Gov. Deval Patrick is planning to dismantle the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and cut all tolls west of Route 128 except at two state border crossings, while likely raising tolls closer to Boston to pay off Big Dig debt, two government officials said today.

Under the plan, expected to be unveiled later this week, Turnpike operations west of Route 128 would be folded into the Massachusetts Highway Department. Operations within Route 128, the so-called Metropolitan Highway System, would be folded into the Massachusetts Port Authority.

Massport already runs the Mystic Tobin Bridge and tunnels leading to and from Logan International Airport.

The plan is an attempt to improve efficiency and try to mollify public complaints amid talk of toll hikes necessary to repair aging infrastructure and pay off the debt of the nearly $15 billion Central Artery project, said the officials, both of whom demanded anonymity in advance of the governor’s formal announcement.

One said dismantling the Pike "would keep a promise to the taxpayers," especially western Massachusetts drivers who have complained about being saddled with Big Dig costs despite long-broken promises that Pike tolls would be eliminated once the roadway’s original construction bonds were paid off.

According to the plan, tolls likely will be raised inside Route 128, whose drivers make the most use of the Central Artery and its underground system of highways and airport connections. One proposal discussed by the Turnpike board in September called for raising tunnel tolls by $5, from $3.50 to $8.50, and increasing tolls at the Allston-Brighton Turnpike interchange by $1, to $2.25.

UPDATE: More from the Globe, Michael Graham, Politicker and Boston Magazine.

SECOND UPDATE: More from the Herald.