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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2023
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MTA predicts traffic increase of 2.9% over last year’s Labor Day Weekend
Miles the Maine Turnpike Moose to visit Kennebunk Service Plaza on Friday, 9/1
PORTLAND, Maine - More than 1 million vehicles are anticipated to travel the Maine Turnpike this Friday through Monday – an increase of nearly 3% over last year’s Labor Day weekend. In 2022, MTA recorded 1,041,000 transactions over the four-day period. Despite an expected increase from last year, traffic is anticipated to be down compared to the Turnpike’s record-breaking year of 2019 when 1.1 million transactions occurred over Labor Day weekend.
Peak traffic volumes and times for this Labor Day weekend are as follows:
- Friday - Volume heaviest northbound between the hours of 3:00 PM and 7:00 PM
- (Friday anticipated to be the busiest of all four days system wide)
- Saturday – Busiest hours are between 10:00 AM and 2:00 PM in both directions.
- Monday – Volume heaviest southbound between the hours of 12:00 noon and 7:00 PM
Miles the Maine Turnpike Moose and MTA staff will be greeting incoming visitors at the Kennebunk northbound plaza on Friday, September 1, 2023 from Noon until 2 PM. Miles will be available for photos and Turnpike staff will be available for interviews.
All construction and maintenance activities on the turnpike will be suspended over the long weekend yet, there are still many construction areas on the pike that include narrowed lanes and reduced speed zones. Please obey the posted work zone speed limit.
Total traffic numbers from the holiday weekend will be available after 12 PM on Tuesday, September 5, 2023.
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