How to Avoid Tolls on I-95 in Maine

Dodging tolls in Maine is a difficult task if you’re driving the length of Interstate 95, but with a bit of creativity it can be done. It is possible prevent Maine’s highway tolls from taking all of your spare change. Drivers should not be burdened with road tolls. Taxes are high enough in the first place.

Avoiding all the toll booths on I-95 in the Pine Tree State requires advanced navigation skills. You may be able to set your smartphone or GPS to avoid tolls, but following a paper map as you drive is a better choice. It is highly unlikely that a phone or GPS will take you on the optimum route to circumvent the I-95 tolls in Maine, and stay on the highway where you can.

Maine’s toll portion of I-95 is called the Maine Turnpike and it is marked with circular green signs with gold stars along the highway. Tolls on the turnpike (as you drive south from Bangor, ME) are located in West Gardiner, New Gloucester, and York. Directions on how to avoid each toll are listed below.

Civil engineers designed the Maine Turnpike in a way that makes it difficult to avoid the tolls. Dodging the West Gardiner toll booth will keep you off I-95 for 30 miles. Avoiding the New Gloucester and York tolls requires driving off of the Interstate for 68 miles, from Auburn, Maine to the New Hampshire border. Despite this long detour, you will experience some scenery that you would miss on the highway.

West Gardiner Toll - Avoiding tolls in Maine

Off-highway detour distance: 30 miles

The West Gardiner toll is located at mile marker 98 on I-95. It will cost you $1.75 unless you dodge it like this:

1. Take exit 109A on I-95 south in Augusta (follow signs for U.S. 202 east towards the Augusta Airport).

2. Drive 1.6 miles east on U.S. 202 (Western Ave.) through a commercial district with stores and restaurants in Augusta.

3. You will come to a rotary just north of the Maine State House with very confusing signage. Enter the rotary and take the first exit on the right onto U.S. 201 south (State St.) in Augusta. Pass the Maine State House and State Museum and drive 6 miles south on U.S. 201 through Hallowell and Farmingdale to Gardiner.

4. Cross the Cobbosseecontee Stream as you enter downtown Gardiner and immediately turn right at a traffic light onto Maine Route 126 west (Water St.).

5. Drive 20 miles west on ME 126 through West Gardiner, Litchfield, Monmouth, and Wales to Sabattus (ME 126 intersects the junction of I-95 and the northern terminus of I-295 in West Gardiner. Cross over I-295 and I-95 on ME 126 at this intersection and DO NOT GET ON EITHER HIGHWAY. You will have to pay a toll if you get on the highway heading north or south here.)

6. In Sabattus, turn left at a four-way intersection with a traffic light onto ME 9 west toward Lisbon Falls.

7. Drive 1.4 miles west on ME 9 and intersect I-95. Turn right before crossing the overpass and get back onto I-95 south. Congratulations! You have successfully avoided the West Gardiner toll!

New Gloucester and York Tolls - Avoiding tolls in Maine

Off-highway detour distance to NH border: 68 plus miles

Located at mile marker 66 on I-95, the New Gloucester toll charges $2.25 if you don’t avoid it. The York toll sits just north of mile marker 7 on I-95 in southern Maine. This toll plaza cleans $3.00 out of your wallet. Unfortunately for drivers, avoiding tolls in Maine is not possible if you stay on I-95 south of exit 75 in Auburn.

Every on and off ramp south of exit 75 on the Maine Turnpike has a ramp toll, until the highway crosses into New Hampshire from Kittery. This means there is no way to dodge the tolls if you stay on I-95 south of Auburn, Maine. Even if you exit I-95 south of Auburn, you will pay a toll to reenter the Maine Turnpike at any on-ramp.

A good alternate route to southern New Hampshire is U.S. 202 west. Here’s our roundabout suggestion to circumvent the New Gloucester and York tolls:

1. Take exit 75 on I-95 south in Auburn (sign for Auburn/New Gloucester)

2. At the end of the long off ramp turn right at a traffic light onto U.S. 202 south towards New Gloucester and Poland (at this point, you may navigate your way south or west via any route other than I-95 and you will avoid the tolls).

3. Drive 11.7 miles south on U.S. 202 (Washington St.) through Auburn and New Gloucester to downtown Gray.

4. Continue west on U.S. 202 for 56 miles through Windham, Gorham, Buxton, Hollis, Waterboro, Alfred, Sanford, and Lebanon, Maine.

5. Cross the Salmon Falls River and enter Rochester, New Hampshire.

6. Navigate south to your destination.

Skip the tolls when you have the time

Avoiding tolls in Maine is a tall task. The above routes suggested for dodging the tolls on I-95 in Maine are not practical if you are pressed for time. Our meandering directions for circumventing tolls on the Maine Turnpike are designed for scenic day-trips. If you’re headed south from Bangor and you have time to explore on the way to your destination, give the toll-free routes a try. They will show you many miles of Maine that you miss when you take the interstate south to New Hampshire.

One bit of good news…if you take I-95 north from Bangor, ME there are no tolls on the highway all the way to Houlton on the border with New Brunswick, Canada. See you on the road!