Toll Plazas on the highway

Question

Apologies for asking the most boring question ever, but does anyone know where the toll Plazas *on the highway, not on an exit* are between Augusta and the NH border?

We had a lovely long weekend in Acadia but we drove home late and the cash booths were closed. I'm attempting to pay them now but I can't tell from their map which ones we went through. I think some of these charge for exits only-- we stayed on the highway. Pretty sure we only missed three and there's nearly 20 listed.

Thank you!

Answer

Good question — and you’re not the only one who gets confused about which toll plazas on the Maine Turnpike (I-95) are “mainline” (i.e. on the highway) and which are ramp/exit/entrance tolls. Here’s what I found, and what’s relevant to a drive between Augusta, ME and the New Hampshire border.

How the Turnpike tolls work north of Portland / Augusta

The official toll-road stretch of the Maine Turnpike runs from the New Hampshire state line all the way to Augusta.

However, the system of toll collection changes partway along that route: the northern section (from roughly the New Gloucester barrier toll plaza up through to Augusta) uses an “open-barrier” toll system. What that means is: once you pass the last barrier toll plaza heading north, the highway becomes effectively “toll-free” unless you enter or exit via certain interchanges that may have ramp tolls.

In other words: after the final “barrier plaza,” you can travel on I-95 between exits without necessarily passing through another toll plaza. This setup was implemented to reduce the number of mainline toll booths, particularly north of Gardiner / Augusta.

Which toll plazas are on the “highway itself” (i.e. mainline barrier plazas) between Augusta and the NH border

New Gloucester Toll Plaza — this is one of the mainline barrier toll plazas on the northern section of the Turnpike.
West Gardiner Toll Plaza — another mainline toll plaza on I-95 / the Turnpike that collects tolls.
Earlier (southern) mainline plazas: there are many (York, Saco, Portland, etc.) but those are south of where you were — not between Augusta and the NH state line.

What that means for your drive / missed tolls

If you drove between Augusta and the New Hampshire border and stayed on I-95 the whole way, the only “plazas on the highway” you could have passed — and thus missed payment at — are New Gloucester and West Gardiner. After passing those, no further barrier tolls are used for through I-95 traffic.

However — depending on how your route took exits / entrances — you might also have triggered ramp/entrance tolls if you ever exited or re-entered the Turnpike, or used a spur (e.g. the Falmouth Spur / I-495 near Portland) which itself has a toll booth.

What to do now (since you missed paying cash)

The Turnpike still accepts payment through its online toll payment / non-account payment system. If you didn’t pay in cash, you can go online and settle the tolls owed.
If you believe you only drove the mainline I-95 between Augusta and the NH border (without exiting or using toll-spur ramps), then the likely missed plazas are New Gloucester and West Gardiner. You can check your travel dates / licence-plate and attempt to pay for those two. That may well resolve your outstanding tolls.
In future, if you plan to use the Turnpike, consider using a transponder from E-ZPass Maine — this makes toll payment automatic and avoids “missed booth during unstaffed hours” issues.

Why there are “nearly 20” plazas listed — but not all are barrier plazas

The Maine Turnpike website lists many toll locations because it includes both mainline plazas and entrance/exit/connector (ramp) toll booths, as well as the spur toll (Falmouth Spur) and toll-dependent interchanges. Only a few of those are actual “plazas on the highway” — most are associated with exits or entrance ramps. That’s why even though you see a long list, only two (for your northbound route) would be “in the middle of the highway.”