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Massachusetts Turnpike

The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially the "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a controlled-access toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). It is concurrent with the entirety of Interstate 90 (I-90) within the state, and is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, spanning 138 mi along an east–west axis.

The turnpike opened in 1957, and it was designated as part of the Interstate Highway System in 1959. It begins at the New York state line in West Stockbridge, linking with the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway. 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 eastern terminus of the turnpike was originally at I-95 in Weston, it has been extended several times: to Allston in 1964, to the Central Artery (designated as I-93, US Route 1 (US 1), and Route 3) in Downtown Boston in 1965, and to East Boston as a route to Logan International Airport in 2003 as part of the "Big Dig" megaproject. There are two auxiliary Interstate Highways in Massachusetts for I-90, those being I-190 and I-290.

The turnpike was maintained by the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) 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; travel between most, but not all, exits requires 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.

Route description
The Massachusetts Turnpike is informally divided into two sections by MassDOT: the original 123 mi "Western Turnpike" extending from the New York state border through the interchange with I-95 and Route 128 at exit 123 in Weston, and the 15 mi "Boston Extension" that continues beyond exit 123 through Boston. It is a four-lane highway from the New York state border through its interchange with I-84 at exit 78 in Sturbridge; it expands to six lanes beyond this interchange and briefly travels with eight lanes from exit 127 in Newton through exit 133 by the Prudential Center in Boston. The 0.75 mi underwater section of the Ted Williams Tunnel, which carries the turnpike under Boston Harbor to its eastern terminus at Route 1A by Logan International Airport, is reduced to four lanes. The turnpike is the longest Interstate Highway in Massachusetts, while I-90 in full (which begins nationally in Seattle, Washington) is the longest Interstate Highway in the United States.

Western Turnpike

In the west, the turnpike begins in Berkshire County at the Massachusetts state line in West Stockbridge, where I-90 (routed through the Berkshire Connector portion of the New York State Thruway) enters from Canaan, New York. Most toll plazas were located on the entrance/exit ramps before entering the turnpike itself. An exception was the mainline West Stockbridge toll plaza, designed for toll collection from inbound traffic from New York; it existed shortly after exit 3, an eastbound-only entrance and westbound-only exit in Massachusetts. The turnpike crosses the Williams River later in West Stockbridge and passes over the Housatonic River in Lee. The 30 mi gap between exit 10 to US 20 in Lee and exit 41 to US 202 and Route 10 in Westfield (the first in Hampden County) is the longest gap between exits on the entire length of I-90, and the fifth-longest gap between exits in the entire Interstate Highway System. The highest elevation on the turnpike exists in the Berkshires, reaching 1724 ft above sea level in Becket; this point is also the highest elevation on I-90 east of South Dakota. Beyond the peak elevation and between the exits, an eastbound runaway truck ramp exists in Russell.

After almost 50 mi of relative ruralness, I-90 has an interchange that leads to the separate routes of I-91 and US 5 at exit 45 in West Springfield; it passes over the Connecticut River before reaching Route 33 at exit 49 and I-291 at exit 51, both in Chicopee. The turnpike passes through Ludlow at exit 54 before crossing the Quaboag River to exit 63 in Palmer. The turnpike first enters Worcester County in Sturbridge, where exit 78 serves as the eastern terminus of I-84. In Auburn, exit 90 has a two-Interstate interchange with I-395 traveling southbound and I-290 traveling eastbound. The Blackstone River flows underneath the turnpike in Millbury, where it has an interchange with Route 146 and a second direct connection to US 20 at exit 94. Entering Middlesex County in Hopkinton, it has an interchange with I-495 at exit 106. The turnpike crosses the Sudbury River between exit 111 at Route 9 and exit 117 at Route 30, all located within Framingham. The last connection with another Interstate Highway on the Western Turnpike is located in Weston, at the I-95 and Route 128 concurrency. This multipiece interchange is collectively referred to as the "Weston tolls". Before being renumbered exit 123 in both directions, exit 14 was an eastbound exit and westbound entrance, and exit 15 was a westbound exit and eastbound entrance; prior to demolition, a mainline toll plaza existed for through traffic. Following the removal of the toll plazas, exit 15 was reconfigured into exit 15A (now exit 123A) for I-95 and Route 128, and exit 15B (now exit 123B) toward Route 30. At this junction, the turnpike crosses over the Charles River.

Boston Extension

The first exit of the Boston Extension, exit 125, is an eastbound entrance and westbound exit at Route 16 in Newton. The turnpike enters Suffolk County in Boston before reaching the "Allston–Brighton tolls", depositing traffic toward the Boston neighborhoods of Allston and Brighton and the nearby city of Cambridge. This exit is also used to access Soldiers Field Road, a surface parkway that provides local access through central Boston and parallels the Turnpike. Before being renumbered exit 131 in both directions, exit 18 was a left-hand eastbound exit and westbound entrance, and exit 20 was a westbound exit and eastbound entrance; a mainline toll plaza was previously placed in between them for through traffic and was classified as "exit 19". Compensating for the sparsity of eastbound entrances and westbound exits in Back Bay and Downtown Boston, a westbound U-turn ramp heading eastbound was opened in Allston in 2007; while unsigned with an exit number, it was recognized as exit 20A for administrative purposes. Past the tolls, the turnpike reduces to six lanes, heads through the campus of Boston University and passes Fenway Park before crossing over the Muddy River as it approaches the city's central neighborhoods.

Exit 133 and the now-closed Clarendon Street onramp are located within the Prudential Tunnel, which takes the turnpike underneath the Prudential Center; the former is an eastbound exit towards the Prudential Center and Copley Square, while the latter is a westbound-only entrance from Clarendon Street. Beyond the Prudential Tunnel, exit 134 is labeled as a singular exit traveling westbound, but splits into three ramps for eastbound travel; exit 134A is a left-hand exit toward South Station, while exits 134B and 134C are directed toward I-93 northbound and southbound, respectively. The turnpike travels under the Fort Point Channel before reaching South Boston at exit 135, after which it enters the Ted Williams Tunnel to pass beneath Boston Harbor. Exit 137 to Logan International Airport is the sole exit within the Ted Williams Tunnel, before the turnpike exits the tunnel and meets its eastern terminus at Route 1A northbound toward Revere.

Tolls
, toll revenue generated from the Massachusetts Turnpike is to be spent in the section in which it was collected, either the Western Turnpike or the Boston Extension (alternatively named the "Metropolitan Highway System" for administrative purposes). Tolls from exit 3 (former exit 1) in West Stockbridge through exit 51 (former exit 6) in Chicopee were removed by then-Governor Bill Weld in 1996, following complaints that the tolls collected in Western Massachusetts were financing the Big Dig in Boston; they were ultimately reinstated in October 2013.

At the recommendation of former secretary of administration and finance Eric Kriss, who recommended that tolls be eliminated along the entire turnpike except for the tunnels leading to Logan International Airport, the MTA voted to remove all tolls west of Route 128 in Weston in October 2006. Members of the Massachusetts Legislature Transportation Committee cited the potential need to amend state law and the uncertainty of how the turnpike would be maintained as setbacks to the toll removal, which ultimately never came to fruition.

In the November 9, 2006, edition of The Boston Globe, Governor Mitt Romney announced his intention to try to remove the tolls before his successor, Deval Patrick, was inaugurated in January 2007, but this did not occur. In 2008, Patrick announced a similar plan to remove most tolls west of I-95, but this also did not occur before his term ended in January 2015. State law requires tolls to be removed west of Route 128 when its debt is paid and the road is in "good condition", but MassDOT plans to continue tolls after the bonds are paid off in January 2017, because the road will still need $135 million per year for repairs and maintenance.

At a January 22, 2009, board meeting, the turnpike decided to stop charging a one-time $25.95 fee for the acquisition of a Fast Lane toll transponder, replacing it with a 50-cent monthly recurring service fee. The implementation of the 50-cent monthly fee was canceled after long delays at toll plazas on Easter Sunday.

Toll plazas

The turnpike traditionally utilized the ticket system for toll collection; a driver would obtain a ticket from an onramp, which they would surrender to an offramp and pay a toll based on traveled distance. While most toll plazas were located on the entrance/exit ramps by the turnpike, exceptions included the mainline toll plazas in West Stockbridge, Weston, and Allston–Brighton. Electronic toll collection was introduced as an alternative to cash payment with Fast Lane transponders in 1998; when installed in the inner windshield of a vehicle, the equipment would be recognized automatically in special lanes at toll plazas and would withdraw the toll amount from the motorist's account. It was first sponsored by BankBoston, and later FleetBoston Financial, before sponsorship was assumed by Citizens Bank in 2003. Motorists were previously charged $27.50 (equivalent to $ in ) for the hardware itself, although this fee has since been removed. Citing federal highway regulations that prohibit sponsorship of toll plaza signage, the contract with Citizens Bank was not renewed upon expiration; the Fast Lane name was replaced with the E-ZPass branding, with which Fast Lane was interoperable, in 2012.

