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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 26, 2018
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Exit 44 Open Road Tolling (ORT) Project - Traffic Pattern Change
I-295 Southbound traffic to shift into new ORT lanes before tomorrow's morning commute
PORTLAND, Maine - Construction of the Open Road Tolling plaza at the Exit 44/I-295 Interchange on the Maine Turnpike in Scarborough is headed into its third phase of construction and includes a shift traffic patterns. Work operations by construction crews will begin Thursday night and by early Friday morning, southbound traffic on I-295 using the interchange will be traveling through the new ORT lanes, weather permitting. Message boards will be active to notify patrons of the new traffic pattern and to alert wide loads to keep to the far right. Shifting of I-295 northbound traffic into the ORT lanes is anticipated to occur in the coming weeks.
The MTA wants the public to know that although construction of the lanes appears complete, tolls are not being collected electronically under the gantries while work is still ongoing. "While the ORT lanes look complete, we will continue to collect tolls at the current plaza location," said public outreach manager, Erin Courtney. "Not until the entire plaza is complete will we flip the switch and begin to collect tolls under the new gantries. Motorists should continue to pay their tolls in the usual manner at the existing plaza until further notice."
The $17.5 million project awarded to Reed and Reed Construction of Woolwich, ME is scheduled to be complete by fall of 2019. Once complete, it will be Maine's fourth ORT plaza that allows motorists with E-ZPass to cruise through at highway speeds while the electronic system collects tolls automatically.
Visit MaineTurnpike.com for information on Turnpike projects and weekly construction advisories and lane closure reports. Motorists can also sign up to receive travel alerts by email and follow us on Facebook or Twitter for timely travel alerts and additional Turnpike information.
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