Interstate 95 in Maine

Interstate 95
Maine Turnpike

Maine Turnpike in Green
Route information
Maintained by Maine Department of Transportation
Length: 303.2 mi[2] (487.95 km)
Maine Turnpike: 101.43 miles (163.24 km)[1]
Existed: start:1947, completed:1960 – present
Major junctions
South end: I-95 at New Hampshire state line
  I-195 in Saco
I-295 near Portland
I-495 in Portland
I-295 near Gardiner
I-395 in Bangor
North end: Route 95 / US 2 at the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing
Highway system

Main route of the Interstate Highway System
Main • Auxiliary • Business

State Routes in Maine

← SR 94 SR 95 →

In the U.S. state of Maine, Interstate 95 (I-95) is a 305-mile (491 km) long highway running from the New Hampshire border near Kittery, to the Canadian border near Houlton. It is the only two-digit Interstate Highway in Maine. In 2004, the highway's route between Portland and Gardiner was changed so that it encompasses the entire Maine Turnpike, which runs from Kittery to Augusta.

Contents

Route description

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

At Scarborough, 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 two 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. North of Bangor, traffic levels drop noticeably, with AADT averaging only about 5,000 in northern Penobscot County and going down to as low as 2,000-4,000 in Houlton.[3]

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.

Speed limits

The Maine Turnpike had a posted speed limit of 70 mph in the early 1970s, but as Maine then had no law against traveling less than 10 mph over the posted speed, the de facto speed limit was 79 mph. In 1974, as part of a federal mandate, the speed limit was reduced to 55 mph, with a new law including a 'less than 10 over' violation. In 1987, Congress allowed states to post 65 mph on rural interstate highways. Following the relaxation, Maine increased its speed limit. In May 2011, a bill was introduced to raise the speed limit from Old Town to Houlton from 65 to 75 mph. It passed, with Maine the first state east of the Mississippi River since the 1970s to establish a 75 mph speed limit.[4][5]

Exit list

Note: toll rates listed in this exit list are for Class 1 vehicles paying cash. They do not reflect lower rates for drivers using EZ-Pass tags or higher rates for other vehicle classes.

County Location Exit # Destinations Notes
continues into New Hampshire southbound
York Kittery 1 To SR 103 / Dennett Road - Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, Eliot Northbound exit and southbound entrance
2
US 1 south / SR 236 south / US 1 Byp. south / Traffic Circle – Downtown Kittery
3 US 1 north (Coastal Route) / SR 236 north – Kittery, South Berwick Southbound exit is via exit 2
7 To SR 91 to US 1 – The Yorks, Ogunquit, The Berwicks
Maine Turnpike York Toll Barrier - Cars $2.00
19 SR 9 / SR 109 – Wells, Sanford Entrance toll $1.00 (northbound only)
Kennebunk 25 SR 35 – Kennebunk, Kennebunkport Entrance toll $1.00
Biddeford 32 SR 111 – Biddeford Entrance toll $1.00
Saco 36 I-195 east – Saco, Old Orchard Beach Entrance toll $1.00
Cumberland 42 To US 1 – Scarborough Entrance toll $1.00
44 I-295 north – South Portland, Downtown Portland Northbound exit and southbound entrance; toll $1.00 both directions
South Portland 45 To I-295 / US 1 / SR 114 / Maine Mall Road, Payne Road Entrance toll $1.00
Portland 46 To SR 22 / SR 9 (Congress Street) – Portland International Jetport Entrance toll $1.00
47 To SR 25 / Rand Road, Westbrook Arterial Entrance toll $1.00
48 To SR 25 / US 302 / Riverside Street, Larrabee Road Entrance toll $1.00
52 To I-295 / US 1 – Falmouth, Freeport Toll $1.00 both directions on I-495
53 SR 26 / SR 100 – West Falmouth Entrance toll $1.00
63 US 202 / SR 115 / SR 4 to SR 26 – Gray, New Gloucester Entrance toll $1.00 (southbound only)
New Gloucester Toll Barrier - Cars $1.75
Androscoggin Auburn 75 US 202 / SR 4 / SR 100 – Auburn
Lewiston 80 To SR 196 – Lewiston
86 SR 9 – Sabattus, Lisbon
Kennebec West Gardiner Toll Barrier - Cars $1.25
102 SR 9 / SR 126 to I-295 south – Gardiner, Litchfield Northbound exit and southbound entrance
103 I-295 south to SR 9 / SR 126 – Gardiner, Brunswick Southbound exit and northbound entrance; toll $1.00 in both directions
Augusta 109 US 202 / SR 11 / SR 17 / SR 100 – Augusta, Winthrop Signed as exits 109A (west) and 109B (east) southbound
112 SR 8 / SR 11 / SR 27 – Augusta, Belgrade Signed as exits 112A (south) and 112B (north) northbound
113 SR 3 – Augusta, Belfast
120 Lyons Road - Sidney
Waterville 127 SR 11 / SR 137 – Waterville, Oakland
130 SR 104 (Main Street) – Waterville, Winslow
Somerset Fairfield 132 SR 139 – Fairfield, Benton
133 US 201 – Fairfield, Skowhegan
Kennebec 138 Hinckley Road - Clinton, Burnham
Somerset Pittsfield 150 Somerset Avenue - Pittsfield, Hartland, Burnham
157 SR 11 / SR 100 to SR 7 / US 2 – Newport, Dexter, Skowhegan
Penobscot 159 Ridge Road - Newport, Plymouth Southbound exit and northbound entrance
161 SR 7 – East Newport, Plymouth
167 SR 69 / SR 143 – Etna, Dixmont
174 SR 69 – Carmel, Winterport
180 Cold Brook Road - Hermon, Hampden
Bangor 182A I-395 / SR 15 south to US 1A / SR 9 – Bangor, Brewer South end of SR 15 overlap
182B To US 2 west / SR 100 west – Hermon
183 US 2 / SR 100 (Hammond Street) – Bangor International Airport
184 SR 222 (Union Street) / Ohio Street – Bangor International Airport
185 SR 15 north (Broadway) – Brewer, Bangor North end of SR 15 overlap
186 Stillwater Avenue No northbound entrance
187 Hogan Road - Bangor, Veazie
Orono 191 Kelly Road - Orono, Veazie
193 Stillwater Avenue - Stillwater, Old Town, Orono
Old Town 197 SR 43 – Old Town, Hudson
199 SR 16 – Alton, Lagrange, Milo Northbound exit and southbound entrance
217 SR 6 / SR 155 – Howland, Lagrange
Lincoln 227 To US 2 / SR 6 / SR 116 – Lincoln, Mattawamkeag
Medway 244 SR 157 – Medway, Millinocket, Mattawamkeag
Benedicta 259 Northbound exit and southbound entrance / I 95 in Aroostook county for 1/2 mile
Aroostook Sherman 264 SR 158 to SR 11 – Sherman, Patten
Island Falls 276 SR 159 – Island Falls, Patten
Oakfield 286 Oakfield Road - Oakfield, Smyrna Mills
Smyrna 291 US 2 – Smyrna
Houlton 302 US 1 – Houlton, Presque Isle
305 US 2 west – Houlton International Airport, Industrial Park East end of US 2
Route 95 east – Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing, Woodstock Continuation into New Brunswick, Canada

