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Traffic Heads South as Labor Day Holiday Marks Season's End

September 03, 2008 - AUGUSTA — Bright, sunny skies and heavy southbound traffic are as certain to mark Labor Day in Maine as backyard picnics and end-of-the-summer visits to beaches.

The near-perfect weather brings to a symbolic end Maine's summer tourism season, which was marked by rain so relentless at times it caused rivers in Maine and other parts of northern New England to overflow their banks.

Portland got 4.7 inches of rain in July – 1.4 inches more than usual. Rainfall for August didn't set a record, but the 2.8 inches that drenched the Portland area on Aug. 3 was a record for that day, the National Weather Service in Gray said.

But neither the soggy weather nor high gasoline prices, which trailed off significantly toward the end of the summer, seemed to discourage visitors who contribute to Maine's largest industry, which accounts for $10 billion per year in sales. While no figures are available, state tourism officials said the state held its own, with heavy traffic in some regions and lighter-than-usual business in others.

"We've really had a pretty good season," Brenda Wyatt of the Bar Harbor Campground on Mount Desert Island said Sunday. Wyatt said visits by recreational vehicle campers have been steady, but tent camping may be off a little.

The Maine Turnpike Authority predicted about 158,000 vehicles would travel on the toll highway today. Between June 1 and Aug. 24, more than 17.7 million vehicles used the turnpike, about 1 million fewer vehicles – or 5.4 percent – less than during the same period last year.

For those who call Maine home, events marking the holiday were scheduled across the state.

The Western Maine Labor Council will hold a Labor Day Family Barbecue in Lewiston, the Eastern Maine Labor Council plans a Solidarity Bash in Brewer, and the Southern Maine Labor Council holds its holiday breakfast in Portland.

The Associated Press, September 1, 2008


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