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Tourist Traffic Down Due to Gas Prices, the Economy, and Rain.

September 03, 2008 - PORTLAND -- Although Monday, Labor Day, was one of the busiest days this summer on the Maine Turnpike, traffic moved smoothly as out-of-state visitors headed south, Maine traffic officials said.

The volume of southbound traffic peaked at the York toll plaza between noon and 2 p.m., when about 4,000 vehicles per hour passed through, said Duane Douglass, toll supervisor. "It's been busy," he said.

Douglass said that was about average for a Sunday afternoon in July and August.

Maine State Police said there were no serious accidents on the turnpike Monday.

Southbound traffic was backed up for the next seven miles from the toll plaza to the Piscataqua River Bridge at the New Hampshire border, which happens frequently in heavy summer traffic.

Meanwhile, traffic was light heading north. "It was almost nonexistent," Douglass said.

Motorists heading south were greeted by Miles the Maine Turnpike Moose and D. Claude Lobster, who handed out visitor appreciation mementos, an annual event at the York plaza on Labor Day.

This year, 15,000 bumper sticker-sized refrigerator magnets with Maine scenes and visitor information were distributed.

Douglass said some motorists always stop to have their pictures taken with the turnpike mascots.

With several hours to go before the end of the day, it was not clear whether traffic counts on the turnpike would approach last year's Labor Day count.

Turnpike officials had expected more than 710,000 vehicles on the highway from Friday through Monday. But overall traffic was down 5.4 percent this summer because of gasoline price increases, a sagging economy and rainy weather.

About 1 million fewer vehicles traveled the turnpike from June 1 to Aug. 24 this year, compared with the same period last year, turnpike officials said.

By BETH QUIMBY, Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald, September 2, 2008


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