Town Council Continues Toll Battle

Town Councilors will interview a third law firm next week to determine how they will proceed to wage a legal battle against the state to remove the F.E. Everett Turnpike tolls.

Town Manager Eileen Cabanel said the councilors' goal is to identify the best law firm to represent the town as well as the best legal course of action along with the potential cost.

Town Councilors voted last fall to pursue legal action to remove the toll plazas that are located at exits 10, 11 and 12 after seeing several pieces of legislation go virtually nowhere at the State House over several years, Cabanel explained.

The most recent piece of legislation was Senate Bill 3 that was filed by State Sen. Peter Bragdon, R-Milford, that gained approved in the State Senate, but was killed by the House Public Works and Highways Committee last fall. Bragdon said last week he would not file another bill this session, but hoped to make changes within the New Hampshire Department of Transportation's 10 Year Plan to provide some relief.

The three toll plazas charge drivers 50 cents and are equipped with EZ-Pass, but Cabanel said Merrimack residents and people who travel to and from work from the F.E. Everett Turnpike are tired of paying those tolls.

Each time bills have been filed to remove the tolls either by House representatives or State Senators, Cabanel said they have been stopped dead in their tracks. She said the state DOT did authorize a study conducted by Vollmer Associates in 2006 that looked at the impact of eliminating the toll plazas.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation officials have always maintained the state could not afford to lose the revenue generated by the toll plazas because the money is needed to pay for highway maintenance costs.

"It's not really our issue, it's their issue," Cabanel said.

Cabanel would not reveal the names of the two law firms the Town Council has already interviewed or the third law firm they will interview next week. She could also not say when the Town Council would proceed with any legal action against the state.