Be On the Lookout For These Two As You Leave Maine This Weekend

It's Labor Day Weekend and the Maine Turnpike Authority expects over 1 MILLION transactions on the busy roadway. On Monday the MTA expects 247,000 vehicles on the Turnpike, with the heaviest between coming between 12:00 noon and 7:00 PM.  On a typical Labor Day, more than 3,760 vehicles travel through the York Toll Plaza every hour.

The Turnpike will be continuing one of their really fun traditions by having several mascots saying goodbye to tourists as they travel southbound into New Hampshire. Be on the lookout for Miles the Moose, Clawdette the Lobster and a giant bottle of Poland Spring water!

From the MTA: "Now in its sixteenth year, Maine Turnpike Authority employees celebrate the unofficial end of summer by thanking outbound visitors personally, going from car to car once traffic begins to backup, to hand out small gifts of Maine-made products.

 
“We started handing out Maine-centric gifts to our southbound customers on Labor Day in 2002,” said Erin Courtney, spokeswoman for the Maine Turnpike. “It’s a great way to say ‘thank-you’ to thousands of our customers and highlight some of Maine’s fantastic products.” 
 

This year’s giveaways will be bottles of Poland Spring® 100% Natural Spring Water and bags of handmade Fox Family Potato Chips for every vehicle.
 
Fox Family Chips founder, Rhett Fox said, "we are excited to be included in this year's Labor Day tradition and hope our Maine visitors will be back next summer."
 

Stickers on the potato chip bag will also invite visitors to post their favorite Maine vacation photos online with the hashtag #MaineTurnpike for a chance to win a free Maine lobster dinner for four, shipped directly to their door. Turnpike staff members will be monitoring Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to choose a winner at random."