We are Changing Our Name” signs all along the Turnpike the week of May 7. Exit 11 for Route 122/Millbury/Worcester will be the first toll plaza to switch completely to the new signage. After that, changes will be implemented west to east along the MassPike with Interchanges 1-3, ending at the Tobin Bridge.