Interstate 95 in Maine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interstate 95
Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Maintained by Maine Department of Transportation
Length: 303.2 mi[1] (488.0 km)
Formed: 1960
South end: I-95 at New Hampshire state line
Major
junctions:
I-195 in Saco
I-295 near Portland
I-495 in Portland
I-295 near Gardiner
I-395 in Bangor
North end: Route 95 at Canadian border in New Brunswick
State Routes in Maine
< SR 94 SR 95 >

In the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 is a 305-mile long freeway running from the New Hampshire state line near Kittery to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate highway in the state. In 2004, the highway's route between Portland and Gardiner changed so that it now follows the entire length of the Maine Turnpike.

[edit] Route description

I-95 enters Maine from New Hampshire on the Piscataqua River Bridge, which connects Portsmouth, New Hampshire with Kittery, Maine. At York, the highway connects with the Maine Turnpike. The highway runs in a general northeasterly direction, parallel with U.S. Route 1, at this point. I-95 bypasses the Biddeford/Saco area, with a spur route (Interstate 195) connecting to Old Orchard Beach.

At South Portland, Interstate 95 meets Interstate 295. The highway turns north, serving the Portland International Jetport and bypassing Portland to the west. At Falmouth, the highway meets unsigned Interstate 495, also called the Falmouth Spur. Until January 2004, I-95 followed the Falmouth Spur and I-295 between Falmouth and Gardiner.

The highway continues north along the Maine Turnpike through Gray to Auburn and Lewiston, which the Turnpike bypasses to the south. The highway then runs in an easterly direction to meet Interstate 295 at Gardiner. From there, I-95 parallels the Kennebec River past Augusta and Waterville. The highway crosses the river at Fairfield and then turns northeast along the Sebasticook River past Pittsfield to Newport.

I-95 then continues east alongside U.S. Route 2 from Newport to Bangor, where Interstate 395 connects to the city of Brewer. The highway runs along the northern edge of Bangor's center, then turns northeast, following the Penobscot River past Orono and Old Town (Prior to the early 1980s, I-95 was a super 2 highway north of Old Town). The highway continues north, still running near the river, towards Howland. Near Lincoln, Interstate 95 runs north through uninhabited forest land, crossing the Penobscot River at Medway. The highway goes northeast and east, passing a series of small Aroostook County farming towns before reaching Houlton, where it connects to New Brunswick Route 95 and U.S. Route 2 at the international border.

A small, disused cemetery lies on the road shoulder near Kennebunk. Although it is less than five feet from the roadside, crews have taken care to preserve it, including erecting a fence around the tombstones so that snowplows do not cause any damage.

