HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Interstate 95 (I-95) in the US state of
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and nor ...
is a highway running from the
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
state line in Kittery, to the
Canadian border Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
in Houlton. It is the only two-digit
Interstate Highway The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
in Maine. In 2004, the highway's route between Portland and Gardiner was changed so that it encompasses the entire Maine Turnpike (including the former I-495 between Falmouth and Gardiner), a
toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implement ...
running from Kittery to Augusta.


Route description

I-95 enters Maine as a six lane highway from
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...
on the Piscataqua River Bridge, which connects
Portsmouth, New Hampshire Portsmouth is a city in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. At the 2020 census it had a population of 21,956. A historic seaport and popular summer tourist destination on the Piscataqua River bordering the state of Maine, Portsm ...
, with Kittery. At mile 0.38, the highway becomes the Maine Turnpike. The highway runs in a general northeasterly direction, parallel with U.S. Route 1 (US 1), at this point. I-95 bypasses the
Biddeford Biddeford is a city in York County, Maine, United States. It is the principal commercial center of York County. Its population was 22,552 at the 2020 census. The twin cities of Saco and Biddeford include the resort communities of Biddeford Poo ...
/ Saco area, with a spur route, I-195, connecting to Old Orchard Beach. At Scarborough, I-95 meets the southern terminus of I-295 and narrows to four lanes. The highway turns north, serving the Portland International Jetport and bypassing Portland to the west. At Falmouth, the highway meets unsigned I-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 (which was I-495 prior to 2004) through
Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...
to Auburn and Lewiston, which the turnpike bypasses to the south. The highway then runs in an easterly direction to meet the northern terminus of I-295 at Gardiner. From there, I-95 parallels the
Kennebec River The Kennebec River (Abenaki: ''Kinəpékʷihtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 30, 2011 river within the U.S. state of Maine. It rises in Moosehead ...
past Augusta and Waterville. The highway then crosses the river at Fairfield and then turns northeast along the Sebasticook River past
Pittsfield Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
to Newport. I-95 then continues east alongside US 2 from Newport to Bangor, where
I-395 Interstate 395 may refer to: * Interstate 395 (Connecticut–Massachusetts), a spur from I-95 to Auburn, Massachusetts *Interstate 395 (Delaware), a proposed portion of I-95 in Delaware, when it was under construction *Interstate 395 (Florida), a sp ...
connects to the city of
Brewer Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...
. The highway runs along the northern edge of Bangor's center, then turns northeast, following the
Penobscot River The Penobscot River (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewtəkʷ'') is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed June 22, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Maine. Including the river's ...
past Orono and
Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...
(Prior to the early 1980s, I-95 was a
super two A super two, super two-lane highway or wide two-lane is a two-lane surface road built to highway standards with wide lanes and other safety features normally present on a freeway with more lanes, typically including partial control of access, ...
highway north of Old Town). The highway continues north, still running near the river, towards Howland. Near Lincoln, I-95 runs north through uninhabited forest land, crossing the Penobscot River at
Medway Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to ...
. The highway goes northeast and east, passing a series of small
Aroostook County Aroostook County ( ; french: Comté d'Aroostook) is a county in the U.S. state of Maine along the Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 67,105. Its county seat is Houlton, with offices in Caribou and Fort Kent. ...
farming towns before reaching Houlton, where it connects to U.S. Route 2 and New Brunswick Route 95 at the international border. North of Bangor, traffic levels drop noticeably, with
AADT Annual average daily traffic, abbreviated AADT, is a measure used primarily in transportation planning, transportation engineering and retail location selection. Traditionally, it is the total volume of vehicle traffic of a highway or road for a ...
averaging only about 5,000 in northern
Penobscot County Penobscot County is a county in the U.S. state of Maine, named for the Penobscot Nation on Wabanakik. As of the 2020 census, the population was 152,199. Its county seat is Bangor. The county was established on February 15, 1816, from part ...
and going down to as low as 2,000–4,000 in Houlton. As an Interstate Highway, all of I-95 in Maine is included in the National Highway System, a network of roads important to the country's economy, defense, and mobility.


