LePage floats idea of merging MDOT and Maine Turnpike Authority
COURTESY / MATTHEW GAGNON, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
Gov. Paul LePage, shown in this file photo, floated the idea at a Gorham town hall meeting Wednesday of merging the Maine Turnpike Authority with the Maine Department of Transportation.
Gov. Paul LePage speaking at a town hall meeting in Gorham Wednesday night floated the idea of merging the Maine Turnpike Authority with the Maine Department of Transportation, suggesting that it could lead to the elimination of most turnpike tolls on Interstate 95.
The Portland Press Herald reported that LePage suggested that only the turnpike’s southernmost tollbooths should remain in place to capture revenue from visitors to the state. He also suggested that MDOT could be given the responsibility of maintaining the 109 miles of the turnpike and that the turnpike’s authority to borrow money could be suspended.
LePage told the Gorham audience that the idea was consistent with the original goal of the turnpike when it was completed in 1947 of eventually eliminating its tolls once the highway construction costs were paid.
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