Open road tolling

In 2014, Raytheon won a $130 million (equivalent to $ in ) contract to convert the Massachusetts Turnpike to all-electronic open road tolling. The stated goal of the change was to "make vehicle travel safer and more efficient". Additional changes included the elimination of toll booth operators, as well as the demolition of existing toll plazas and reconfiguration of surrounding roadways. Overhead gantries between most exits read E-ZPass transponders. Drivers without a transponder use pay-by-plate, having their license plate photographed and an invoice sent to the registered owner. This method of payment adds a $0.60 surcharge per invoice, with payment made online, or in cash at a local retail location. Installation of gantries began in January 2016, and open road tolling began on October 28, 2016. The inner segments of the toll booths were demolished 30 days after this date, which allowed traffic speeds to be raised. Complete demolition of toll booths and reconstruction was completed by the end of 2017.

As there are no gantries between exits 45 and 54 (former exits 4 and 7) or between exits 90 and 96 (former exits 10 and 11), the Massachusetts Turnpike is essentially free between those pairs of exits. Otherwise, the transition to open road tolling is revenue neutral, meaning the tolls between any other pair of exits only saw small adjustments. Tolls are slightly higher for out-of-state residents without an E-ZPassMA transponder, and no-transponder tolls are higher.

When all-electronic tolling went live on the Mass Pike, the Tobin Bridge, Callahan Tunnel, Sumner Tunnel, and Ted Williams Tunnel joined the system and were converted to charging a single toll in both directions, rather than a double toll in one direction. The Tobin Bridge was converted to all-electronic tolling for southbound only in July 2014.

In addition to license plate information, the gantries also collect vehicle speed data; a MassDOT spokesperson said that the agency "will not be using the AET [all-electronic tolling] system to issue speeding violations". Toll data is not a public record and is not subject to Freedom of Information Act requests, and MassDOT states that "All data collected will remain secure and kept confidential." The data can be obtained by subpoena, however, and law enforcement will be able to specify license-plate numbers that will generate an immediate email if detected by the system.

Background and construction

In the period following World War II, Boston had fallen into a deep period of stagnant growth. Its former maritime industries had closed as traffic in the harbor declined, the textile mills that had provided a large portion of the city's wealth had migrated out of the region seeking new locations that would allow them to maximize revenues, and property development had ground to a halt with virtually no new construction of any impact occurring since the beginning of the Great Depression. Boston retail stalwarts such as Filene's and Jordan Marsh had decided to focus their energies and growth into the suburbs; Boston's citizens had begun to flee to the same suburban pastures as property taxes in the city skyrocketed. As U.S. News & World Report stated, Boston was "dying on the vine".

After the end of the war, Massachusetts entered into a period of new highway projects planning that sought to help end the economic malaise the state was suffering from. It was in 1947 that Republican Governor Robert F. Bradford realized that the commonwealth needed to implement a standard framework to properly guide the planning and construction of these new roadways. He commissioned a study to produce a new Highway Master Plan for the eastern region, and, by 1948, it had been completed. Seeking the political benefits that a major public works project would bring, Bradford sent his plan to the Democratic-controlled Massachusetts General Court for approval; however, the Democrats sat on the project until their candidate, newly elected Democratic Governor Paul A. Dever, took office in January 1949.

It was instead Dever who initiated the program to implement the Highway Master Plan for the city shortly after taking office in 1949. Enjoying a Democratic majority within the State House coupled with a Democratic governor for the first time in the commonwealth's history, he pushed through a series of highway bills with associated gas tax increases totaling over $400 million (equivalent to $ in ) between 1949 and 1952. To oversee this undertaking, Dever brought in the former commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Works, William F. Callahan, to once again head the agency he had helmed from 1934 to 1939. Known for his strong personality and drive to get projects completed, Callahan immediately set out to construct three of the proposed highways (not including what would become I-495, which had been included in the 1947 plan): the "original outer" circumferential highway which became Route 128, the Southeast Expressway, and the Central Artery through the heart of the Boston's downtown. These three projects, totaling more than $92 million (equivalent to $ in ), were seen as being essential to the growth of the city in the future. However, the construction of these roads took such a large portion of funds that the commonwealth was unable to provide funds for the Western Expressway project. However, before Callahan could oversee the completion of the southern leg of Route 128, he was appointed by Dever to run the newly formed MTA. Because of the financial strain created by the bond issues used to construct these other highways, the commonwealth was unable to afford the costs of floating more bonds to fund the expenditures required to construct the Western Expressway along the Western Approach corridor of Boston. Callahan suggested creating a strong, independent, and semipublic transportation authority that could fund the new expressway by floating its own bond issues and financing them through tolls along the highway while having its own powers of eminent domain to secure the land needed to build it. Utilizing the political goodwill he accrued during his tenure as public works commissioner, primarily through extensive patronage hires, Callahan was able to push his idea for the new authority through the State House with ease. The authority was formed in early 1952, and, by 1955, it had issued the required bonds needed to construct a 123 mi highway from the New York–Massachusetts border to the recently completed Route 128 in Weston. Despite being completed in 1957, many within the commonwealth quickly realized that the local routes used to get into Boston were still insufficient for the automotive traffic burdens placed upon them.

Expansion into Boston
While the highway construction boom proved to be fortunate for the suburban communities these new roadways passed through, the economy of Boston was still in a fragile state. Realizing that Boston still needed to be connected to the turnpike to help reverse its flagging economy and reputation as a municipal has-been, Callahan was tasked in 1955 by the legislature to create an extension into the city designed to facilitate a turnaround of the city's fortunes. This new highway would connect the Massachusetts Turnpike to the heart of the city with a 12.3 mi extension of the Interstate. It was his plan to bring the tolled turnpike from its terminus at Route 128 in West Newton into the city along the path of the Boston and Albany Railroad and connect it to the Southeast Expressway. This plan was in line with the 1948 Master Highway Plan for the city, which had always called for a Western Expressway to be built into the city. However, with the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, the federal government provided sufficient funds to the states to construct new highways with a 90-percent subsidy, rendering the need for a toll road into the city obsolete.

Complicating the matter, Callahan's planned extension route was not universally accepted by others within the state, such as newly elected Governor John A. Volpe and Newton Mayor Donald Gibbs, who sought to construct a freeway that would follow a different route between the Borders of Newton, Waltham, and Watertown along the Charles River and US 20 and be constructed using the funds now being provided by the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Additionally, residents of the city of Newton, who would see significant demolition of neighborhoods within the city along with large portions of its central business district to make way for the turnpike extension, were adamantly against the proposed Boston and Albany routing of the road. Newton, through the terms of two mayors, set about fighting the turnpike proposal through a series of increasingly futile legislative maneuvers in the General Court. Realizing that the needs and wants of the smaller city could not overcome the influence of Callahan within the state capitol, the smaller city would instead redirect its efforts to blocking the highway at the federal level through the Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) and federal courts. Affected property owners within Boston who were also looking at the possibility of losing their homes and business followed Newton's lead by filing a series of state and federal lawsuits that they hoped would derail the proposed extension.

In the late 1950s, eminent domain takings for the Massachusetts Turnpike Extension into Boston devastated the historic Black-American community named "The Village". Compensation was offered for the homes below market value. Homeowners and renters confronted racial discrimination when trying to purchase or rent homes in Newton. Real estate agents would not work with them. They had to rely on word of mouth to find a new home. It is estimated that 50 percent left Newton as a result of the construction of the turnpike.

Prudential Company
Adding to Callahan's numerous problems with those in opposition to the new roadway, the Prudential Life Insurance Company announced that it was in the process of acquiring the 32 acre Boston and Albany Tremont Street railyard for the purpose of constructing a brand new building and associated complex to house its Northeastern American operations at about the same time as the commonwealth's plan to bypass the MTA was being announced. This proposed development stood square in the middle of the Boston leg of Callahan's planned turnpike extension and could possibly kill his proposed extension. While many opponents within and outside the city looked upon the Prudential announcement as the possible final nail-in-the-coffin for Callahan's proposed toll road, Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) head Edward J. Logue saw Callahan's Prudential problem as a way to overcome issues the BRA was having in obtaining approval for the Prudential project from the city.

