Concert, festival contribute to busy weekend on Maine roads August 01, 2003 - Associated Press By Associated Press PORTLAND, Maine - Maine Turnpike officials are warning drivers that this weekend will be a busy one on the state's roads. A Phish Concert in Limestone and the annual Lobster Festival in Rockland are expected to strain the capacity of the turnpike and other roadways throughout the state. Some 90,000 people are expected to attend the Lobster Festival and around 60,000 will be heading to Limestone. Drivers should plan for traffic delays, turnpike and police spokesmen said. Road crews on the Maine Turnpike, I-95 and Route 1 will suspend most of their work to improve traffic flow, but Maine State Police spokesman Steve McCausland said it will be slow going along the coast and throughout Aroostook County. "It's not going to take much to back traffic up, particularly (today), because of the number of vehicles going north," he said. Maine Turnpike officials say the heaviest traffic will be northbound between 3 and 7 p.m. Friday, in both directions from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and southbound from 2 to 7 p.m. Sunday. Last year, when there wasn't a Phish concert, more than 602,000 vehicles traveled the turnpike the first weekend in August, including 229,000 vehicles on Friday, 195,000 on Saturday and 178,000 on Sunday. Typically, the first weekend in August is among the three busiest of the year for turnpike travel. "This is one of those weekends where it will pay to beat the rush or wait until it's over," said Maine Turnpike spokesman Dan Paradee. "We strongly encourage people to get on the road early in the morning." Based on previous Phish festivals in 1997 and 1998, McCausland said the greatest safety concerns involve people leaving the concert site either late Sunday night or early Monday morning. Six people died in traffic accidents at the previous Limestone concerts, many because of driver fatigue. Copyright © 2003 Associated Press