State Officials Think All-Electronic Tolling Will Ease Thanksgiving Congestion

State officials think the new all-electronic tolling on the Massachusetts Turnpike will ease traffic congestion for Thanksgiving travelers.

Jeff Larson, director of the state Highway Safety Division, told our Newscast Unit that with tollbooths gone, traffic should be better at the usual choke points of Interstates 84 and 495.

"The hope is and the expectation is because we now have open tolling on the turnpike, that those areas of congestion will be at least reduced," Larson said. "Hopefully those two points will be eased off somewhat and that should hopefully be good for holiday travelers."

To further help with travel, the state will halt road construction projects Wednesday morning through the weekend.

Weather-wise, Wednesday seems the pick of the week, according to our meteorologist David Epstein, with frozen precipitation possible on Thanksgiving itself.

The switch to all-electronic tolling on the Mass Pike and in the Boston Harbor tunnels began late last month, and so far, according to state transportation officials, nearly 1 in 5 drivers on the Pike are getting billed by mail, instead of paying with an E-ZPass.

Those drivers are hit with a surcharge for not having a transponder, though there is a grace period in which drivers can sign up for an E-ZPass and get reimbursed for the price difference.

With additional reporting by State House News Service