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[yakra]

To ease congestion at the York toll plaza that they just built in order to ease congestion at the York toll plaza?

[vdeane]

https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2022/02/02/change-in-the-air-maine-turnpike-looks-at-cash-free-tolls/

Maine is talking about converting the tolls to all-electronic tolling. Personally, I think that they should go ahead and do it (especially since the New England region, in general, has most of the tolls are cashless)!

Good idea after spending millions rebuilding the infrastructure in York to have the high-speed tolling next to the brand new cash collection toll booths.

Yeah, wouldn't it have been smarter to think about AET a few years ago rather than right after finishing the new ORT toll plaza?  Still, better late than never.  I hope they'll make the toll scheme more logical rather than the current system of tolling only Maine transponders by distance (out of state transponders use the same barrier/ramp system as cash users).

[BlueOutback7]

What if Maine were to go for the New Hampshire way of doing AET with the toll booths on one side and through traffic on the other a’la I-93 in Hooksett.

[SectorZ]

What if Maine were to go for the New Hampshire way of doing AET with the toll booths on one side and through traffic on the other a’la I-93 in Hooksett.

That's what York is now, converting to that last September.

[shadyjay]

Also converted in 2021 (or in the final stages in 2022) is the West Gardiner/I-295 tolls.  With that completion, all of the interstate-to-interstate connections as well as mainline barriers all feature high speed EZ-Pass, with cash collection on the edges. 

I recall hearing that Maine was reluctant to go AET since it gets a lot of out of state visitors and felt that "chasing down" non-payers would burden the turnpike authority.  They would still have to hunt down someone who went through an EZ-Pass express lane in places where cash booths are provided (albeit via an "exit" to the right side).  There must've been some reason since they just redid the plazas I mentioned above.  If they had planned to convert to AET in a year, they may have held out on the York plaza replacement.

[sturmde]

Also converted in 2021 (or in the final stages in 2022) is the West Gardiner/I-295 tolls.  With that completion, all of the interstate-to-interstate connections as well as mainline barriers all feature high speed EZ-Pass, with cash collection on the edges. 

I recall hearing that Maine was reluctant to go AET since it gets a lot of out of state visitors and felt that "chasing down" non-payers would burden the turnpike authority.  They would still have to hunt down someone who went through an EZ-Pass express lane in places where cash booths are provided (albeit via an "exit" to the right side).  There must've been some reason since they just redid the plazas I mentioned above.  If they had planned to convert to AET in a year, they may have held out on the York plaza replacement.

The York toll station was "temporary" in the beginning when it was built... Maine Turnpike *had* to build a new toll plaza regardless, because the soil around the old toll station plaza was sinking... and it was in a bit of a borderline wetland.  The new toll plaza built further north is on a solid foundation... so even if it goes to AET, it needed to be built for that.  The old station was not going to be possible to convert to a 75 mph design.... 
.
And, although a number of entrances/exits further up might become like the Everett in NH and have ET-only exits/entrances at some exits.... I'm sure the York station is profitable to maintain in its present situation.  It's the largest toll ($3) and even if you make the Gardiner and mainline north end toll plazas no cash.... you'll still capture most of the "southern" travel market at mile 8.
.
I expect they'll end up with a hybrid "all but York" AET.

[Alps]

What if Maine were to go for the New Hampshire way of doing AET with the toll booths on one side and through traffic on the other a’la I-93 in Hooksett.

That's not AET. AET is All Electronic. You're talking ORT - open road tolling being featured.

[vdeane]

I expect they'll end up with a hybrid "all but York" AET.

I hope not.  That "barrier and ramp" system they use for both cash and non-Maine E-ZPass users needs to go (only Maine E-ZPass users get the virtual ticket system).  Not to mention that traffic coming from New Hampshire will most likely have driven on an AET toll road to get there once the Blue Star Turnpike converts.

[yakra]

once the Blue Star Turnpike converts.

Are there plans for that to happen?

[froggie]

^ I haven't seen anything yet for I-95.  Construction is underway on converting the Spaulding to AET, and I know of a project to do the same with the Bedford tolls on the Everett, but nothing yet for 95.