Maine Turnpike

Tolls

The segment of Interstate 95 from Kittery to Augusta runs along the Maine Turnpike. It is a toll road for all of that length except for a short section in Kittery and York. Flat-fee tolls are paid upon entering the turnpike and there are also barrier tolls in York, New Gloucester, and West Gardiner. The turnpike joined the E-ZPass electronic toll collection network in 2005, replacing the former Maine-only system designated Transpass that was implemented in 1997.[6]

Service areas

There are six service areas on the turnpike, three in each direction. All are open 24 hours and provide food and fuel services. They also have ATMs. Some have small gift shops. The plazas are at the following locations:

There is a Rest Area / Tourist Welcome Center located on the turnpike Northbound at MP 3 in Kittery.

There are Weigh Stations located on the turnpike Northbound and Southbound in York at MP 4 (SB) and MP 6 (NB).

There are ramps to/from the northbound turnpike to the Saco Holiday Inn Express Hotel and Conference Center in Saco at MP 35 (Old MP 33 before the southern extension). The ramps are from the original exit 5 which was replaced when I-195 was opened just to the north. The hotel was built on the site of the old toll plaza. Ramps connecting the hotel to/from the southbound turnpike were removed as part of the widening project in the early 2000s, when hotel ownership opted not to pay nearly $1 million to build a new bridge.

Previous to the Gardiner rest area opening, there were rest areas located in Lewiston (Southbound at MP 83) and Litchfield (Northbound at MP 98).

References

  1. ^ "Welcome to the Maine Turnpike Authority". Maineturnpike.com. http://www.maineturnpike.com. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
  2. ^ Maine State Route Log (via floodgap.com)
  3. ^ "Interstate 95 Annual Average Daily Traffic". Interstate-Guide. http://www.interstate-guide.com/i-095_aadt.html. Retrieved 2011-09-19. 
  4. ^ Miller, Kevin (May 12, 2011). "Bill would boost speed limit to 75 mph on northern highway". Bangor Daily News. http://new.bangordailynews.com/2011/05/12/politics/bill-would-boost-speed-limit-to-75-mph-on-northern-highway/. Retrieved May 22, 2011. 
  5. ^ Lawmakers OK 75-mph speed limit between Old Town, Houlton, Bangor Daily News, June 29, 2011
  6. ^ "E-ZPass Information Frequently Asked Questions". https://ezpassmaineturnpike.com/EZPass/info/faqs.html. 
  7. ^ Turnpike Press Release

External links

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