[edit] Exit list

County Location # Destinations Notes
Old
York Kittery 1 1 To SR 103 / Dennett Road - Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Eliot Northbound exit and southbound entrance
2 2
US 1 south / SR 236 south / US 1 Byp. south / Traffic Circle – Downtown Kittery
3 3 US 1 north (Coastal Route) / SR 236 north – Kittery, South Berwick Southbound exit is via exit 2
South end of the Maine Turnpike
York 4 7 To SR 91 to US 1 – The Yorks, Ogunquit, The Berwicks
Wells 2 19 SR 9 / SR 109Wells, Sanford
Kennebunk 3 25 SR 35Kennebunk, Kennebunkport
Biddeford 4 32 SR 111Biddeford
Saco 5 36 I-195 east – Saco, Old Orchard Beach
Cumberland Scarborough 6 42 To US 1Scarborough
6A 44 I-295 north – South Portland, Downtown Portland Northbound exit and southbound entrance
South Portland 7 45 To I-295 / US 1 / SR 114 / Maine Mall Road, Payne Road Serves the Maine Mall
Portland 7A 46 To SR 22 / SR 9 (Congress Street) – Portland International Jetport
7B 47 To SR 25 / Rand Road, Westbrook Arterial
8 48 To SR 25 / US 302 / Riverside Street, Larrabee Road
9 52 To I-295 / US 1Falmouth, Freeport Falmouth Spur (unsigned I-495)
Falmouth 10 53 SR 26 / SR 100 – West Falmouth
Gray 11 63 US 202 / SR 115 / SR 4 to SR 26Gray, New Gloucester
Androscoggin Auburn 12 75 US 202 / SR 4 / SR 100Auburn
Lewiston 13 80 To SR 196Lewiston
Sabattus 86 SR 9Sabattus, Lisbon
Kennebec West Gardiner 14A 102 SR 9 / SR 126 to I-295 south – Gardiner, Litchfield Northbound exit and southbound entrance
14B 103 I-295 south to SR 9 / SR 126Gardiner, Brunswick Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Augusta North end of the Maine Turnpike
30 109 US 202 / SR 11 / SR 17 / SR 100Augusta, Winthrop Signed as exits 109A (west) and 109B (east) southbound
31 112 SR 8 / SR 11 / SR 27Augusta, Belgrade Signed as exits 112A (south) and 112B (north) northbound
113 SR 3Augusta, Belfast
Sidney 32 120 Lyons Road - Sidney
Waterville 33 127 SR 11 / SR 137Waterville, Oakland
34 130 SR 104 (Main Street) – Waterville, Winslow
Somerset Fairfield 35 132 SR 139Fairfield, Benton
36 133 US 201Fairfield, Skowhegan
Kennebec Clinton 37 138 Hinckley Road - Clinton, Burnham
Somerset Pittsfield 38 150 Somerset Avenue - Pittsfield, Hartland, Burnham
Newport, Palmyra 39 157 SR 11 / SR 100 to SR 7 / US 2Newport, Dexter, Skowhegan
Penobscot Newport 40 159 Ridge Road - Newport, Plymouth Southbound exit and northbound entrance
Plymouth 41 161 SR 7 – East Newport, Plymouth
Etna 42 167 SR 69 / SR 143Etna, Dixmont
Carmel 43 174 SR 69Carmel, Winterport
Hermon, Hampden 44 180 Cold Brook Road - Hermon, Hampden
Bangor 45A 182A I-395 / SR 15 south to US 1A / SR 9Bangor, Brewer South end of SR 15 overlap
45B 182B To US 2 west / SR 100 west – Hermon
46 183 US 2 / SR 100 (Hammond Street) – Bangor International Airport
47 184 Image:MA Route 222.svg SR 222 (Union Street) / Ohio Street – Bangor International Airport
48 185 SR 15 north (Broadway) – Brewer, Bangor North end of SR 15 overlap
48A 186 Stillwater Avenue No northbound entrance
49 187 Hogan Road - Bangor, Veazie
Orono 50 191 Kelly Road - Orono, Veazie
51 193 Stillwater Avenue - Stillwater, Old Town, Orono
Old Town
52 197 SR 43Old Town, Hudson
53 199 SR 16Alton, Lagrange, Milo Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Howland 54 217 Image:MA Route 155.svg SR 6 / SR 155Howland, Lagrange
Lincoln 55 227 To US 2 / SR 6 / SR 116Lincoln, Mattawamkeag
Medway 56 244 Image:MA Route 157.svg SR 157Medway, Millinocket, Mattawamkeag
Benedicta 57 259 Benedicta Northbound exit and southbound entrance
Aroostook Sherman 58 264 Image:MA Route 158.svg SR 158 to SR 11Sherman, Patten
Island Falls 59 276 SR 159Island Falls, Patten
Oakfield 60 286 Oakfield Road - Oakfield, Smyrna Mills
Smyrna 61 291 US 2Smyrna
Houlton 62 302 US 1Houlton, Presque Isle
63 305 US 2Houlton International Airport, Industrial Park
Route 95 - Northern Maritime Provinces Continuation into New Brunswick, Canada

[edit] References

  1. ^ Maine State Route Log (via floodgap.com)


Interstate 95
Previous state:
New Hampshire
Maine Next state:
Terminus