[SectorZ]

Also converted in 2021 (or in the final stages in 2022) is the West Gardiner/I-295 tolls.  With that completion, all of the interstate-to-interstate connections as well as mainline barriers all feature high speed EZ-Pass, with cash collection on the edges. 

I recall hearing that Maine was reluctant to go AET since it gets a lot of out of state visitors and felt that "chasing down" non-payers would burden the turnpike authority.  They would still have to hunt down someone who went through an EZ-Pass express lane in places where cash booths are provided (albeit via an "exit" to the right side).  There must've been some reason since they just redid the plazas I mentioned above.  If they had planned to convert to AET in a year, they may have held out on the York plaza replacement.

The York toll station was "temporary" in the beginning when it was built... Maine Turnpike *had* to build a new toll plaza regardless, because the soil around the old toll station plaza was sinking... and it was in a bit of a borderline wetland.  The new toll plaza built further north is on a solid foundation... so even if it goes to AET, it needed to be built for that.  The old station was not going to be possible to convert to a 75 mph design.... 
.
And, although a number of entrances/exits further up might become like the Everett in NH and have ET-only exits/entrances at some exits.... I'm sure the York station is profitable to maintain in its present situation.  It's the largest toll ($3) and even if you make the Gardiner and mainline north end toll plazas no cash.... you'll still capture most of the "southern" travel market at mile 8.
.
I expect they'll end up with a hybrid "all but York" AET.

The $3 is up to $4 now.

[vdeane]

once the Blue Star Turnpike converts.

Are there plans for that to happen?

^ I haven't seen anything yet for I-95.  Construction is underway on converting the Spaulding to AET, and I know of a project to do the same with the Bedford tolls on the Everett, but nothing yet for 95.

I could have sworn I saw something about NH having long-term plans to go AET, starting with a couple toll plazas on the Everett, posted to this forum, but a quick Google search isn't revealing anything.  I wouldn't be surprised if I-95 were to be last.

[fwydriver405]

I recall hearing that Maine was reluctant to go AET since it gets a lot of out of state visitors and felt that "chasing down" non-payers would burden the turnpike authority.  They would still have to hunt down someone who went through an EZ-Pass express lane in places where cash booths are provided (albeit via an "exit" to the right side).  There must've been some reason since they just redid the plazas I mentioned above.  If they had planned to convert to AET in a year, they may have held out on the York plaza replacement.

They have a whole page on the 2014 study here: https://www.maineturnpike.com/Projects-Planning/Planning-Projects/AET.aspx

Last time I was told, the York Toll Plaza toll for pay-by-plate (not sure if out of state E-Z was mentioned) would have to increase to $6.00 from $3.00 (before 2021-11-01 increase to $4.00) due to a massive loss in revenue forecasted, as shown below (also here:

To recover losses under AET, it is necessary to increase existing tolls with a surcharge. Doubling the toll to $6 for unregistered passenger vehicles (or to $24 for 5-axle trucks) and increasing it by 50% for those willing to register their plates with the Turnpike would raise first year's net revenue to just above the break even point when compared with present conditions. However, it would still fall $.6 million behind an ORT system with no surcharge.

A chief consequence of adding a $3 surcharge to the AET toll is to divert between 3,400 and 5,500 vehicles per day onto adjoining roads like Route 1, with higher levels at peak times. These diversions amount to between 30% and almost 50% of current cash traffic. Summer traffic on Route 1 in York already averages 14,000 cars per day. At Ogunquit, it averages 21,000. Because of conflicts in business protocols between AET and cash collection, it would likely be necessary to adopt AET for the entire Turnpike rather than to use it in only one location and attempt to run two parallel systems with different collection and violation rules.

I expect they'll end up with a hybrid "all but York" AET.

I hope not.  That "barrier and ramp" system they use for both cash and non-Maine E-ZPass users needs to go (only Maine E-ZPass users get the virtual ticket system).  Not to mention that traffic coming from New Hampshire will most likely have driven on an AET toll road to get there once the Blue Star Turnpike converts.

If the Maine Turnpike Authority decides to go AET (as well as NHDOT as well), I wonder (and hope) if out of state E-ZPass users will get some discount off of Pay By Plate / Tolls By Mail, but not the full discount if you would have a Maine issued E-ZPass, similar to how MA and NY (Thruway) set their toll schedules...

