Local reps join battle vs. moving toll monies

MARBLEHEAD – As area residents eagerly sign onto a class action lawsuit against the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, several area representatives are voting against tolls collected on the Mass Pike being used to finance other roads.The lawsuit, which was filed by Jan R. Schlichtmann, contends turnpike tolls are an illegal tax because more than half the proceeds pay for Big Dig roads and projects.Schlichtmann, who filed the lawsuit Friday in Middlesex Superior Court, argues tolls can only legally fund the roadways for which they provide access.Former Turnpike Authority vice chairman Christy Mihos said the 1997 legislation that gave the MTA responsibility for supervising the Big Dig allowed it to use tolls to fund the project.Rep. Lori Ehrlich (D-Marblehead), who is a member of the state Transportation Committee, said she isn’t involved in the lawsuit and couldn’t comment on it directly, but added she is concerned about the inequitable distribution of tolls on the Pike and how the tolls are spent.”As we’re facing a potential doubling of our tax burden in 48 days, it’s even more outrageous that the North Shore continues to finance infrastructure for the rest of the state,” she said. “It’s an eye opener for most people to know tolls on the North Shore fund the Big Dig and other projects. I didn’t realize that until shortly after I was elected.”Ehrlich was instrumental in helping pass an amendment filed by Rep. Alice Peisch (D-Wellesley) to the proposed transportation reform package. The amendment, which has been passed by the House, has not been acted on by the Senate yet.Ehrlich pointed out all members of the Lynn delegation including Rep. Steven Walsh voted in favor of the amendment, which if passed would prohibit using tolls collected on one road being used to fund other roads.”The amendment essentially says tolls collected on a particular road have to be used to maintain and renovate that particular road,” Walsh said.Sandra Murphy, Bob Ackley and Doug Barth organized the trust, which has been approved by the Middlesex Probate Court, that has filed suit against the MTA. Any Mass Pike toll payer who has paid tolls at Route 128, Allston-Brighton, Sumner/Callahan Tunnels, or the Ted Williams Tunnel is eligible to join the class-action lawsuit.A Web site set up for the trust states, “We are trying to remedy and change the unfair toll collection policies of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority documents indicate that up to 58 cents of every dollar collected on the Boston Extension (from Route 128 into Boston) and the Sumner/Callahan and Ted Williams tunnels is unlawfully diverted to pay for the Central Artery project (“Big Dig”). We toll payers are fed up with our toll monies being diverted unfairly to pay for the costs associated with the “Big Dig” – an unlawful tax that has unfairly burdened toll payers and bankrupted the Turnpike Authority.”Ehrlich and Schlichtmann worked together years ago on cleaning up Wenham Lake, which supplies drinking water to 80,000 people in Beverly and Salem. Schlichtmann is best known for the work he did as a lawyer in a water contamination case in Woburn, which inspired the book, “A Civil Action,” and a later movie starring John Travolta.Schlichtmann said toll payers can sign up to become a party to the lawsuit online at www.tollequitytrust.com.