LEWISTON – Drivers along the local stretch of Interstate 95 may soon be forced to leave the highway for gas or a burger.
The Maine Turnpike Authority plans to close its rest stops in Lewiston and Litchfield as part of a wider modernization of all of its highway stops.
The plan calls for new and bigger stops in Kennebunk. Plazas in Gray and New Gloucester will be modernized but scaled back, with vending machines taking the place of Burger King restaurants. Leaders also hope to build a new plaza in West Gardiner, accessible from both sides of the highway and to Route 295.
The reason for the changes is money, said Dan Paradee, spokesman for the Maine Turnpike Authority.
“These are profit-making entities,” Paradee said. “They make the tolls lower.”
Overall, the six rest-stop restaurants – in Lewiston, Litchfield, Cumberland, Gray and two in Kennebunk – produce about $13.3 million each year in profits. The highway’s share, which also includes rents and income from fuel sales, is about $1.6 million
However, not all rest stops are created equal.
By themselves, the restaurants in Kennebunk account for more than $9 million in total revenue, Paradee said. By comparison, the Litchfield Burger King makes about $956,000 annually and the Lewiston stop makes $1.1 million.
“I’m not sure they do anything for us as a community,” said Lucien Gosselin, a member of the highway authority and the president of the Lewiston-Auburn Economic Growth Council. After all, few people stop at a turnpike rest stop and then venture into the nearby community.
“The Lewiston facility doesn’t get that much traffic,” Gosselin added.
Besides, the entire system of highway stops is growing tired. The rest stops north of Portland all opened nearly a half-century ago, in 1956. They were last renovated in 1985.
“They’ve been modernized, doctored and tweaked,” Gosselin said.
Outside Lewiston-Auburn, where the Turnpike Authority plans to spend its money, the investment will be big.
The Turnpike Authority’s total cost is expected to reach $24 million.
In Kennebunk, the authority plans to spend $10.3 million on parking and traffic changes and the basic construction of two 15,000-square-foot plazas.
“We’re just building the shells,” Paradee said. The food vendor – HMSHost, formerly Host Marriott Services – will do the rest.
Work is slated to begin next year in Kennebunk, where plans are before the town’s Site Planning Review Board.
HMSHost plans to create food courts in the new plazas in Kennebunk and West Gardiner.
The company has operated the Burger Kings and other restaurants at each of the plazas.
According to its Web site, HMSHost runs food concessions at 71 airports and 107 rest stops in North America.
The highway authority has not decided when the Litchfield and Lewiston rest stops will close, Paradee said.
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