All quiet as holiday travelers hit state> 160,000 vehicles expected to crowd highways as folks head home Sunday

PORTLAND – Mainers were on the go Wednesday, the day before Thanksgiving, but no delays were reported at Portland International Jetport and officials anticipated no major backups along the Maine Turnpike.

On what has been described as the busiest travel day of the year across the nation, Maine was taking it all in stride.

“Nationally speaking, Thanksgiving is a huge travel day, but in Maine it does not compare with the kind of traffic we experience on summer weekends. If people drive safely and avoid accidents, traffic should flow smoothly,” said Maine Turnpike spokesman Dan Paradee.

He predicted that Wednesday would be the heaviest traffic day, with a projected 200,000 vehicles entering the highway at all locations and up to 35,000 of them entering Maine at the York toll plaza. Sunday was likely to be the second busiest day, he said, with an estimated 160,000 vehicles, including 30,000 exiting at York.

Maine State Police, along with a number of other police agencies in the state, were participating in a nationwide effort to beef up enforcement of laws regarding drunken driving and use of seat belts, said Stephen McCausland, spokesman for the state Department of Public Safety.

Two people were killed in each of the last two years during the four-day holiday period that runs from Thursday to Sunday.

State police were at the scene of a fatal crash involving a logging truck and a passenger vehicle Wednesday afternoon on Route 15 in the Jackman area.

As Portland International Jetport braced for a busy weekend, officials reported no delays or cancellations in the early going.

Jeff Schultes, airport manager, cautioned that parking was extremely tight over the weekend and that travelers should consider catching a ride with friends or family, or relying on taxi service.

The airport’s 1,360 parking spaces were just about filled, he said, making lack of capacity a problem on busy travel days. The airport is working on plans to design and build a garage containing an additional 1,500 spaces.