BOSTON (AP) State Transportation Secretary Bernard Cohen is saying for the first time that drivers who use Interstate 93 to get into Boston need not fear paying tolls to use the road.

The possibility of tolls on I-93 to help relieve the burden of paying for the Big Dig by drivers who use the Massachusetts Turnpike had been floated in the past.

Even when Gov. Deval Patrick said there would not be tolls on I-93, Cohen did not rule out the possibility.

But a spokeswoman for Cohen said on Aug. 19 that I-93 tolls are “off the table.’’

Turnpike board member Mary Connaughton said the announcement effectively ends efforts at toll equity.

But the announcement was welcomed by Sen. Steven Baddour, a Methuen Democrat who opposes tolls on I-93.

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