Maine Turnpike Authority plans higher tolls to offset pandemic losses
Photo / Renee Cordes
Under a plan announced by the Maine Turnpike Authority on Monday, the cash toll rate would increase from $3 to $4 a car at the York Toll Plaza, shown here.
The Maine Turnpike Authority is proposing an increase in tolls starting Nov. 1 to offset losses caused by the pandemic, when the 109-mile highway brought in $60 million less in revenue than had been projected.
The authority on Monday announced $17.3 million in adjustments that include higher cash rates at the York Toll Plaza, in a move the MTA said will help ensure future projects can be completed as scheduled.
Under the plan, the cash rate at York would increase from $3 to $4 per passenger car, plus corresponding rates for remaining toll classes. The current Maine E-ZPass rate per mile would increase from 7.7 cents to 8.0 cents, and Class 1 Personal Volume Discount thresholds would be reduced from 25% to 20% for Maine E-ZPass users making 40 or more trips a month.
The plan would also eliminate image tolls that count toward the Class 1 Personal Volume discount, when an E-ZPass transponder is not present or not read to valid Maine E-ZPass account.
Traffic recovering
The MTA said the adjustments are meant to limit impacts to drivers with an E-ZPass account, and that 71% of the increase will be borne by out-of-state users. The increased cost for in-state users is an average of about 20 cents a trip.
“Recently, traffic on the Maine Turnpike has recovered and is nearing pre-pandemic levels,” said Peter Mills, the agency's executive director, in Monday's announcement "However, the loss of revenue during the pandemic combined with new bonding constraints make it infeasible to complete future capital plans without raising tolls or adjusting discounts."
The agency noted that while it's reluctant to raise tolls while the economy is still recovering, it as not raised tolls in nearly nine years and is one of few agencies in the country not to have done so.
Nationally, more than half of all toll facilities have increased tolls during the pandemic to offset losses, the MTA said.
“After weighing the options, the MTA Board has determined that to defer important capacity projects would cause greater harm than to adjust tolls upward to sustain them,” Mills said.
Mills, the older brother of Gov. Janet Mills, was appointed executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority in 2011 by then-Gov. Paul LePage.
Public meetings and board vote
Members of the public can ask questions and give comments on the proposed toll increases at three upcoming meetings, either in person or virtually. Meetings are currently scheduled for Aug. 3 in York, Aug. 4 in Saco, and Aug. 5 in Lewiston.
A Maine Turnpike Association spokeswoman told Mainebiz that the agency's seven-member board will need to vote on any changes to the toll rates and structure, and will evaluate the public comments received through Aug. 20 before its scheduled meeting on Sept. 2. A vote on the planned changes is expected at that meeting.
More information about the proposed changes and upcoming public meetings is available here.
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The tolls on the Maine Turnpike were not supposed to be permanent. Toll collections were to stop once the Maine Turnpike Authority paid off the debt from the road's construction. In the 1980s the bonds were going to be paid off but the Maine Legislature authorized the Maine Turnpike Authority in 1982 to continue as a quasi-governmental agency and to continue to collect tolls in order to fund the maintenance of the section of highway controlled by the MTA..
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