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The Massachusetts Turnpike is a toll road in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation . The turnpike begins at the New York state line in West Stockbridge, linking with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway. Spanning 138 miles along an east–west axis, it is entirely concurrent with the portion of Interstate 90 that lies within the state. The turnpike is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, while I-90 in full is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States. The turnpike opened in 1957, and it was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System in 1959. The original western terminus of the turnpike was located at Route 102 in West Stockbridge before I-90 had been completed in New York state. The turnpike intersects with several Interstate Highways as it traverses the state, including I-91 in West Springfield; I-291 in Chicopee; I-84 in Sturbridge; the junction of I-290 and I-395 in Auburn; and I-495 in Hopkinton. The turnpike originally ended at Route 128 in Weston; it was extended to Allston in 1964, and to the Central Artery in Downtown Boston in 1965. The Big Dig megaproject provided for the construction of the Ted Williams Tunnel, which has carried the turnpike to its current eastern terminus at Route 1A beyond Logan International Airport since 2003. As an Interstate Highway, the turnpike is supplemented by I-190 and I-290 as auxiliary Interstate Highways. The turnpike was maintained by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority until the department was replaced by the Highway Division of MassDOT in 2009. The implementation and removal of tolls in some stretches of the turnpike have been controversial; presently, travel between most, but not all, exits require payment. The Fast Lane electronic toll collection system was introduced alongside cash payment in 1998; it was later folded into the E-ZPass branding in 2012. The original toll booths were demolished and replaced by toll gantries with the transition to open road tolling in 2016, which replaced cash payment with pay-by-plate billing.
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