[vdeane]

If the Maine Turnpike Authority decides to go AET (as well as NHDOT as well), I wonder (and hope) if out of state E-ZPass users will get some discount off of Pay By Plate / Tolls By Mail, but not the full discount if you would have a Maine issued E-ZPass, similar to how MA and NY (Thruway) set their toll schedules...

That seems to be becoming a trend, at least in this part of the country.  It's better than what ME has now (where it's cheaper for people with out of state transponders or paying cash to get off at exit 45 than exit 44) or what MD does, I prefer the PA method (all transponders pay the same rate), which, it's worth noting, is what the Thruway used to do before a budget crunch a few years ago.  The fact that some people have multiple E-ZPass transponders from different agencies is absurd.

[Rothman]

If the Maine Turnpike Authority decides to go AET (as well as NHDOT as well), I wonder (and hope) if out of state E-ZPass users will get some discount off of Pay By Plate / Tolls By Mail, but not the full discount if you would have a Maine issued E-ZPass, similar to how MA and NY (Thruway) set their toll schedules...

That seems to be becoming a trend, at least in this part of the country.  It's better than what ME has now (where it's cheaper for people with out of state transponders or paying cash to get off at exit 45 than exit 44) or what MD does, I prefer the PA method (all transponders pay the same rate), which, it's worth noting, is what the Thruway used to do before a budget crunch a few years ago.  The fact that some people have multiple E-ZPass transponders from different agencies is absurd.

Having multiple E-ZPass transponders would seem to be pennywise and pound foolish.

[vdeane]

If the Maine Turnpike Authority decides to go AET (as well as NHDOT as well), I wonder (and hope) if out of state E-ZPass users will get some discount off of Pay By Plate / Tolls By Mail, but not the full discount if you would have a Maine issued E-ZPass, similar to how MA and NY (Thruway) set their toll schedules...

That seems to be becoming a trend, at least in this part of the country.  It's better than what ME has now (where it's cheaper for people with out of state transponders or paying cash to get off at exit 45 than exit 44) or what MD does, I prefer the PA method (all transponders pay the same rate), which, it's worth noting, is what the Thruway used to do before a budget crunch a few years ago.  The fact that some people have multiple E-ZPass transponders from different agencies is absurd.

Having multiple E-ZPass transponders would seem to be pennywise and pound foolish.

Depends on whether the amount of discounts one gets exceeds the amount one would pay in additional fees/deposits.  Of course, being from NY and having a Thruway tag, the idea of having to pay fees or non-refundable deposits for a transponder is foreign to me... seems like the modern system is being used as a way to nickel and dime users (particularly those from out of state) while at least with cash, the toll was the toll was the toll.  None of these extra chargers or charging different people of the same vehicle class different rates (at least beyond the transponder discount over cash when they were first introduced, as transponders cost less than paying a toll collector).

[1995hoo]

If the Maine Turnpike Authority decides to go AET (as well as NHDOT as well), I wonder (and hope) if out of state E-ZPass users will get some discount off of Pay By Plate / Tolls By Mail, but not the full discount if you would have a Maine issued E-ZPass, similar to how MA and NY (Thruway) set their toll schedules...

That seems to be becoming a trend, at least in this part of the country.  It's better than what ME has now (where it's cheaper for people with out of state transponders or paying cash to get off at exit 45 than exit 44) or what MD does, I prefer the PA method (all transponders pay the same rate), which, it's worth noting, is what the Thruway used to do before a budget crunch a few years ago.  The fact that some people have multiple E-ZPass transponders from different agencies is absurd.

Having multiple E-ZPass transponders would seem to be pennywise and pound foolish.

Talk to mtantillo. He has several of them. The big one, in his case, is having access to an MTA E-ZPass, which gets him the lower rate on NYC's bridges and tunnels. If you go there often enough and can manage to get one, it would be worth it. I’ve never bothered getting one because I almost always take Amtrak when I go to NYC.

