U.S. Route 302

U.S. Route 302 marker

U.S. Route 302
Route information
Auxiliary route of US 2
Length: 171 mi (275 km)
Existed: 1935[1] – present
Major junctions
West end: US 2 in Montpelier, VT
 
East end: I295 / US 1 / SR 100 in Portland, ME
Location
States: Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine
Highway system

U.S. Route 302 (US 302) is an east–west spur of U.S. Route 2 in northern New England in the United States. It currently runs 171 miles (275 km) from Montpelier, Vermont, at US 2, to Portland, Maine, at U.S. Route 1. It passes through the states of Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Route description

Lengths
  mi[2][3]km
VT 35.746 57.528
NH 79.155 127.388
ME 53.9 86.7
Total 168.801 271.659
U.S. Route 302 in Berlin, Vermont, approximately two miles from the western terminus

Vermont

US 302 enters Vermont after crossing the Connecticut River at the village of Wells River. The highway crosses US 5 in the center of the village. The next major intersection for US 302 is its intersection with Interstate 91 in Newbury, about 2.7 miles (4.3 km) from the US 5 intersection. US 302 then winds through the rural towns of Ryegate, Groton, Topsham, and Orange, before entering East Barre. In East Barre, its intersection with Vermont Route 110 takes the form of a roundabout. After traveling down out of the hills surrounding the city of Barre, US 302 makes up Washington Street and Main Street of Barre. It runs along the Jail Branch River and the Stevens Branch of the Winooski River in Barre, then through Berlin, finally terminating at its US 2 intersection in southeast Montpelier.

US 302 is named William Scott Memorial Highway and was part of the Theodore Roosevelt International Trail in Vermont.[4][5]

New Hampshire

US 302 enters the state of New Hampshire at a two-lane arch bridge over the Connecticut River beginning in Wells River, Vermont. It follows Central Street on a two-lane alignment, passing through Woodsville until it reaches NH 10 (Dartmouth College Highway), where it turns eastward.

US 302 follows the Ammonoosuc River through a mix of fields and forested land, passing through Bath as Lisbon Road and Lisbon as its Main Street. As it approaches Littleton, the road's name changes to Meadow Street and becomes a shopping strip just before crossing the river and interchanging with I-93. After a short stretch, the road meets Main Street (NH18) at a skewed intersection, defaulting onto Main Street and passing through the town's downtown.

The route intersects NH 116 and turns southward onto Cottage Street, immediately bridging the Ammonoosuc River once again, and passes through a residential area before turning eastward onto Bethlehem Road. The route passes under Interstate 93 again and passes through woodland, where it crosses I-93 for a third time at a second interchange, where also NH 18 and NH 116 depart to the south. US 302 then travels eastward through largely forested land, passing through Bethlehem and Twin Mountain (where it crosses U.S. Route 3), then turns southward as it passes through Crawford Notch State Park, bearing Crawford Notch Road as its name and paralleling the Saco River.

After turning eastward again, passing through Bartlett and intersecting NH 16, the road becomes White Mountain Highway and turns southward once more, passing Lower Bartlett and entering North Conway. The route follows Eastman Road south of North Conway, which it follows to its end at NH 113 (Main Street) after bridging the Saco River once again. US 302 turns east, passing through more forested land as it crosses the Maine state border, bound for Fryeburg a short stretch east of there.

Maine

The state border sign for Maine on U.S. Route 302 in 2014

US 302 is known as the Roosevelt Trail through southern Maine because it was the beginning of the Theodore Roosevelt International Highway to Portland, Oregon.[5][6] The highway leaves Portland, Maine, bridging the Presumpscot River into Westbrook at Riverton. The Roosevelt Trail then bridges the Pleasant River at milepost 13.4 in Windham, the Crooked River in Casco near a boyhood home of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Long Lake near milepost 31 in Naples, Moose Pond near milepost 46 in Bridgton, and the Saco River near milepost 56 in Fryeburg. The highway follows the Saco River from Fryeburg into the White Mountains and enters New Hampshire near milepost 58.[7] It is a two-lane highway for almost all of its length, but there are multi-lane sections within the Portland area, as well as short four-lane sections in and around North Windham (especially the commercial areas). Some of the hilly sections also feature a third passing lane.

