Holiday weekend traffic leaving Maine snarls I-95 near New Hampshire line

Southbound traffic moves slowly Sunday on the Maine Turnpike in York. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

The Maine Turnpike Authority on Sunday reported that heavy traffic volume created delays and caused traffic accidents on Interstate 95 between Wells and the New Hampshire state line.

Around 2 p.m. near the end of the Independence Day weekend, slowdowns stretched from Exit 19 in Wells to the border, the turnpike authority said on Twitter.

Traffic volume remained heavy early Sunday evening. The MTA reported at 5:42 p.m. that a motor vehicle crash on the Maine Turnpike southbound between Exit 19 in Wells and Exit 7 in York was causing traffic delays. The crash forced police to close the left lane.

At 6 p.m. the turnpike authority reported that traffic volume remained heavy between York and New Hampshire. But just after 7 p.m. it lifted its heavy traffic alert as the holiday weekend, at least for people traveling in a motor vehicle, began to draw to a close.

Holiday traffic on interstate highways has been reduced during the coronavirus pandemic, but officials have reported an increase in activity as Maine lifts some restrictions and summer prompts more people to travel.

Memorial Day saw lighter traffic than last year, but motorists in May contributed to a steady uptick in travel with the beginning of summer, according to turnpike statistics.