[shadyjay]

I have a Massachusetts-issued EZ-PASS and I don't get any MassPike toll discounts.  There's a lower rate for in-state EZ-PASS which I do not get.  I'm guessing because I live out of state (in CT).  They also made me get a commercial account because I drive a pickup truck. 

In other news...

I traveled the Maine Turnpike up to Exit 53 over the weekend.  Man, that new York Toll is so nice!  The old one has been completely demolished and a "Speed Limit 60" is now in place through its work zone.  There's a slight lane shift... that's about it.  I'm guessing once its all restored to nature there, it'll be a constant 70 MPH throughout.  Also, there are now only two exits with dual Mile/KM signage remaining... Exits 47 & 48.  I didn't realize Exit 25/NB got new signs.  Those snuck in under the radar.

Pics are over at my FLICKR page... check the sig for the link.

[fwydriver405]

I have a Massachusetts-issued EZ-PASS and I don't get any MassPike toll discounts.  There's a lower rate for in-state EZ-PASS which I do not get.  I'm guessing because I live out of state (in CT). They also made me get a commercial account because I drive a pickup truck. 

From what I am reading on the EZDrive MA site (https://www.ezdrivema.com/TollCalculator), 2-axle commercial vehicles and up don't have the in vs out of state rates for E-ZPass users unlike 2-axle passenger vehicles. So in essence, only 2-axle passenger vehicles have different E-ZPass rates for in vs out of state rates, while 2-axle commercial and 3 or more axles just pay a single E-ZPass rate, regardless of transponder origin.

[ixnay]

I'm trying to draw a bead on what streets US 1 took through downtown Belfast (I vacationed at a nice B&B there 25 years ago) prior to the opening of the bypass in 1963 (per bridgereports.com).  Maps on Google Images aren't helping me, and neither is wikipedia nor http://www.roadandrailpictures.com/hist1me.htm .

Heading north through downtown, did US 1 follow High Street or Church Street coming off of Northport Ave.?

If 1 followed Church Street, I assume 1 continued on Church up to Pierce Street, then turned right and followed Pierce to and across the old Passagassawakaeg River bridge (now a pedestrian bridge) and continued on to Searsport.

But if 1 followed High Street, there's a shortcut it could have taken to the old bridge, by doglegging up Bridge Street to Pierce Street.  Or else it could have kept following High up to Pierce.

Can someone help?

[Mr. Matté]

If a red line on a USGS topo map is anything to go by, it went Northport--> High --> Bridge St. --> Pierce onto the bridge.
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/ht-bin/tv_browse.pl?id=d31de7092966fcb888aade9fd9f10036
https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/topoview/viewer/#15/44.4252/-69.0121

[ClassicHasClass]

From my old research, "US 1 now occupies a partially controlled-access bypass alignment with ME 3 around the west end of town. The former alignment is Northport Avenue to High Street; a small structure signed as "Footbridge Rd" off Pierce St is the remnant of the original US 1 crossing over the Belfast Bay inlet." ( http://www.floodgap.com/roadgap/me/r?1 )

[yakra]

ESRI imagery has been updated to show progress on the conversion of Exit 45 to a diamond.
I usually view it in the Travel Mapping Highway Browser:
https://travelmapping.net/hb/showroute.php?r=me.i095&lat=43.632068&lon=-70.344129&zoom=16
Hover over the layers icon at top-right of the map and select "Esri WorldImagery".

[Pete from Boston]

Having multiple E-ZPass transponders would seem to be pennywise and pound foolish.

I had Massachusetts and New York for quite a while. I live in Massachusetts but have crisscrossed back and forth between here and the New York area my whole life. One trip to the city racks up double-digit toll savings thanks to the NY transponder.

Ironically it’s the Mass one I don’t use anymore, because the savings is so little for the amount I cross through toll booths around here.

Honestly, I think there’s a level of parochialism with all the in-state discounts. I asked an official at a hearing why we were going to a two-tiered pricing system when it forced interstate travelers across small states to pick one discount or another, and he said, “I think Massachusetts drivers deserve a lower price.” I asked what he meant by that, and he said something like, “They just do.” I said that felt a little juvenile, which maybe wasn’t the best response, but it’s how I feel.

[yakra]

Yadda yadda INTERSTATE COMMERCE yadda yadda?