History

The eastern end of US 302 was formerly at Longfellow Square in Portland, Maine. The highway follows a 19th-century stagecoach road from Portland through Windham to Bridgton. The portion from Windham to Bridgton was built about 1785. Stagecoach service began in 1803, and the route became a post road for the United States Postal Service in 1814. Transportation over this route was augmented by the Cumberland and Oxford Canal from 1832 to 1932, and by the Bridgton and Saco River Railroad from 1883 to 1941.[8] The highway through Crawford Notch follows the Tenth New Hampshire Turnpike built in 1803 and parallels the Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division built in 1877. The highway eliminated railway passenger travel over the route from Portland by 1958, and railroad freight service through Crawford Notch was discontinued in 1983.[9]

State Route 18
Location: Conway, NHPortland
Length: 54.18 mi (87.19 km)
Existed: 1926–1935

From 1922 until 1935, much of what is now US 302 was a part of the New England road marking system, designated as Route 18, from Portland, Maine, northwest to Littleton, New Hampshire, roughly 112 miles (180 km). From Littleton west to Montpelier in Vermont, US 302 and Route 18 took different paths. NE-18 took a more northerly route, along present-day New Hampshire Route 18 and Vermont Route 18 to St. Johnsbury, Vermont (closely paralleling I-93), then along present-day US 2 up to Montpelier.

Current US 302 runs along a more southerly route using other former sections of New England Interstate Routes. From Littleton, it went along former Route 10 to Woodsville, New Hampshire, then along former Route 25 to Montpelier.

The entire Maine segment of US 302 was formerly designated State Route 18, a route that was established in 1926 until being deleted in 1935 by US 302.