Logue was in many ways the equal to Callahan: a driven man who sought the power to get things done as the head of a semiindependent authority whose structure had been modeled on Callahan's MTA. Logue, who was responsible for many urban renewal projects in Boston at the time, including the construction of Storrow Drive and the West End redevelopment project, realized the Prudential project was essential to Boston's redevelopment efforts. The main issue holding up the project was a lack of consensus over tax breaks Prudential was demanding in order to move forward with the project. Additionally, several legal decisions were handed down by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) questioning the constitutionality of the land takings required to build the complex.

Adding to the problems associated with the Prudential project, during 1960 and 1961 there was a series of allegations made against Callahan claiming he had been engaging in illegal activities related to his second tenure as Public Works commissioner. These allegations included charges of financial kickbacks, bid rigging, and other questionable practices. This led to a corruption trial which threw a pall on his reputation that did not help with his drive to construct the turnpike extension. On top of the legal allegations, a group of three professors from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University made public allegations that the MTA had been using inflated numbers to push through its bond issues, thus artificially inflating their values. This led to failed series of bond issues that critics hoped would prevent the MTA from raising the needed funds for construction.

It was in the midst of these many legal problems that, in April 1960, Prudential announced that continuation of their building project was contingent on direct highway access via a toll road along the Boston and Albany Railroad right-of-way. Additionally, Prudential would lease air rights to the parcels from the MTA and purchase a large portion of bonds issued by the authority. Despite this agreement, Governor Volpe was still trying to nix the turnpike's plans along the Boston and Albany right-of-way, filing the city of Newton's request with the ICC to stop the construction of the roadway. It was only after a series of meetings between Volpe, Callahan, and Prudential executives that the governor was finally persuaded to withdraw the ICC filing and reluctantly support the toll road. With the new deal in place, a not-guilty finding in the criminal case, and public relations pushback to the allegations of market tampering by the MTA, the bond measures were once again seen as a sound investment and investors quickly picked up the $175-million (equivalent to $ in ) bond issuance. With the turnpike–Prudential agreement in place, Logue was able to petition the General Court to once again authorize a land taking deal and tax-deferment bill, which was passed rather quickly and signed by then-Governor Foster Furcolo. While this new bill was again deemed unconstitutional by the SJC, in its decision the General Court provided a framework for the legislature to construct a bill that would pass constitutional muster. The bill also gave Logue's BRA considerable powers over the redevelopment project, allowing him to rapidly move forward with permit approvals and tax issues. The turnpike–Prudential deal linked with the Logue and the BRA's new powers to move the project forward quickly quieted much of the remaining opposition to the new roadway and cemented the idea of air right development as an integral part of the turnpike moving forward. By 1965, the Massachusetts Turnpike had been connected to the Central Artery, and the Prudential Center was on its way to completion; however, Callahan did not live to see this. On April 24, 1964, he died of a massive heart attack at his home.

The year 1968 saw the beginning of the first major expansion of the turnpike after the completion of the Boston extension in 1965. While the original design of the roadway called for an eight-lane expressway along the majority of the route, it was only constructed as a four-lane roadway along most of its length until it reached the junction of Route 9 in Framingham, where the roadway expanded to six lanes. Starting in 1968, the highway from the I-84 interchange in Sturbridge to Route 9 was widened from its original four lanes to six; that widening project was completed around 1971. However, the mainline right-of-way was constructed to allow future expansion of the roadway, with most bridges over the highway built with the eight-lane roadway in mind, so few bridges had to be rebuilt when it was widened in the late 1960s.

Big Dig
When designing the Central Artery/Tunnel Project (CA/T Project; Big Dig) in the 1970s and 1980s, the horror stories regarding urban renewal projects such as the construction of the old viaduct in the 1950s weighed heavy on the minds of Frederick P. Salvucci and his team. It was realized early on that the commonwealth could not just lay waste to parts of the city and pave them over; the state would have to ensure that construction would balance the needs of the highways against the livability of the city and neighborhoods the project would pass through. Mitigation efforts would be of utmost importance in moving ahead with the project.

Governor Francis Sargent had shut down any ideas of further freeway construction within the Route 128 beltway in 1970, thereby canceling both the I-695 "inner belt" and the Southwest Corridor freeway projects, placing more emphasis on the already-completed Boston extension of I-90, the extension of I-93 into Boston, and the work to eventually depress Boston's Central Artery below ground level as the only unbuilt freeway-related construction projects "inside" of Route 128 that would be allowed to go forward.

The notions of using existing rights of way or areas where neighborhood displacement would be minimized were applied to the second extension of the turnpike as part of the Big Dig. Salvucci deliberately planned to bring the East Boston Extension through areas with little or no occupancy or those properties already owned by the commonwealth. As a result, East Boston saw almost no takings of buildings or homes through eminent domain or the destruction of neighborhoods because construction was relegated to the then-unoccupied areas of the Seaport District and Logan International Airport. Like the first turnpike extension, the connection of the turnpike to East Boston was also designed to provide an economic stimulus to the city, this one to revitalize the desolate Seaport District.

The MTA managed the Big Dig, which rerouted the elevated Central Artery into the O'Neill Tunnel through Downtown Boston, and extended the turnpike beyond its terminus at the Central Artery into the Ted Williams Tunnel and connected it to Route 1A beyond Logan International Airport. Construction began in 1991, and the final extension of the turnpike was opened in 2003.

It was for the financial needs of the project that the "Metropolitan Highway System" was created with the turnpike east of Route 128; the Ted Williams, Sumner, and Callahan tunnels under Boston Harbor; and I-93 from Southampton Street through the O'Neill Tunnel and the Zakim Bridge to the foot of the Tobin Bridge. Finances for the Western Turnpike and the Boston Extension continue to be handled separately with this reorganization.

Ceiling collapse

In response to a fatality caused by the collapse of the ceiling of the eastbound I-90 connector tunnel approaching the Ted Williams Tunnel on July 10, 2006, and, in response to MTA Chair Matthew J. Amorello's refusal (at the time) to resign, Romney took legal steps to have Amorello forcibly removed as head of the MTA. This effort culminated in Amorello's resignation on August 15, 2006. The next day, John Cogliano was sworn in as the new chair of the MTA by Romney. On November 27, 2006, departing Attorney-General Thomas Reilly (Democrat) announced the state would launch a civil suit over the collapse of the ceiling in the Ted Williams Tunnel. The commonwealth sought to recover over $150 million (equivalent to $ in ) from project manager Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, builder Modern Continental, and the manufacturer of the epoxy used to hold the ceiling bolts.

Infill exits
In addition to the exits opened during construction of the Boston Extension, two infill exits were opened between existing interchanges on the Western Turnpike. Exit 106 (former exit 11A) in Hopkinton connects the turnpike with I-495 and enables transit between northern New England and Cape Cod; it was opened in 1969. Exit 94 (former exit 10A) in Millbury connects the turnpike to Route 146 and US 20 via the Route 20 Connector, which, in turn, facilitates movement between Worcester and Providence, Rhode Island; construction began in 1996 and was opened in 1998 before being completed in 1999.

Air rights

Much of the air space ("air rights") over the Boston Extension has been leased to third parties for commercial development. This concept was originally designed to "knit together communities" that were divided by the new highway, since the turnpike had been described as "wider and more divisive to the city" than the original Central Artery. More recently, the income received from the leased air rights have been used for paying off the Big Dig. There are 23 parcels of air space over the highway, the majority of which have not been developed. Among other objectives, guidelines established by the "Civic Vision for Turnpike Air Rights in Boston" in 2000 recommend that the proposed use of the parcels "[foster] increased use and capacity of public transportation" and "[reinforce] the vitality and quality of life in adjacent neighborhoods".

The Star Market (briefly renamed Shaw's Supermarket) in Newtonville is the earliest example of commercial construction over the turnpike. In the 1960s, the MTA intended to route the highway through the parking lot of the supermarket's previous location in the city; this alignment was ultimately approved by the SJC, under the condition that a replacement Star Market was allowed to be built above the turnpike. Other projects developed through air rights include the Four Points by Sheraton in Newton, the Copley Place shopping mall in Boston, and the Prudential Center in Boston. Proposals for future air rights projects include the mixed-use Fenway Center, and an extension of the Boston University campus near Boston University Bridge.

