Traffic cameras that will be installed along busy stretches of Interstate 95 and Interstate 295 will not be used to monitor speeding or issue tickets but to better track delays and respond to road emergencies.

The Maine Department of Transportation announced this week that it plans to add cameras on I-295 in Falmouth, Yarmouth and Freeport and along portions of I-95 north of Augusta. That adds to a network of 46 cameras that already are in operation on the Maine Turnpike, which runs from Kittery to Augusta.

Both the DOT and the Maine Turnpike Authority stressed that the cameras will not be used trap speeders or for surveillance purposes, allaying some fears that have been raised on social media.

Andrew Gobeil, communications director for Maine DOT, was unable to say exactly how many cameras will be installed beyond the three locations announced this week, but he did say there will be several.

“I’m not sure about the specific number of cameras we’re adding,” he said. “I will say that it’s a way for not only emergency responders and Maine DOT to monitor the traffic situation, but it’s a way for the public to monitor the traffic as well.”

All of the new cameras will be accessible to the public on the DOT’s website, something that already happens in other states.

The project will cost $970,000, the DOT said in its announcement. Gobeil did not answer questions about where the money was coming from. Installation starts next week, but the cameras are not expected to be up and running until October.

Three of the cameras on I-295 will be set up at Exit 10 in Falmouth, Exit 15 on the Cumberland-Yarmouth line and Exit 20 in Freeport, all high traffic areas during commuting hours. Cameras on I-95 will be installed near exits at Augusta, Sidney, Fairfield and Waterville.

Gobeil said the cameras allow for 24-hour monitoring of the roadways and explained that if there is an accident or emergency, DOT will soon likely be the first to alert emergency services.

Although this is a new project for the DOT, it’s not new to Maine. The turnpike authority already has nearly four dozen cameras on I-95 from Wells to Augusta.

Rebecca Grover, the authority’s public relations manager, said the first traffic camera project for the turnpike began in the late 1990s so people could monitor traffic during a major lane expansion project. Grover added that engineers at the turnpike also use the cameras to determine the efficiency of their highway models.

She said the turnpike has tollbooth cameras as well that are used for payment purposes, but those are separate from traffic cameras.

Earlier this year, the Maine Legislature debated a bill that sought to test the use of cameras for automatic ticketing. The proposal, which was unrelated to the DOT’s installation of cameras, would have limited the use of such cameras to highway work zones where speed limits are often set at 45 mph, and would have limited how many cameras could be active at a time.

Supporters of that bill, including the half-dozen legislators from both parties who co-sponsored it, argued automated enforcement would save lives. Twenty-three people were killed in Maine work zone crashes in a 12-year period ending in 2023, according to state data.

That bill was not voted on but instead carried over to the next legislative session.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Maine did not respond to questions about the DOT’s recent project, but the organization has raised concerns broadly in the past about whether an increase in public cameras infringes on privacy rights.

Both Grover and Gobeil said motorists should not be worried that any cameras will be used to issue speeding tickets or for individual surveillance purposes.

The installation of cameras is expected to cause delays, shoulder closures, as well as night work in the affected areas into the fall.