PORTLAND — Gov. Paul LePage visited the Maine Turnpike Authority headquarters today and met with its board of directors and Peter Mills, the authority’s newly appointed interim executive director.

LePage praised he authority for recent actions, including the hiring of Mills, but said he hadn’t made up his mind on whether the turnpike authority should be merged with the state Department of Transportation. Mills has expressed opposition to such a move.

LePage said the turnpike plays a major role in the state’s economic development, and suggested that turnpike revenues could be used to help pay for a spur to Sanford and also for a long-debated east-west highway across Maine.