After four decades of no new developments, in August 2020, construction began on Parcel 12, and construction was expected to begin within the month at Fenway Center pending a final agreement with MassDOT, leading to planned closure of one lane in each direction for a year. Parcel 12 is between Newbury Street, Boylston Street, and the west side of Massachusetts Avenue and is expected to feature a 13-story citizenM hotel, a 20-story office tower (including the headquarters of CarGurus), a reconstructed bus shelter, a public park, street-level retail, and a new entrance to the Hynes Convention Center station of the Green Line subway. The developer of Parcel 13, on the east side of Massachusetts Avenue along Boylston Street, submitted updated plans in February 2020, with 17 stories of condos, hotel, parking, and public space. An approved plan for Parcel 15 (known as 1000 Boylston Street) was canceled by the developer in August, 2019, with the dissolution resulting in a lawsuit.

Proposed exits
For decades, there has been discussion about a potential new interchange with Route 56 in Oxford. This new interchange would be located between exit 78 (old exit 9) in Sturbridge and exit 90 (old exit 10) in Auburn. Former Leicester selectman Thomas V. Brennan Jr. created the idea for this potential new exit in 1996, and he continued to advocate for the idea into the late 2000s. In 2011, the Town of Oxford included the construction of a new interchange as a long-term recommendation in their municipal transportation plan; construction estimates were $60 million to $75 million (equivalent to $ to $ in ).

The construction of an exit between exit 10 (former exit 2) in Lee and exit 41 (former exit 3) in Westfield, separated by a 30 mi gap, has been controversial since the 1960s. The state conducted a study to determine the feasibility of such a project in 2018; land occupied by a service plaza and a maintenance facility (both in Blandford) and Algerie Road in Otis have been suggested as locations for a potential exit.

Allston interchange
The "I-90 Allston Multimodal Project" is a plan to replace a deteriorating viaduct in Allston by redeveloping the turnpike through the land of the former CSX Transportation's Beacon Park Yard, which is now owned by Harvard University, along with improvements to the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority's Framingham/Worcester Line. The preliminary design plan called for the turnpike to be realigned at-grade and off the existing viaduct, and for the adjacent Soldiers Field Road to be partially realigned onto a new viaduct above the turnpike and off of the existing at-grade roadbed. The design is of a considerably smaller footprint than the existing configuration; this would facilitate the construction of the proposed West Station and the expansion of Harvard University on land where the existing viaduct is located. The design phase was expected to be completed in 2019 and with a planned ground breaking in 2020.

In September 2021, after much public criticism of the viaduct and river impact during construction, a new final design was announced, which keeps the turnpike and Soldiers Field Road at-grade. In the narrowest portion of the project, known as the "throat", the Charles River Bike Path will be put on a boardwalk over the river, and roadway shoulders will be narrowed by a collective four feet for a short length to avoid any permanent filling of the river. This significantly delayed the project, and,, preliminary design is in progress, and modified project permits need to be obtained; construction is expected to start in 2023 and last for 6–10 years. As of October 2023, the project is undergoing the federal environmental permitting process, which will continue into 2024. The project did not win a National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program (MEGA) competitive grant on its 2021 application for $1.2 billion in federal funding, nor the $200 million applied for from the same program in 2023.

I-495 interchange
The "I-495/I-90 Interchange Improvements Project" is intended to realign exit 106 (former exit 11A) in Hopkinton, where the existing interchange (designed for the now-demolished toll plazas) is notoriously congested and accident-prone during rush hour and holiday travel times. , MassDOT is examining three design proposals, which have raised the suggestions of separate northbound/southbound I-495 exits and the extension of acceleration lanes through exit 111 (former exit 12) in Framingham. The project initially was estimated to cost between $296–413 million, and the design phase expected to be 25-percent complete by 2020. In July 2019, MassDOT announced that the state would be moving ahead with preferred design for overhaul of I-495/Mass Pike interchange consisting of a series of "flyover ramps" that would eliminate the interweaving of traffic that causes bottlenecks and crashes at the interchange. The state expects that the construction would begin in 2022 and run through 2026 at an estimated cost of approximately $296.4 million.

Government oversight

Since 2001, the MTA had come under fire from state politicians in a fight for control of the quasistate agency. Beginning in 2001, former Massachusetts acting Governor Jane Swift (Republican) attempted to fire Christy Mihos, a former turnpike board member and Jordan Levy, the vice chair of the board.

Mihos and Levy had cast votes on the board to postpone a toll hike. Swift objected, saying such a delay was "fiscally irresponsible" and saying the two men "interfered with the effective daily management of the Authority". Mihos and Levy refused to step down and sued Swift to retain their positions. The SJC ruled that the turnpike was "not part of the machinery of the government" and therefore not subject to Swift's decisions.

Governor Mitt Romney, elected in 2002 during a fiscal crisis, ran on a political platform of streamlining state government and eliminating waste. Part of this was the elimination of the MTA. Romney wanted to fold the turnpike into the Massachusetts Highway Department (MassHighway), the state highway department, operated under the Executive Office of Transportation. A first step to this was to replace the chair of the board, Matthew J. Amorello, with someone loyal to the governor. The governor has the power to appoint members to the board, but the SJC advised in an advisory opinion that "nothing in G. L. c. 81A explicitly provides for the removal and reassignment of the chairperson to the position of 'member.

Romney put pressure on Amorello to step down. Amorello announced he would do so in 2007, after Romney would have left office. Romney continued to press the legislature to give him the power to remove members from the board, specifically the chairman, pointing to a series of financial and construction mishaps over the last several years. However, the legislature instead sought to keep Amorello on board by extending the terms of various board members to prevent Romney from removing Amorello.

Under a plan to save state funds, the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV) announced plans to close eleven of its branches in leased locations and move the operations into facilities owned by MassHighway and the MTA located in toll plazas, visitor centers, and offices. RMV branch closings were planned for Framingham, Lowell, North Attleborough, Cambridgeside Galleria Mall in Cambridge, New Bedford, Eastfield Mall in Springfield, Southbridge, Falmouth, Eastham, Beverly, and Boston. Also, a portion of the newly increased sales tax in the state averted a planned toll increase. The MTA will receive approximately $100 million from the state general fund over the next few years, alleviating the need for the toll hike.

Under legislation signed into law by Governor Deval Patrick on June 26, 2009, the turnpike was folded into a new superagency that controls all surface transportation in the state. The new agency, MassDOT, operates all highways formerly under MassHighway and the MTA as well as eight urban roadways formerly owned and maintained by the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR). In addition, MassDOT oversees the RMV, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA), regional transit authorities, and the state aeronautics commission. The new transportation department began operations on November 1, 2009.

The MTA also owned the Callahan and Sumner tunnels, the other two road connections between Downtown Boston and East Boston under Boston Harbor. Upon completion of the Big Dig, including the O'Neill Tunnel segment of I-93, were transferred to its control. The authority received no state or federal government funding. Its revenues came from tolls, leases on air rights and service areas, and advertising. Its assets were all transferred to the new MassDOT agency as part of the restructuring of agencies.

Highway shield
The original logo depicted Paul Revere on horseback with the words "Massachusetts Turnpike Authority" in a circle around him. One incarnation of the pilgrim hat shield had a Native-American arrow sticking through the pilgrim hat. It was replaced with a plain pilgrim hat and the words "Mass Pike" in 1989. It has been reported variously that the sign was changed due to confusion among motorists who sometimes mistakenly turned in the direction the arrow pointed (right) when attempting to enter the turnpike or that it was the result of a letter campaign describing the signs as offensive to Native Americans.

According to MTA board member Mary Z. Connaughton's blog entry for the Boston Herald, all of the pilgrim-hat signage unique to the turnpike will be eliminated. However, in a personal correspondence with AARoads.com's road blog, a MassDOT official said that usage of the hat would actually increase. When guide signs on I-95 and I-495 are replaced, the "Mass Pike" signage will be replaced with pilgrim hat shields.

Exit list
While Massachusetts has used sequential exit numbers since 1964, the 2009 edition of the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices required that all US states submit plans to transition to milepost-based exit numbering by 2012. All exits on the turnpike were expected to be renumbered following this convention with two sign replacement projects scheduled for completion by 2018; the contractors were ultimately instructed to install the new signs with the existing numbers, albeit with wider exit tabs that would accommodate larger two- and three-digit exit numbers should the conversion take place in the future. In November 2019, MassDOT announced that statewide milepost-based exit renumbering would begin in Western Massachusetts in summer 2020. The work began along I-90 during the week of December 13, 2020, starting from Weston (I-95) and working westward before renumbering the exits inside I-95 and toward the airport. The work was completed in one month.

title: Massachusetts Turnpike


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Vauxhall Cavalier

The Vauxhall Cavalier is a large family car that was sold primarily in the United Kingdom by Vauxhall from 1975 to 1995. It was based on a succession of Opel designs throughout its production life, during which it was built in three incarnations. The first generation of Cavalier, launched in 1975 and produced until 1981, was Vauxhall's version of the General Motors 'U-Car' - essentially an Opel Ascona B/ Opel Manta with a few minor visual differences.

