On Feb. 2, 2025, a Maine Turnpike Authority service garage, housing millions of dollars of snowplow trucks, burned in Auburn. It has been reported that the “State Fire Marshal classified the fire as ‘undetermined,’ citing several accidental causes that may have played a hand in the fire.” That is insufficient.
In December 2021, a little more than three years ago, the very next Maine Turnpike Authority service garage — to the north in Litchfield, with eight truck bays — burned. There needs to be an outside independent investigation of Maine Turnpike facility operations.
There are many Maine DOT and private truck garages in Maine. They don’t routinely go up in flames. There appears to be lax safety management of Maine Turnpike facilities. Maine users of the turnpike, which was supposed to become toll-free in 1983, deserve better.
Carl Wilcox
Minot
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