SCARBOROUGH — Work is set to begin Monday on a new, wider E-ZPass toll plaza at Exit 44 of the Maine Turnpike that will allow highway-speed connection to Interstate 295 near the Maine Mall, the Maine Turnpike Authority announced Friday.

The $17.4 million project will be just north of the existing toll plaza and south of I-295 Exit 1. It will include four highway-speed lanes – two in each direction – for E-ZPass customers. Drivers paying cash tolls will pull to the right for service at separate staffed booths.

The new plaza, designed by Stantec of Scarborough, is expected to improve traffic flow and safety and reduce carbon emissions. The contractor is Reed & Reed of Woolwich.

The project will be done in four phases over the next three construction seasons, with completion scheduled for summer 2019. The existing Exit 44 toll plaza will remain in use throughout construction. Toll prices won’t be affected by the new plaza.

The turnpike, which is part of Interstate 95, has three other highway-speed E-ZPass toll plazas: in New Gloucester and West Gardiner, and on the Falmouth Spur off Exit 52.