The second generation of Cavalier, launched in 1981 and produced until 1988, was launched simultaneously with the identical new generation of Opel Ascona, which was sold across the world in various guises on the GM "J-Body platform". The third and final generation of Cavalier, launched in 1988 and produced until 1995, was based on the first generation of Opel Vectra with the same production span. Cavaliers for the UK market were predominantly built at Vauxhall's Luton plant, but were also built alongside their Ascona/Vectra sister models at Opel plants in Continental Europe.

Mark I (1975–1981)
Launched with a 1,896 cc engine as a 1976 model in November 1975, the Cavalier was a restyled version of the Opel Ascona B which had debuted three months earlier in West Germany. The Ascona/Cavalier was built on what GM called the U-car platform - which was essentially a stretched version of the T-body used in the smaller Kadett C/Chevette. The Cavalier was originally intended to have its own bodywork and interior design. However, GM management stopped its development six months away from the car's intended release and decreed that it used the Opel Ascona body and interior almost unaltered, but with the longer hood and "droopsnoot" nose from the Manta B, albeit without the air slots between the headlamps, whilst the rear fascia would be altered with the license plate moved below the bumper and an applique panel between the rear lamps with "VAUXHALL" spelled out in large letters similar to existing models. In the end to keep costs down, the different nose, designed by Wayne Cherry, was the only obvious styling feature to set the Vauxhall apart., with the interior also having no differences from the Opel sister car except for badging and trim. The new models bore a strong visual resemblance to the 1973 OSV (Opel Safety Vehicle) project which had been seen in West Germany two years before.

Van, pick-up and estate versions were also on the drawing board, but the MK1 Cavalier was ultimately never produced in these bodystyles, though prototypes were constructed to the extent that a road legal Cavalier Van can be seen in an early episode of UK TV show Minder, the exact same car used in the production being pictured at. In the meantime, estate versions of the smaller Chevette and Astra, as well as the larger Carlton, would be launched to compensate for the lack of a Cavalier estate. To begin with, the Mark I Cavalier was produced principally alongside the Ascona at the newly refurbished Opel plant in Antwerp, Belgium.

Shortly after its launch, the Cavalier was tested by What Car? magazine and received a much higher rating than the Ford Cortina Mk III and Morris Marina against which it was tested. However, the Cortina was less than a year away from replacement, and January 1976 saw the arrival of the Chrysler Alpine (the British version of the Simca 1307, which had recently been voted European Car of the Year). In Britain, demand for the Cavalier initially outstripped supply, one of the factors in General Motors making a decision soon afterwards to add the Cavalier to its British as well as continental production lines in August 1977.

The first Vauxhall Cavalier to be assembled at Vauxhall's Luton plant was driven off the production line by Eric Fountain, Vauxhall's manufacturing director, on 26 August 1977, after which the 1256 cc version, assembled at Luton and using engine and transmission already familiar to Viva 1300 owners, broadened the range. At that stage the 1584 cc Cavalier and the 1979 cc which had joined it were still being imported from Belgium, but in due course these, too, started to emerge from the Luton production plant. The commencement of Cavalier production in the UK also helped ensure that supply for the car met demand, and consequently its sales figures increased so it was now a constant presence in the top 10 best selling cars in Britain.

The timing of the Cavalier's United Kingdom launch was well-judged. The United Kingdom tax system meant that sales to company car fleets comprised a larger proportion of the overall market – especially for middle-weight saloons – than elsewhere in Europe: the Ford Cortina Mk II had been replaced by the Ford Cortina Mk III in 1970, but in the eyes of the all-important company car fleet managers the newer Cortina never quite matched the earlier car for reliability, notably in respect of problems with its cable clutch and with camshaft wear in the 1.6 and 2.0 litre ohc units. The traditionally very conservative fleet market was therefore particularly receptive to Vauxhall's new Cortina challenger. At the time, British Leyland was facing criticism for the lacklustre design and doubts about build quality and reliability surrounding its cars, especially the Morris Marina and the smaller Austin Allegro. The Cavalier was launched around the same time as Chrysler's Alpine, which featured a more modern front-wheel drive hatchback layout and was voted European Car of the Year for 1976, but it would ultimately fail to meet sales expectations on the British market and was not reputedly a reliable or well-built car.

The original Cavaliers were available as two and four-door saloons, and with a two-door booted (three-box) coupé body as used for the Opel Manta. The cars came with a choice of 1.6 and 1.9 L inline-four cylinder Opel CIH engines in the saloon: only the 1.9 L engine was available in the coupé. Vauxhall engineers built Cavalier prototypes using the 2.3 L Vauxhall Slant-4 engine, for use in a future high-performance variant, but the proposals did not get past GM Europe management, and as a result the larger-engined Cavaliers were exclusively powered by the Opel CIH engine.

It was revised in 1978, as the 1.9 L became a 2.0 L engine and the 1.3 L OHV engine from the Vauxhall Viva and Vauxhall Chevette was used to create the entry-level Cavalier 1.3 variant. At the same time, a three-door hatchback known as the Sports hatch (also seen on the Manta) was added to the range.

There were plans for a five-door hatchback version to be launched, but this bodystyle was never produced on the first generation Cavalier, although at this time hatchbacks still only accounted for a small percentage of sales on larger family cars. That would change during the 1980s, however.

All Cavalier saloons shared most of their bodywork with the Opel Ascona but had the slanted nose of the Manta to give them the distinct "droop snoot" front end. The coupé also had a front air dam.

Despite being the same car mechanically, the Opel Ascona was sold alongside the Cavalier in the United Kingdom until 24 July 1981, when GM decided to phase out duplicated models with the Opel brand in the United Kingdom and merge remaining dealerships with those of Vauxhall. The Opel Manta (and Monza) remained available, giving the Opel brand a "sports" position in Britain until the Manta was finally discontinued in 1988.

That the Manta was sold alongside the MK2 Cavalier in the 1980s gave rise to the curiosity that the previous generation Ascona/Cavalier was effectively being sold concurrently with its successor, since a coupe/sports hatch version of the Ascona C/Cavalier Mark 2 was never engineered. However, the early to mid 1980s saw the decline of coupe models on the British market, with British Leyland not replacing the MG B when it closed the famous MG factory at Abingdon in 1980, and even the Ford Capri (a top-ten seller in Britain as late as 1980) had no immediate successor after the end of production in 1986, as Ford felt that there was not sufficient demand in Europe for a new sporting coupe to be launched. This was largely due to the rising popularity of "hot hatchbacks" and sports saloons including the Volkswagen Golf GTI.

Vauxhall, from 1978 until 1979, offered the Cavalier coupé in a convertible format called the Centaur. Only 118 of these were made and fewer than 30 were believed to have survived by 2007. The cars were developed by Magraw Engineering and sold through Vauxhall dealerships on behalf of Crayford. The Centaur is basically a Cavalier GLS coupé 2-litre with the hard roof replaced with a soft top leaving a T-bar for strength. The floor pan was also strengthened.

The ultimate Cavalier Mark I is the design concept by Wayne Cherry called Silver Aero. This was a one-off prototype built in 1980, based on the Cavalier Sportshatch. The car was displayed at the International Car Show at the NEC in October 1980. The plan was to offer existing Sportshatch owners and buyers to upgrade their car to the Silver Aero spec. The car has a 2.4-litre turbocharged engine which produces 150 bhp. Orders were taken, but not enough to warrant production, and the car remained a one-off.

The original Cavalier was a relatively strong seller in Britain, even though it never quite matched the runaway sales success of the Ford Cortina, or even the sales figures attained by British Leyland's Morris Marina (which sold well throughout the 1970s despite being widely condemned in the motoring press) but it at least managed to help Vauxhall regain lost ground in a market sector where it had declined during the first half of the 1970s as Victor sales slumped. It also helped repair Vauxhall's image, which had been hit hard in the early 1970s by build quality and reliability issues surrounding cars like the Victor. Nearly 250,000 were sold, though by December 2009 just 373 remained.

