The Maine Turnpike’s New York Toll Plaza is Now Open – Here’s What You Need to Know

Big changes are in place for drivers at the York Toll Plaza on the Maine Turnpike.

Construction began on the new "open road" toll plaza in November of 2018 and opened at 12:01 Wednesday morning. The three years of that construction gave us six lanes of traffic that E-ZPass drivers can use to pay their toll without slowing down, staying at the speed limit of 70 mph. Drivers who pay cash use the booths to the right to pay the toll attendants.

But there's more construction to come in York as demolition now begins on the 52-year-old toll plaza just south of the new, a project that will take a year to complete at a cost of $12.2 million. In order to do that, drivers will need to be aware of a changing traffic pattern between the new toll plaza and the old.

To allow traffic to still pass through the old tolls, the plaza will be torn down in sections by Sargent Corporation, a third at a time.

Currently, if you're headed south, drivers will drive through the five, center tollbooth lanes while northbound traffic stays to the right driving through the four former tollbooth lanes. Make sure you do not stop. These toll booths are inactive with no need to stop, but the speed limit as you pass through them is still 10 mph as it has always been.

These traffic patterns will continue to shift over the months as more of the plaza is demolished. The speed limit between the new toll plaza and the old will be 55 mph until October 1.

Remember, if you have E-ZPass, you can continue through the new plaza highway speed without stopping. Don't have E-ZPass. Sign up at the link below.