Gov. Deval Patrick reversed course today and asked the board of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority — which he controls — to delay a pair of toll increases slated to take effect this year.
Patrick, Senate President Therese Murray and House Speaker Robert DeLeo asked the authority in a rare joint statement to instead dip into a $54 million reserve fund to tide it over until the Legislature can act on a sweeping transportation overhaul.
Murray pledged next week to take up a related bill she has filed, and DeLeo said his chamber would debate the matter the following week. He did not say whether members would discuss the Senate bill or the governor’s bill, which includes a hotly contested proposal to increase the state’s gasoline tax by 19 cents per gallon.
Measures to “fund our long-term transportation needs” will be enacted by July 1, the leaders said.
Mary Connaughton, the only Turnpike board member to vote last month against the toll increase, said she was surprised by the change in approach. At the time, the board’s chairman, Transportation Secretary James Aloisi, and fellow member Michael Angelini said the increase was needed to preserve the authority’s bond rating.
The governor has appointed a majority of the five-member board, and it approved the increase by a 4-1 vote. (AP)