The Vauxhall Cavalier MK1 was also sold with left-hand drive in some European countries, including Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Italy, Sweden, Finland and Switzerland, alongside its Opel equivalent. The Coupe was available with the 1.3 engine and in Scandinavia the car came with Manta-style headlight wipers. Vauxhalls were at one time sold alongside Opels in Europe (mostly in countries where memories of the German occupation brought about resistance to German cars) but Vauxhall announced they were pulling out of the 11 other countries where they sold cars on 6 December 1979 and export sales stopped entirely in 1981, allowing General Motors to concentrate on the Opel brand in these markets.

In RHD markets such as Ireland, Cyprus and Malta, the Vauxhall brand was also dropped, with Opel becoming the main GM marque. Holden also looked at taking the U-Car but they declined as they found that the prototypes they had tested were not suitable for the roads in the outback without extensive modifications.

Trim levels:
 * L
 * LS
 * GL
 * GLS

Special Edition:

 * Command Performance
 * Silver Special

The higher-end models of the range featured an upgraded dashboard with tachometer, four-spoke steering wheel and Rostyle wheels.

Chevrolet Chevair
The Chevrolet Chevair in South Africa was a variant of the Cavalier/Ascona, featuring the grille of the Opel Manta and a four-door body. The engine choices were different, consisting of a 2.0 and a 2.3 litre pushrod four. (These were both versions of Chevrolet's 2.5-litre four). Outputs were 56.7 and 63.4 kW respectively, with the bigger engine being considered much smoother running. A later (1978) version with the Ascona front was sold as the "Chevrolet Ascona", with Vauxhall's 1.3 litre engine from the Viva. The Chevair was first introduced in November 1976. The 2.0 was called De Luxe and the 2.3 received the GL moniker. Both models were available with a four-speed manual or a three-speed automatic, with the better equipped GL being recognizable by having headrests, Rostyle wheels, and chrome trim bordering the wheel wells. During 1978 a more luxurious Berlina version arrived, available only with the automatic transmission. It received new "mag-style" wheels, tinted windows, velour upholstery, and a twin exhaust tip. By July 1978 the outputs were quoted in ISO ratings; this meant that the stated power dropped from 77.5 to 63 kW for the 2.3, while the 2.0 was no longer listed.

In early 1980 an updated variant was introduced. The De Luxe was dropped. The 1980 model can be recognized by a new grille with somewhat larger openings, new wheels, and new wraparound bumpers in black plastic. Chevrolet badges were removed from the car, as GM South Africa were phasing out the Chevrolet name in the country. The Chevair was replaced by the front-wheel drive Opel Ascona in South Africa in 1983.

GM South Africa also rallied the Chevair in the South African championships. A Group 1 car with a tuned 2.5-litre version of the Chevrolet engine, as well as a Group 2 car with a Lotusesque DOHC 16-valve Vauxhall 2.3-litre engine were campaigned. They developed 90 and 175 kW respectively. A Chevair driven by Tony Pond won the 1979 Duckhams Rally. Despite a further victory in 1979 they could not threaten the Ford Escorts nor the Datsuns in the overall championship.

Mark II (1981–1988)
After a four-year gestation period, the new front-wheel drive Cavalier was introduced on 26 August 1981. Unlike the previous generation, the Cavalier II had no styling or engineering difference from its Opel sister the Ascona C, differing only in badging and trim. On its launch, it offered class-leading levels of fuel economy and performance which had previously been unseen in this size of car. Sales began the following month.

This model was part of GM's family of compact "J-cars", along with the new Opel Ascona, the Australian Holden Camira, the Brazilian Chevrolet Monza, the Japanese Isuzu Aska, and the North American Chevrolet Cavalier, Pontiac Sunbird, Buick Skyhawk, Oldsmobile Firenza (which made use of a Vauxhall nameplate from the 1970s), and Cadillac Cimarron. In the United Kingdom, the new Cavalier was a huge success and challenged the supremacy of the Ford Cortina as the company car of choice. Indeed, it went on sale only a year before the Cortina was discontinued.

By 1982, Ford and Vauxhall had an effective two-horse race at the top of this sector on the British market, as sales of the Talbot Alpine (previously a Chrysler until Peugeot took over the European operations of Chrysler) had tailed off by 1981, while British Leyland was winding down production of the Austin Ambassador hatchback and Morris Ital saloon and estate in preparation for the launch of any all-new car (which would be sold as the Austin Montego) by 1984. Popular foreign competitors at the time included the Renault 18, which had arrived on the British market in December 1978. The MK2 Cavalier also debuted in the same year as the MK2 Volkswagen Passat.

Following the British public's reluctance to embrace the Ford Sierra's radical styling in 1982, the Cavalier overtook the Sierra in sales and outsold the Sierra in 1984 and again in 1985, although the Sierra had comfortably outsold it in 1983. The Sierra narrowly outsold it in 1986, and a facelift for the Sierra at the start of 1987 helped Ford build a wide lead at the top of the large family car sector as nearly 140,000 Sierras were sold that year, while Cavalier sales fell below 100,000.

By the time the second generation Cavalier was discontinued to make way for the third generation model in October 1988, the Sierra was almost twice as popular.

It was Britain's second best selling car (behind the Ford Escort) in 1984 and 1985, and at its peak, this version of the Cavalier came with the choice of 1.3 or 1.6 L engines derived from the smaller Vauxhall Astra (also sold as the Opel Kadett), while for 1983 a 1.8 L engine was launched, which had electronic fuel injection. A diesel of 1.6 L was added about the same time, while the 1.8 L was supplemented by a 2.0 L for the 1987 model year.

Perhaps surprisingly, it was narrowly beaten to the European Car of the Year award for 1982 by the Renault 9, with third place going to the Mark II Volkswagen Polo.

This model was produced as a two-door or four-door saloon and five-door hatchback. An estate version followed in October 1983, based on the Holden Camira wagon with rear body panels imported from Australia. It was originally only available with the 1.6 S engine in Base, L, and GL models, and proved a slow seller. For 1985 the diesel was also made available, but the Estate still only represented about 7 percent of Cavalier sales in 1985 and 1986. The slow selling two-door saloon was dropped from the Cavalier range by October 1982 and the Birmingham Motor Show, although it remained part of the Ascona range in other markets. A convertible, based on the two-door and converted by Hammond & Thiede in Germany, was subsequently offered.

The Thatcher government in the United Kingdom created a tax break at 1.8 L, with any company car having a larger engine than this attracting higher personal benefit taxes, thus effectively giving the Cavalier an advantage over its rivals soon after its launch.

On its launch, the MK2 Cavalier was well received by the motoring press, and like its predecessor was the catalyst for another surge in Vauxhall sales. In 1981, just over 33,000 MK1 and MK2 Cavaliers had been sold in the UK, although it was still Britain's seventh best selling car. A year later, sales more than trebled to over 100,000 cars as Britain's fifth best selling car. In 1983, it attained more than 127,000 sales (some 7% of the new car market) and was the fourth best selling car, although it still trailed behind the new Ford Sierra. For 1984 and 1985, however, it was Britain's second best selling car, with more than 130,000 sales each year, comfortably outselling the fifth-placed Sierra. In 1986, it was narrowly outsold by the Sierra, which then underwent a major facelift and became available as a saloon for the first time, and gained a wide sales lead over the Cavalier for the next two years.

First Facelift - Mk2b (1985-1987)
Mirroring changes being made to the Opel Ascona C, an updated Cavalier debuted in late 1984 (for the 1985 model year) which saw all models gain the "eggcrate" grille from the CD model, modified rear lamp clusters with darkened detailing, new steering wheels, larger steering column stalk switches, upgraded equipment, new upholstery options and different instrument graphics - some of these changes came direct from the recently introduced Kadett E/Astra Mark 2. Engine options were further expanded, with the fuel injected 1.8L engine now being available on GL trim.

Second Facelift - Mk2c (1987-1988)
Late 1986 saw the range updated for the second time before its eventual replacement by the Vectra A/Mk3 model in 1988, with new body-colour front grilles and rear lamp clusters revised again in a style similar to the larger Senator model together with further improvements to equipment levels. A new 2.0L version of the Family II engine became available on CD, SRi and GLS trim, whilst the availability of the fuel injected 1.8L unit was extended down to L trim.

The SRi model was now available with the uprated 20SEH engine, which had 130 hp and could exceed 120 mph. This had the same engine as the Astra GTE 8v (20SEH), though it was more powerful owing to a better exhaust route.

The last version of the Cavalier Mark II to be launched was the Cavalier Calibre. Based on the SRi130 with styling from Aston Martin/Tickford and the bodykit, sports suspension and exhaust being produced by Irmscher, it was a limited production run of only 500 cars. The car came with a very high specification including a trip computer, Recaro seats, power windows and power steering. It cost around £13,000 when released in 1987.

