York Town News
Weaver bill to postpone York toll plan wins committee approval
By Jennifer L. Saunders
YORK - Rep. Windol Weaver has won the full support of the Legislature's Transportation Committee for a bill that will put a hold on plans to build a new toll plaza to replace the local entrance to the Maine Turnpike.
Speaking by phone from Augusta last week, Weaver, R-York, said he was very pleased with the strong support for the first bill he has submitted since being elected to the Legislature back in November.
The reason he brought the measure forward, he said, was because many local residents contacted him with concerns about the state's plan for the York Toll Plaza.
Weaver's measure, if approved by the full Legislature now that it has won its first victory in committee, will require further study before the Maine Turnpike Authority can relocate the York tolls.
Weaver said the unanimous approval from the Transportation Committee bodes well for passage by the full Legislature.
The Turnpike Authority had proposed building a new toll plaza with high-speed lanes, at a cost of $33 million, Weaver explained last week, and that cost had his constituents asking questions.
"Various citizens of York County believe that the relocation of the toll booth is unnecessary at this time," Weaver told the Transportation Committing at work session one week earlier. "Local observation is that the plaza is operating fine and that there is no substantive reason to waste $33 million to replace the facility."
Weaver had introduced Legislative Document 534, a bill directing the Maine Turnpike Authority to instead study a possible relocation and submit a report to the Transportation Committee by Dec. 15 of this year.
Weaver said one of those constituents, York resident and business owner Marshall Jarvis, also spoke before the Transportation Committee.
"Everyone who uses the Maine Turnpike should be against this expenditure," he said. "The investment will yield little or no savings in productivity and will not generate a single penny of additional revenue. The project to replace the current York toll plaza should be postponed at least five years."
Weaver noted that the tolls collected at the York plaza annually amount to about $30 million and, with interest on a $33 million bond package to fund a relocation project, it would take more than a year to recoup those funds.
Another reason to take time to study the $33 million plan is the possibility that the Maine Turnpike could be leased to a private company, Weaver said last week.
"With that being the case, would it not be prudent to deliberate that upcoming legislation first, before allocating funds to move the toll plaza?" he said. "I am aware that the Maine Turnpike Authority is the big dog in this discussion, but attention should be drawn to the fact that this is a situation that needs not be addressed at this juncture."
Weaver said the next step will be a vote on the measure before the full Legislature.
