After scandals resulted in the dissolution of a troop tasked with patrolling the Massachusetts Turnpike, the state Department of Transportation plans to take a fresh look at its relationship with the state police department.

"Now we're treating them more as if they were almost a contractor," Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver said Monday.

MassDOT plans to audit payments to the state police twice per year and hire an outside consultant to look at its processes for reimbursing state police and developing a service plan, according to officials.

The driving public will not see a reduction in the number of patrols on the Pike, according to Gulliver.

"One of our biggest concerns was that we would see a change in the level of service. And we have had their commitment, and we've been working with them really hard to maintain the same level of service that we had before when Troop E was in existence," Gulliver told reporters.