Vauxhall sold 807,624 examples of the second generation Cavalier between 1981 and 1988. By December 1989, it was the third most common model of car on British roads, although these government statistics mostly calculated each car by its generation rather than by different nameplate, with pre and post facelifted versions of an unchanged basic design (for example the Ford Sierra) being counted separately.

In August 2006, Auto Express named it as the country's sixth most scrapped car of the last 30 years, with just 6,343 (fewer than 1%) still on the road. The only car to cease production after the Cavalier Mark II, and which disappeared at a greater rate, was the Skoda Estelle (which was withdrawn from sale in 1990). By December 2009, that figure had fallen to a mere 1,289.

Trim levels
 * Base (1.3 petrol, 1.6 petrol)
 * L (1.3 petrol, 1.6 petrol, 1.6 diesel)
 * Li (1.8i petrol)
 * LX (1.6 petrol)
 * LXi (1.8i petrol)
 * GL (1.3 petrol, 1.6 petrol, 1.6 diesel)
 * GLi (1.8i petrol)
 * GLS (1.6 petrol)
 * GLSi (1.8i petrol, 2.0i 114 bhp petrol)
 * SR (1.6 petrol)
 * SRi (1.8i petrol, 2.0i petrol 114 bhp)
 * SRi 130 (2.0i 128 bhp petrol)
 * CDi (1.8i petrol, 2.0i 114 bhp petrol)
 * Convertible (1.8i petrol)
 * Estate (1.6 petrol)
 * Estate L (1.6 petrol, 1.6 Diesel)
 * Estate GL (1.6 petrol, 1.6 Diesel)

The "i" suffix stands for Fuel Injection.

Special editions
 * Commander (1.6 petrol)
 * Antibes (1.6 petrol)
 * Club (1.6 petrol)
 * Calibre (Same 2.0 fuel injection engine of the SRi 130)

Mark III (1988–1995)

By the mid-1980s, General Motors had started developing a new model to replace the J-Car models in Europe (its American, Australian and Japanese divisions would instead be replaced by different designs in due course) by the end of the decade. Opel, in developing the Ascona C/Cavalier II replacement had already begun a policy of retiring its legacy model names (a process that had started with the Rekord being replaced with the Omega two years earlier), hence the new car would carry the 'Vectra' nameplate. Vauxhall however with its strong brand loyalty in the UK, elected to keep the Cavalier name. Soon afterwards, development also began on a new coupe which would share the same underpinnings as the hatchbacks and saloons, but would use a different nameplate and feature completely different styling.

The final generation Cavalier went on sale on 14 October 1988, being Vauxhall's version of the Opel Vectra "A", again available as a saloon and hatchback. There was no estate version in the Opel line-up, and as this design was not going to be sold in Australia, there was no prospect of Vauxhall turning to Holden for a replacement. Early plans for an estate model exclusive to Europe to be developed never materialised. During 1989, however, the Cavalier's floorpan did spawn a new coupe - the Calibra, the first Vauxhall coupe since the original Cavalier coupe was discontinued in 1981. The Calibra was the official replacement for the Opel Manta, which had been discontinued in 1988, and was also sold on continental Europe under the Opel Brand. Plans for the Calibra to be imported to the USA under the Saab brand never materialised.

The Vectra name was not adopted at this model change as Vauxhall feared reviving memories of the much-maligned Vauxhall Victor, whereas the Cavalier was a generally well received product and had helped boost Vauxhall's sales and reputation. Early Victors had been viewed in some quarters as excessively corrosion prone, but the Victor was becoming a very distant memory by this stage: the Vectra name would eventually appear on a Vauxhall in 1995, when the Cavalier was finally replaced.

For the first time in fifteen years, Vauxhall began exporting cars in LHD to other European countries, with Cavaliers badged as Opel Vectras, which was a boost to GM's confidence in its once-troubled British division.

In place of the Mark II Cavalier's angular exterior was a more rounded appearance, reflecting the change in styling tastes throughout Europe at this time. There was also a new economical 1.4 L petrol engine. The biggest changes to the range were the addition of 2.0-litre, sixteen-valve engines, better known as the "red top" or XE. This was fitted to the GSi 2000 and later SRis. Also made available was a four-wheel drive system, fitted to a 2.0i model (8 valve SRi spec) and on a version of the GSi 2000.

There were two diesels available: a 1.7 L, 60 hp from launch, and an 82 hp 1.7-liter Isuzu-engined lightly blown turbodiesel from 1992. The early SRis were fitted with the 2.0-liter eight-valve engine from the previous Cavalier model, which produced 130 hp without a catalytic converter.

Despite the lack of an estate body style, the Cavalier topped the large medium family car sales charts in Britain in 1990, narrowly outselling the Ford Sierra, while Rover was beginning to phase out its Montego in favour of the new Rover 400 Series and later the more upmarket 600 Series. Other strong contenders in this sector included the long-running Citroën BX and Peugeot's highly regarded 405.

Having first outsold the Sierra in Britain in 1990, it was Britain's second best selling car behind the Ford Escort in 1992. It did not lose top spot in its sector until it was overtaken by the Sierra's successor, the Mondeo, in 1994.

The Calibra, launched in 1989, was well received, notably for its sporty although cramped interior (largely based on the interior of the Cavalier) and its streamlined styling which in turn enabled the Calibra to have the lowest drag coefficient of the period at 0.26 for the 8v model (0.29 for the rest) - a record it held for the next 10 years.

A few variants were made: the 2.0 litre eight valve, 2.0 L sixteen valve (the same engine found in the proven Cavalier GSi 2000), the turbo version (again, the same engine used in the very successful Cavalier Turbo), the 2.5 L V6 (with a top speed of around 145 mph) and finally the 2.0 L 16-valve "Ecotec".

A facelift in the autumn of 1992 for the 1993 model year saw the Cavalier's 1.4 L engine dropped and the 167 bhp 2.5 L V6 added to the range. At this time the GSi 2000 was replaced by a new four wheel drive version badged simply "Cavalier Turbo", with a turbocharged version of the sixteen valve engine producing over 200 hp. The Vauxhall logo was added to the centre of the boot. Most of the range now had airbags and anti-lock brakes as standard (the first car in its class to do so) and all models were fitted with a toughened safety cage, side-impact beams (providing additional longitudinal load paths) and front-seatbelt pretensioners. This version of the Cavalier was the first Vauxhall to feature a drivers airbag, with a passenger one being optional; this feature soon became available across the rest of the company's range.

The exterior design was also freshened up, with a new look grille, headlights, rear lights and bumper mouldings and an increase in sound insulation, especially in GLS and higher models making the Cavalier a quiet place to travel in. In late 1994, the new 2.0L Ecotec engine was launched replacing both the popular eight-valve C20NE and high-performance, sixteen-valve "redtop" engine. The new engine had improved fuel economy and low-end torque at the cost of maximum power output, 136 hp compared to 150 hp for the "redtop" that it replaced.

After twenty years and three generations, the Cavalier came to an end in October 1995 when it was replaced by the Vectra, though sales continued for about a year afterwards and several P registered versions (August 1996 to July 1997 period) were sold.

The third and final incarnation of the Cavalier was a big improvement over its predecessors (and most earlier Vauxhalls) in terms of durability, with the rust problems that had plagued Vauxhall for years finally being conquered. This was reflected by the fact that Mark III Cavaliers were a common sight on British roads for well over a decade after the end of production.

The demise of the Cavalier name marked a significant moment for the Luton-based company, as it would be the last of its main models with a distinct name from its Opel counterparts until the rebadging of the Opel Speedster as the Vauxhall VX220 and the Opel Karl as the Vauxhall Viva. All future Vauxhall models would share their names with those of Opel, or in the case of the 2004 Vauxhall Monaro, with Holden. However, the Astra nameplate was chosen by Vauxhall at the beginning of 1980 for its version of the first front-wheel drive Opel Kadett, and from 1991 General Motors decided to sell the Opel version of the car as the Astra.

This version of the Cavalier shared its chassis with the Saab 900 that was produced from 1993 until 1998, and continued until 2002 as the Saab 9-3, due to Saab also being within the General Motors combine at the time.

