Keller @ Large: Route 3 Tolls A Big Idea

BOSTON (CBS) - Yikes! They want to turn one lane in each direction on Route 3 from the split to Route 228 into a dedicated toll lane, as a "solution" to the legendary traffic jams there?

Sorry to sound like an old episode of "Batman," but wow!

This is a pretty big idea, and it's going to be interesting to see if the people who use that road wind up thinking it's also a good idea.

For starters, they're reportedly talking about taking away rush-hour use of the breakdown lane while adding an extra lane each way. I don't get how this adds capacity to help you fight past the Derby St. lane drop in the afternoon, but I'm hopeful that will be explained.

A statement from the developer put the cost at "$350+million," while a Globe article I read said between $600 and $800 million, a pretty big "plus." In any case, the cost will determine the tolls.

Hope they don't turn out to be Olympic-sized.

This is going to be a public-private partnership, meaning the private sector takes the investment risk and the state covers maintenance and policing toll evaders.

It's a relatively new concept for Massachusetts, and I guess we should applaud the creativity and the fact that someone's trying to do something about a chronic mess.

But something tells me the core problem of commuting on Route 3 isn't the size of the road but the size of the demand.

And I don't see how this plan does anything about that.

Listen to Jon's commentary:

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