NH Senate president: Eliminate Merrimack toll booths

By JOHN DiSTASO
Senior Political Reporter

Published Feb 13, 2013 at 3:00 am (Updated Feb 12, 2013)

CONCORD - Senate President Peter Bradgon wants to eliminate the ramp toll booths at all three F.E. Everett Turnpike exits in Merrimack, telling fellow lawmakers Tuesday the tolls have served their purpose and place an unfair burden on the town's commuters.

Bragdon is a five-term Milford Republican who now represents Merrimack for the first time as a result of last year's redistricting.

In testimony before the Senate Ways and Means Committee, he acknowledged the move would cost the state $650,000 to $2.5 million. But he said it would be subtracted from a turnpike system revenue stream totaling $70 million and could be easily absorbed.

Bragdon pointed out that in 2010, the turnpike system was financially healthy enough to be able to transfer $120 million to the state Highway Fund to help balance the state budget.

Bragdon is sponsoring Senate Bill 3 along with co-sponsor Sen. Chuck Morse, R-Salem, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee. There are five House co-sponsors.

Bragdon said the current system is "unfair to the town and the people of Merrimack."

The tolls were built in 1989 to pay for about $50 million in road improvements to facilitate more industry in Merrimack.

Since that time, Bragdon said, there have been road improvements in other communities and no new tolls have been added to pay for them. He cited the Manchester Airport Access Road and the Granite Street Exit in Manchester and improvements in Concord.

Raise tolls elsewhere?

The state Department of Transportation opposed the proposal.

Commissioner Christopher Clement, in a letter to the committee, wrote that the department must do more bonding in the future for several turnpike projects and "the erosion of revenue" by eliminating the tolls could hurt the agency's credit rating and make borrowing more expensive.

Clement said $49 million in bonding used to build the three Merrimack exchanges 24 years ago are still outstanding and will not be paid off until 2020 and 2024.

He suggested that if one or more of the Merrimack tolls are eliminated, the state should consider increasing tolls elsewhere to make up for the loss of revenue.

"It would be, in the department's opinion, short-sighted to remove the Merrimack tolls without enhancing revenue to offset the loss," Clement wrote.

Nashua/Manchester

But Bragdon said Merrimack drivers are forced to pay tolls to go just a few miles, while drivers in other communities can drive substantial distances for free.

He pointed out that drivers in the Nashua-Hudson area can drive nine miles to the Massachusetts border with no tolls, while drivers in Manchester and surrounding towns have free access to four entrances and exits.

Bragdon said, "A state agency with $120 million in excess cash sitting around that can be used to bail out other state agencies is collecting more than it needs and will certainly not miss $650,000 or even $2.5 million.

"Regardless of the cost, this is the right thing to do," Bragdon said.

jdistaso@unionleader.com

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john croteau said:

**** it up you Winny cry babies, you knew they were their when you moved in. Just think of the loss there will be with the trucks jumping around the booth. I think you should pay more because you use it more.
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roy lain said:

Tolls are a cash cow politicans will never allow these booths to be removed if anything politicans will probable raise the current toll fees.
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Steve Johnson said:

Merrimack has not been getting s-c-r-e-w-e-d since 1989...The tolls have been there since at least 1968, when I moved to Merrimack. @John Croteau, ****.
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Peter Hudson said:

Get rid of the Merrimack toll ramps and throw up a new one as you cross into NH from Mass in Nashua and use that off ram into Nashua after it crosses into NH. There more than enough space...
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Paul Pennell said:

Why not get rid of the toll from Manchester to Merrimack? Why is that fair to charge commuters who only drive the few miles from Manchester to Merrimack? How about we get rid of the toll from Concord to Manchester, why is that fair to charge people who only drive on 93 for 10 miles to get from Concord to Manchester? Or how about the toll at Hampton, a $2 toll for driving on 13 miles of NH highway. All the tolls are unfair to a significant group of people, it is not like the people who bought houses in Merrimack didn't know the toll was there (unless they have been living there for 30+ years). Until they come up with a fair system which charges based on actual usage, either take all the tolls down or leave them.A state wide gas tax would certainly be more fair, which would be purely based on road usage.
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John Mercier said:

The State budget is so out of whack that this proposal was DOA before it even left Bragdon's head.
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John Mercier said:

Including the $80 million wouldn't be the smartest choice; it takes a lot of work even over a two year cycle to cut that much expenditure from the little items.
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John Mercier said:

The last post should have been in the article below about Hassan and casino licensing.
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Chris Kofer said:

If the concept is to pander to those close to the ramps, why not just give cars registered there an extra discount with EZPass?
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JOHN ALEXION said:

I remember when they put in the tolls in Merrimack they were only supposed to be temporary. The state lies, the dot lies, they are crooks...... Hey I wonder how the State of NH managed to get a toll up in Hooksett on I-93 a Federal Interstate Highway........makes you wonder the same about I-95 another Federal Interstate Highway.
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NH Senate president: Eliminate Merrimack toll booths

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