Trim levels were:

 * 1988–1992 range
 * Base (1.4, 1.6 petrol)
 * L (1.4, 1.6, 1.6i, 1.8, 1.8i, 2.0i 8v petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
 * GL (1.6, 1.6i, 1.8, 1.8i, 2.0i 8v petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
 * CD (2.0i 8v petrol)
 * Diplomat (2.0i 8v petrol)
 * 4x4 (2.0i 8v petrol) (130 bhp)
 * SRi (2.0i 8v petrol) (130 bhp)
 * GSi (2.0i 16v petrol)
 * Concept (1.8i petrol)
 * Expression (1.6 (16SV) petrol)

 * 1992-1995 range
 * Envoy (1.6i petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
 * LS (1.6i, 1.8i, 2.0i 8v, 2.0 16v (X20XEV) petrol, 1.7 diesel, 1.7 turbodiesel)
 * Colorado (1.8i Petrol)
 * GLS (1.6i, 1.8i, 2.0i 8v 2.0i 16v 2.5 V6 petrol, 1.7 turbodiesel)
 * V6 (2.5i V6 (C25XE) petrol)
 * CD (2.0i (C20NE) petrol, 1.7 Turbodiesel)
 * CDX (2.0i (X20XEV), 2.5 V6 petrol (C25XE), 1.7 turbodiesel)
 * Diplomat (2.0 8v (C20NE), 2.5 V6 (C25XE) Petrol)
 * SRi (2.0i (C20NE 1992–1994, C20XE 1992–1994, X20XEV 1994-1995) petrol)
 * Cesaro (1.8i & 2.5 V6 (C25XE) petrol)
 * Turbo (2.0 16v 4x4 petrol 6 speed Turbocharged (C20LET))
 * Ethos (1.6i E-Drive & 1.7Turbo diesel)
 * Expression (1.8i)
 * Concept (1.6i)

Popularity
A total of more than 1,800,000 Cavaliers were sold in three generations, and a 20-year production run, making it the fifth most popular car ever sold in Britain.

Following its launch in October 1975, the original Cavalier took time to gain ground on the British market, with just under 30,000 sales placing it as the 13th best selling car for 1976. It climbed to eighth place the following year with more than 41,000 sales, peaking at seventh place in 1978 with over 55,000 sales. It was still the seventh best seller in 1980, though sales for that year had dipped back to just over 41,000 as the economy entered recession.

Well over 200,000 were sold in total over a six-year production run, but by the end of 2009 just 373 remained, and it had been a rare sight on British roads even by the mid 1990s. The Mark II Cavalier was a much bigger success. In 1982, its first full year on sale, just over 100,000 were sold in Britain. This placed it as Britain's fourth best selling car, putting it just 35,000 sales short of its key rival, the Ford Cortina, which was replaced that autumn by the all-new Sierra. 1983 saw Cavalier sales in Britain exceed 127,000 as it retained fourth place, but it was outsold by the Sierra which occupied second place with almost 160,000 sales.

The next two years, however, saw the Cavalier top the large family car sector in Britain in terms of sales, and overall it was the nation's second best selling car behind the Ford Escort, breaking the 130,000 barrier on both occasions while the Sierra only just made it into six figures. Despite falling popularity towards the end of production which saw the Ford Sierra comfortably outsell it, a total of 807,624 Mark II Cavaliers were sold in Britain during its seven-year production run. The Mark II Cavalier remained a popular second hand buy and common sight on British roads for a decade or so afterwards, and proved to be more resistant to rust than its predecessor as well as earlier Vauxhalls.

The Mark III Cavalier enjoyed similar popularity to its predecessor. Launched in October 1988, Cavalier sales for 1989 stood at 130,000 (including some Mark II's) as it was Britain's fourth best selling car overall, while the Ford Sierra stood second with more than 175,000 sales, but in 1990, it edged ahead of the Sierra into third place, and by 1992, it was Britain's second best selling car with nearly 110,000 sales (the lower figures being the result of the recession at the time) while sales of the ageing Sierra had slumped to less than 80,000.

The Sierra's successor, the Mondeo, overtook it in 1994 but even in the Cavalier's last year in production, 1995, it still managed nearly 74,000 sales, despite being replaced by the Vectra in October 1995.

Airey Neave, Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, and advisor to Margaret Thatcher, was assassinated in a Mk.I Cavalier on 30 March 1979 by the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA) when a car bomb was detonated beneath it while driving away from the Palace of Westminster. A red Mark III Cavalier was also used in the 1998 Omagh bombing carried out by the Real IRA.

By February 2016, just over 4,500 Cavaliers across all three generations were still in use on Britain's roads, with most remaining examples being MK3 models. More than 1.8 million had been sold there.

Motorsport
The Cavalier was used in the British Touring Car Championship from 1990 to 1995. The Cavalier was competitive, with Vauxhall Motorsport winning the Manufacturers' Championship in 1992, but the strength of the competition, and bad luck, conspired to deny John Cleland the Drivers' title in both the 1991 and 1992 seasons, finishing 2nd in 1991 and 3rd in 1992 – the latter a result of a dramatic final-race showdown, culminating in a collision between Cleland and rival Steve Soper.

1993 and 1994 both saw Cleland finish 4th in the championship; however the Cavalier finally won the Drivers' title in 1995, with John Cleland winning the Drivers' Championship, and Vauxhall Sport the Manufacturers' title.

The Cavalier was replaced by the Vectra in 1996, although privateers such as Richard Kaye and Jamie Wall would continue to use them until the end of the 1997 season.

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Vauxhall Cavalier


text:
Talk:St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

New photo of the building
Souvenir from a trip to Dublin. Could use a bit of work, but the higher resolution and better lighting might justify the effort. Regards, Paradoctor (talk) 01:10, 1 November 2009 (UTC)

Forced alienation?
Looking at - "The forced alienation of sacred places from one community to another leaves lasting scars" - how does that relate to this building?86.42.209.185 (talk) 16:18, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
 * It relates because the building was once the property of the Catholic Church. Following the Reformation, agents of the State, acting on behalf of the Established Church, appropriated it for the exclusive use of the Church of Ireland. Roman Catholic adherents, who were the majority of the population, were thereby dispossessed of the building and its revenues. They were obliged to conduct their services elsewhere in secret until the relaxatin of the Penal Laws. This process left some lasting scars in the dispossessed community, a fact which the Church of Ireland, until recent times, was unable to acknowledge. The sentance provides good balance and shows how the healing process has begun. Laurel Lodged (talk) 20:07, 12 September 2012 (UTC)
 * I have removed the quote from the article.
 * It was misleadingly attributed to "some Anglicans", whereas it was actually a quote from a letter to the editor of the Irish Times from one individual Anglican priest writing from France. No independent sources were provided to attest to the significance of this view, nor of the significance of any underlying controversy.
 * If there is wider coverage of a controversy around the ownership of the Ctahedral, then the quote may have a place in that, but even in that situation there are WP:WEIGHT issues. -- Brown HairedGirl (talk) • (contribs) 08:02, 17 September 2012 (UTC)

It still has: "During the confiscation process.." but it was never confiscated. Archbishop John Alen was murdered in 1534 by the rebel Thomas FitzGerald, 10th Earl of Kildare because Alen was a supporter of Cardinal Wolsey. His replacement in 1536 was George Browne (archbishop of Dublin). Henry VIII was excommunicated by the Papacy in 1538.78.19.203.175 (talk) 11:51, 6 October 2016 (UTC)

Assessment comment
Substituted at 06:48, 30 April 2016 (UTC)

Used by whom in 1688-90?
The article has the following:
 * "In 1688–90, during the Williamite War in Ireland, James II and his fellow Catholics briefly repossessed St Patrick's. James attended Mass services there with his Jacobite supporters for a time."

King James II was Catholic, but remained at the same time the head of the Anglican churches of England and Ireland. During the "Patriot Parliament" of 1689 he invited the Irish Anglican bishops to sit. It would be interesting for these sentences to be sourced properly, and altered if needed, whatever was the case.78.16.115.42 (talk) 12:04, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

I haven't come across Mass being said in St. Patrick's, but there are several mentions of Mass being said in Christchurch Cathedral during the Patriot Parliament. The Anglicans hid the plate, candle-sticks, etc., under a coffin to prevent the priests from celebrating Mass, but a priest found some old iron candle-sticks and made do with some old furniture so that Mass could be celebrated. In fact I think those same candle-sticks are still there in Christchuch. Hohenloh + 18:13, 11 July 2017 (UTC)

Renovations since the 19th century
There is probably a need for a small addition to the history covering major works since the great restoration / rebuilding. One of these projects, focused on the roof, is ongoing in 2020. SeoR (talk) 11:45, 15 July 2020 (UTC)

title: Talk:St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin