Southern Toll Plaza Replacement

The York Toll Plaza is one of Maine’s most important pieces of infrastructure. It serves as the gateway to a state in which tourism is the number one industry. It collects more than $35 million in toll revenue per year to maintain the highway and its 176 bridges. More than 50% of the revenues collected at the York Plaza come from out-of-state motorists. It generates 37% of all the toll revenue collected on the Maine Turnpike.

The York Toll Plaza was constructed in 1969 with an expected structural lifespan of 25 years. It is now approaching its 41st year of operation—16 years beyond its lifespan. In 1969, the plaza handled less than 5 million vehicles per year. Last year, it handled more than 16 million vehicles. The deterioration of the plaza has and will continue to make it increasingly unsafe for both motorists and employees.

In 2005, the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA) directed its General Engineering Consultant (GEC) to conduct a comprehensive study of the York Toll Plaza and to recommend strategies to address its deficiencies. The study was designed in accordance with national engineering and safety guidelines as well as methodology set out by the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers. By the winter of 2007-2008, the study had advanced to the site selection and screening phase. The existing location of the York Toll plaza had been dismissed from further consideration because its location next to an interchange, on a curve, at the bottom of a hill and other deficiencies caused to fail basic engineering and safety guidelines.

In June of 2008, at the request of the Town of York, the MTA directed the GEC to suspend the overall study, in order to conduct a more detailed study of the existing site to determine “what it would take” to overcome its deficiencies and build a safe and efficient toll plaza there. In June of 2009, the GEC completed the study and recommended that three options at the existing location, featuring a revised and smaller toll plaza size, be advanced for further consideration. According to the GEC, the three options still failed to meet basic engineering and safety guidelines, but they were the best options at the existing location.

The GEC also recommended that the evaluation of alternate locations be resumed, using the revised and smaller toll plaza size. The GEC reported that the smaller toll plaza may allow the plaza to be built at an alternate location that meets engineering and safety guidelines, avoids displacing any homes and minimizes environmental and private property impacts. The GEC also wrote that the evaluation of alternate locations will be required by the environmental permitting agencies. On September 9, 2009, the MTA adopted the GEC’s recommendations.

The GEC’s alternate location evaluation is expected to be completed in November 2009. Once complete, the MTA will initiate an extensive and public process to compare all of the options, including the best at the existing location and the best at alternate locations.