Sunny weather, low gas prices will mean lots of vehicles this weekend on Maine Turnpike

The weekend forecast calls for sun, and heavy traffic, on the Maine Turnpike.

The Maine Turnpike Authority is projecting a 3.1 percent increase in Labor Day weekend traffic because of sunny weather and low gas prices.

The Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1JTHVqK ) reports that Friday is expected to be the busiest day with more than 324,000 vehicles, many heading northbound into Maine.

Doug Davidson, chief financial officer for the authority, said the projections are conservative.

Nationally, the American Automobile Association estimated that 35.5 million Americans would travel 50 miles or more over Labor Day weekend, making it the busiest Labor Day weekend since 2008.

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Information from: Portland Press Herald, http://www.pressherald.com