HNTB Celebrates 75 Years of Partnership with the Maine Turnpike Authority

PORTLAND, ME — HNTB Corporation announces it is celebrating 75 years of partnership with the Maine Turnpike Authority (MTA). The partnership dates back to 1945, two years before the Maine Turnpike was built, when HNTB signed on as the general engineer consultant for the project.

In 1947, when the MTA officially opened the new road, the Maine Turnpike became the first U.S. superhighway built in the postwar era and one of two modern toll highways in the entire country financed solely with revenue bonds. In addition, the Maine Turnpike was the largest construction project in the state at the time.

The turnpike, over seven decades, has been an important transportation corridor for the state. To help the MTA achieve its objectives and ensure the needs of bondholders are being met, HNTB has provided highway, tolling, and transportation expertise to guide the engineering of the turnpike.

HNTB is also involved in toll conversion for certain sections of the highway. To support the open road tolling conversion beginning in 2013, HNTB provided project management, traffic planning, civil engineering design, toll system procurement and oversight, and construction services for the authority's toll plaza conversion project in New Gloucester, Maine.

“Over the years, HNTB has helped the authority bring forward their vision of the future of transportation for Maine,” said Peter Mills, Executive Director at the Maine Turnpike Authority. “The Maine Turnpike has helped facilitate travel and boost vital economic development in our state, and HNTB's expertise and professional excellence has been a critical driver of that success.”