PORTLAND -- More than 710,000 vehicles are expected on the Maine Turnpike over the holiday weekend.

Friday is expected to have the heaviest traffic, with nearly 250,000 vehicles, as both commuters and tourists use the highway, according to the Maine Turnpike Authority. The busiest time is expected to be between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m.

About 158,000 vehicles are expected on the turnpike Monday, with the heaviest traffic between noon and 8 p.m.

Overall summer traffic on the turnpike has been down about 5.4 percent. About 17.7 million vehicles used the turnpike between June 1 and Aug. 24, a drop of about a million vehicles from the same period last year.

Traffic at the York toll plaza, considered one measure of tourism traffic into the state, was down 6 percent for the summer. The holiday weekend prediction calls for a smaller decrease, of 3 to 4 percent, because of a good weather forecast and falling gas prices.

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