For some reason I-95 in New Hampshire (went to Maine one of the days) was completely backed up at 9pm on a Sunday! I ended up taking NH 101 to Everett Tpke to get back instead of waiting in endless traffic to get to I-495.
The answer is right there on the Maine license plates:
Vacationland.Hereabouts, people who go away for summer weekends tend to head to either the Cape or the mountains/lakes, the latter being primarily destinations in New Hampshire and Maine. On the New Hampshire Turnpike you get not only the Maine vacationers returning, but also that from the east side of the White Mountains and Lakes Region of New Hampshire. There is a repeat of this fiasco come late September when the leaf peepers go up and back for a month.
I'll still take it over the Cape traffic, which funnels through just two exit points and then piles up again on the undersized Route 3 further north.