This is the last week for toll booths on the Mass Pike. The state is switching to a fully electronic system on Friday night.
Andy Paul, an engineer for the state Department of Transportation pointed to the soon-to-be-extinct toll booth on the Mass Pike in Weston. Although the booth won’t be in use any more after Friday, drivers will still have to go through it for a little while.
“They’ll close all the center lanes where we’re standing right now, and traffic will be pushed to the outsides,” Paul said.
And then they start getting rid of all the old booths. “We’ll be doing simultaneous toll demolition at 23 plazas all at once,” he said.
That's likely to slow Pike traffic for the time being. The D.O.T. is encouraging drivers to consider off-peak travel or taking mass transit. With the new system, drivers without EZ-pass transponders will be billed based on their license plate. Cameras will capture the plates of cars without EZ-passes.
As for toll workers - about 120 of them have new jobs with the department and nearly 150 others have taken retirement offers. More than 200 will be laid off.
Maps detailing what tolls will be charged and where are online here .
