Drivers in the Lewiston-Auburn area are being shortchanged and double taxed by the tolls on the Maine Turnpike.
L-A motorists pay for Portland’s toll-free highway by means of the state gas tax every time they fill up their gas tanks. They then pay increasingly expensive tolls (including the New Gloucester toll that recently shot up to $2.25) in order to use their own highway.
Why does it seem like L-A motorists are always stuck paying for Portland?
The tolls on the Maine Turnpike were originally promised as a temporary government program to pay for the road’s initial construction, then maintenance was to be funded with the state gas tax. However, as Ronald Reagan once famously said, “A government program is the nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth.”
The turnpike’s construction has been long since paid for, but motorists are still stuck paying the tolls. Augusta politicians would rather keep the extra gas tax revenue for their own pet projects instead of honoring the promise they made to drivers on the Maine Turnpike.
It’s time for L-A legislators to fight for L-A residents. It’s time for equity for L-A. It’s time to … tear down these tolls!
Eric Brakey, Auburn
Candidate, Maine Senate District 20
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