WESTFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – As millions of Americans hit the road this holiday weekend in Massachusetts, it’s the first Memorial Day with the state’s all electronic tolling.
Drivers told 22News during the busy summer travel season, stopping at tollbooths tacked on extra time to get to their final destinations.
“Sometimes, like if you go up to Tanglewood or something in the summer, it can be quite a while,” Gail Letendre of Easthampton said.
Memorial Day marks the beginning of the summer travel season, and drivers said they’re hoping the elimination of tollbooths will be good for easing some of the traffic.
Historically, MassDOT has said traffic is the heaviest Thursday, Friday and Monday afternoons. Traffic tends to get heavy at exits on the way to Cape Cod, New Hampshire, and Maine. All states which accept the EZ-Pass.
With millions traveling this weekend there’s bound to be some traffic, but drivers said with e-tolling, even a few minutes saved is well worth it.
“You know five minutes here and there, it’s nice to relieve waiting in the hot summer sun any way you can,” Ashley Cadaret of Northampton told 22News.
MassDOT is reminding drivers that due to toll booth demolition, some of the traffic patterns have changed along the mass pike, so drivers should devote their full attention to the road.
