The new southbound off-ramp at Maine Turnpike Exit 63 in Gray will open to drivers Friday, Oct. 21. The southbound on-ramp, meanwhile, will close temporarily starting at 10 a.m. Friday so that that construction crews can complete the final steps needed to open the new southbound toll plaza in time for the Monday morning commute on Oct. 24.

The new off-ramp bears right, leading drivers to an intersection that was created by the addition of the new toll plaza where Route 26A joins Route 202 on the western side of the Turnpike.

The new interchange was designed to ease traffic congestion during peak commuting hours, according to the Maine Turnpike Authority. Where northbound and southbound traffic shared a ramp in the previous design, the new interchange gives southbound traffic its own ramp joining the Maine Turnpike.

“Southbound entering the turnpike in the morning is one of the busiest times at the Exit 63 plaza and afternoon northbound off is the busiest,” Erin Courtney of the Maine Turnpike Authority said in a news releases. “It made sense to separate these rather than them all going through the same ramp.”

The work being done at Exit 63 consists of highway, bridge, signage and toll system improvements at the Gray interchange. In addition to the improvements associated with the new southbound ramps and new southbound toll, the contractor is also performing work along the Maine Turnpike, the northbound ramps, Route 202 and Route 26A. The toll plaza work includes a new toll administration building located by the southbound ramps and reconstruction of the existing toll plaza for the northbound ramps.

The total Exit 63 Interchange Project cost was estimated at approximately $10.7 million and the primary contractor for the project is Shaw Brothers Construction of Gorham.