Major intersections

StateCountyLocation[2][3][10][11]mi[2][3][10][11]kmDestinationsNotes
VermontWashingtonMontpelier0.0000.000 US 2 East Montpelier, St. Johnsbury, MontpelierRotary; western terminus of US 302.
Berlin1.0591.704Berlin State Highway to I-89 / VT 62 Berlin Corners
City of Barre4.3767.042 VT 14 north
VT 62 west to I-89
Western end of concurrency with VT 14; eastern terminus of VT 62.
4.8337.778 VT 14 south to I-89 southEastern end of concurrency with VT 14.
Town of Barre8.63913.903 VT 110 south Washington, Chelsea, Granite QuarriesNorthern terminus of VT 110 at rotary.
OrangeOrange16.04125.815 VT 25 south West Topsham, BradfordNorthern terminus of VT 25.
CaledoniaGroton23.92838.508 VT 232 north Rickers MillsSouthern terminus of VT 232.
OrangeTown of Newbury32.472–
32.681
52.259–
52.595
I-91 Bradford, White River Junction, Barnet, St. JohnsburyExit 17 on I-91.
35.33456.865 US 5 north St. JohnsburyWestern terminus of concurrency with US 5.
35.46357.072 US 5 south Newbury, BradfordEastern terminus of concurrency with US 5.
Connecticut River35.746
0.000
57.528
0.000
VermontNew Hampshire state line
New HampshireGraftonHaverhill0.2240.360 NH 135 (Woodsville Road / South Court Street) MonroeVillage of Woodsville
1.2452.004 NH 10 south (Dartmouth College Highway) HanoverNorthern terminus of NH 10
Bath3.8126.135 NH 112 east (Wild Ammonoosuc Road) Swiftwater, North Woodstock, LincolnWestern terminus of NH 112
Lisbon12.96020.857 NH 117 east (Sugar Hill Road) Sugar Hill, FranconiaWestern terminus of NH 117
Littleton20.004–
20.152
32.193–
32.432
I93 (Styles Bridges Highway) Bethlehem, Concord, Dalton, St. Johnsbury VTExit 42 on I-93
21.00033.796 NH 18 north (West Main Street) to I93 north / NH 135 Dalton, MonroeWestern end of concurrency with NH 18
21.55634.691 NH 116 north (Union Street) WhitefieldWestern end of concurrency with NH 116
22.08835.547Cottage StreetTo I93 Woodsville, St. Johnsbury VT, Franconia, Bethlehem Exit 41
Bethlehem23.501–
23.850
37.821–
38.383
I93 (Styles Bridges Highway) Franconia, Plymouth, Littleton, St. Johnsbury VTExit 40 on I-93; no eastbound access to I-93 north; no westbound access from I-93 south
23.85738.394 NH 18 / NH 116 south (Profile Road) FranconiaEastern end of concurrency with NH 18 / NH 116
26.672–
26.701
42.924–
42.971
NH 142 (Agassiz Street / Maple Street) Franconia, Whitefield
CoosCarroll34.79655.999 US 3 (Daniel Webster Highway) Whitefield, Lancaster, PlymouthVillage of Twin Mountain
CarrollBartlett63.892102.824 NH 16 north (Pinkham Notch Road) Jackson, Gorham, BerlinWestern end of concurrency with NH 16; village of Glen
65.026104.649 NH 16A south IntervaleNorthern terminus of NH 16A
67.299108.307 NH 16A north (Intervale Resort Loop)Southern terminus of NH 16A
Conway71.981115.842 NH 16 south (White Mountain Highway) ConwayEastern end of concurrency with NH 16; village of North Conway
74.522119.932 NH 113 west (East Main Street) ConwayEastern terminus of NH 113
 79.155
0.00
127.388
0.00
New HampshireMaine state line
MaineOxfordFryeburg1.151.85 SR 113 north East Conway NH, StowWestern end of concurrency with SR 113
1.372.20 SR 5 south / SR 113 south Brownfield, Old Orchard BeachEastern end of concurrency with SR 113; western end of concurrency with SR 5
1.792.88 SR 5 north LovellEastern end of concurrency with SR 5
CumberlandBridgton14.9624.08 SR 93 north Sweden, LovellSouthern terminus of SR 93
16.8627.13 SR 117 north NorwayWestern end of concurrency with SR 117
18.4129.63 SR 117 south to SR 107 south DenmarkEastern end of concurrency with SR 117
Naples24.9440.14 SR 11 south / SR 114 south Sebago LakeWestern end of concurrency with SR 11; northern terminus of SR 114
25.4140.89 SR 35 north Harrison, WaterfordWestern end of concurrency with SR 35
26.3042.33 SR 11 north Mechanic Falls, PolandEastern end of concurrency with SR 11
Raymond34.0254.75 SR 121 north Raymond Village, CascoSouthern terminus of SR 121
34.4755.47 SR 85 northSouthern terminus of SR 85
Windham38.8662.54 SR 35 south Standish
SR 115 east Gray
Eastern end of concurrency with SR 35
Western terminus of SR 115
41.7367.16 US 202 / SR 4 GrayRotary
Portland51.7483.27 SR 100 north (Allen Avenue) Falmouth, GrayWestern end of concurrency with SR 100
52.9985.28 SR 9 east (Ocean Avenue)Western end of wrong-way concurrency with SR 9
53.0885.42 SR 9 west (Woodford Street)Eastern end of wrong-way concurrency with SR 9
54.0186.92 I295 / US 1 South Portland, Falmouth
SR 100 south to SR 77 south
Exit 6 on I-295
Eastern terminus of US 302; eastern end of concurrency with SR 100
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

See also

Special routes

References

  1. Droz, Robert V. U.S. Highways : From US 1 to (US 830). URL accessed 27 February 2006.
  2. 1 2 3 Traffic Research Unit (May 2013). "2012 (Route Log) AADTs for State Highways" (PDF). Policy, Planning and Intermodal Development Division, Vermont Agency of Transportation. Retrieved March 9, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 Bureau of Planning & Community Assistance (February 20, 2015). "NH Public Roads". Concord, New Hampshire: New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  4. "Vermont Named State Highways and Bridges". Vermont Department of Libraries. Retrieved May 21, 2012.
  5. 1 2 Tracy, A.W. Theodore Roosevelt International Highway (1996) p.7
  6. "U.S. 2: Houlton, Maine, to Everett, Washington". United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Retrieved 2011-09-05.
  7. Greaton, Everett F. Maine, a Guide "Down East" (1937) pp.375-381
  8. Jones, Robert C. Two Feet to the Lakes: The Bridgton & Saco River Railroad (1993) ISBN 0-915713-26-8 pp.12-13
  9. Johnson, Ron Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division p.9
  10. 1 2 Bureau of Planning & Community Assistance (April 3, 2015). "Nodal Reference 2015, State of New Hampshire". New Hampshire Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 7, 2015.
  11. 1 2 "MaineDOT Public Map Viewer". Maine Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
Browse numbered routes
VT 289VTVT 313
I293NHI393
I295MEI395
Route 17N.E.Route 19
SR 17MESR 22

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