The Maine Turnpike Authority was establised by the Maine Legislature as an independent state agency in 1941. It was charged with the task of constructing and maintaining a user-fee highway that, in the six decades since, has become the lifeline of Maine's economy.. The 109-mile Maine Turnpike includess 65 miles of divided four-lane and 44 miles of divided six-lane highway, 176 bridges, 19 interchanges, 19 toll plazas, seven maintenance facilities, five service plazas, and an administration and public safety building. The Maine Turnpike handles an average of 199,000 vehicle transactions daily and a total of 72.6 million vehicle transactions in 2009.