Turnpike panel OKs hike in tolls Cash fares to increase 10-25 cents

PORTLAND – The Maine Turnpike Authority voted unanimously Friday to boost tolls to raise an additional $13.5 million a year for improvements on the 109-mile toll road.

The rates that go into effect in February represent the turnpike’s first toll increase in six years.

Cash fares at the main toll plazas in York, New Gloucester and West Gardiner are going up 25 cents, while other toll plazas will see a 10 cent increase. All other users will see higher rates as well.

“It’s a rational increase. It’s not one that has gone hog wild,” Turnpike Authority Chairman Gerald P. Conley Sr. said after the vote.

Frequent users will see some of the biggest increases under the plan, which was subject to more than a year of study.

Commuter passes are subject to the biggest increase, 41 percent, and truckers will be seeing increases between 30 percent and 40 percent, said Dan Paradee, spokesman for the turnpike authority.

But commuters still will receive at least 50 percent savings from the cash fare if they make five round trips per week, he said. And volume discounts of 20 percent are available for trucking companies.

The additional revenues will be used during a five-year capital improvement plan that includes $32 million for construction of a new York toll plaza, the gateway for most tourists entering the state from the south.

Other turnpike improvements include the rehabilitation of 15-20 bridges for $27 million, the repaving of 37 miles of road for $17 million, an expansion of park-and-ride lots for $2 million and construction of a new turnpike authority headquarters building.

“No one likes a toll increase but the revenues raised through this plan will pay for repairs and safety improvements that are absolutely vital to Maine’s economic future,” Conley said.