History

The Maine Turnpike Authority was created by the Maine Legislature in 1941 to build and operate a
toll highway A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or '' toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemente ...
connecting Kittery and Fort Kent. In 1947, the first section of highway, designated the Maine Turnpike, opened between Kittery and Portland. In 1953, the Turnpike Authority began construction on an extension to the state capital at Augusta using the former right-of-way of the Portland–Lewiston Interurban railway from Portland through West Falmouth. The original turnpike was the largest construction project in the state's history until the construction of the extension, which opened to the public on December 13, 1955. The Maine Turnpike was the first highway in the nation that was funded using
revenue bonds A revenue bond is a special type of municipal bond distinguished by its guarantee of repayment solely from revenues generated by a specified revenue-generating entity associated with the purpose of the bonds, rather than from a tax. Unlike general ...
. It remains self-financed and does not receive funding from the state or federal government. When the first section opened in 1947, it was only the second long-distance superhighway in the United States following the October 1940 opening of the
Pennsylvania Turnpike The Pennsylvania Turnpike (Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike) is a toll highway operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. A controlled-access highway, it runs for across the state. The turnpike's we ...
. For these reasons, the Maine Turnpike was named a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark by the
American Society of Civil Engineers American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
in 1999. In 1956, one year after the Portland-Augusta extension opened, Congress created the
Interstate Highway System The Dwight D. Eisenhower National System of Interstate and Defense Highways, commonly known as the Interstate Highway System, is a network of controlled-access highways that forms part of the National Highway System in the United States. T ...
. The remaining sections to be built—from Augusta to Fort Kent—would be publicly funded
freeways A controlled-access highway is a type of highway that has been designed for high-speed vehicular traffic, with all traffic flow—ingress and egress—regulated. Common English terms are freeway, motorway and expressway. Other similar terms i ...
instead of toll roads under the Maine Turnpike Authority. Today, this highway, which ends at Houlton instead of Fort Kent, is signed as Interstate 95 throughout and the Maine Turnpike between the New Hampshire line at Kittery and the junction with US 202 near Augusta. In 2015, the Maine Turnpike Authority purchased the segment from the Piscataqua River Bridge to MM 2.2 of I-95 from MaineDOT.


Speed limits

The Maine Turnpike had a posted speed limit of in the early 1970s, but as Maine then had no law against traveling less than over the posted limit, the de facto speed limit was . In 1974, as part of a federal mandate, the speed limit was reduced to , with a new law including a "less than 10 over" violation. In 1987, Congress allowed states to post on rural Interstate highways. Following the relaxation, Maine increased its speed limit. In May 2011, a bill was introduced to raise the speed limit on I-95 from Old Town to Houlton from to . It passed, with Maine the first state east of the Mississippi River since the 1970s to establish a speed limit. A further law passed in 2013 by the Maine Legislature allowed the Maine Department of Transportation and the Turnpike Authority to change speed limits with the approval of the
Maine State Police The Maine State Police (MSP) is the state police agency for Maine, which has jurisdiction across the state. It was created in 1921 to protect the lives, property, and constitutional rights of the citizens of the state of Maine. Vehicles The Mai ...
. Per that law, Maine DOT increased the limit to on several sections of Interstate 95 on May 27, 2014. These areas included the section from mile marker 114 just outside Augusta to mile 126 just before Waterville. In addition, the section from Fairfield (just north of Waterville) to Bangor also saw an increase to . Speed limits on sections controlled by the Turnpike Authority increased on August 11, 2014. The sections from mile marker 2.1 in Kittery to mile marker 44.1 in Scarborough and the section from mile marker 52.3 in Falmouth to mile marker 109 in Augusta increased from to . The section from mile marker 44.1 in Scarborough to mile marker 52.3 in Falmouth increased from to .


Tolls

The Maine Turnpike is a toll road for all of its length except south of
York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
and between Auburn and Sabattus. Flat-fee tolls are paid upon entering the turnpike and at toll barriers in York, New Gloucester, and West Gardiner. As of 1 November 2021, it costs passenger vehicles $8.00 with cash and out of state E-ZPasses and $6.70 with a Maine issued
E-ZPass E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agenci ...
to travel the entire length of the turnpike. 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. The tolls on the Maine Turnpike were not supposed to be permanent. Toll collections were to stop once the Maine Turnpike Authority paid off the debt from the road's construction. In the 1980s the bonds were going to be paid off but the Maine Legislature authorized the Maine Turnpike Authority in 1982 to continue as a quasi-governmental agency and to continue to collect tolls in order to fund the maintenance of the section of highway controlled by the MTA.


Service plazas and rest areas

There are eleven total rest areas on I-95 in Maine, five of which are full service plazas operated by the Maine Turnpike Authority. Five of the rest areas are accessible from northbound only, four are accessible from southbound only, and two are accessible from both directions. The rest stops are open 24 hours and all provide restrooms and visitor information. Food and Fuel services as well as ATMs are available only at the five major plazas. The plazas are at the following locations: *
Kennebunk Kennebunk is a town in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 11,536 at the 2020 census (The population does not include Kennebunkport, a separate town). Kennebunk is home to several beaches, the Rachel Carson National Wildlife ...
—a separate plaza is located on each direction of the turnpike at milepost 25. These plazas are the largest and most profitable in the state, and they have near-identical layouts and each includes
Burger King Burger King (BK) is an American-based multinational chain of hamburger fast food restaurants. Headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida, the company was founded in 1953 as Insta-Burger King, a Jacksonville, Florida–based restaurant ch ...
,
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 cou ...
,
Hershey's Ice Cream Hershey Creamery Company, also known as Hershey's Ice Cream, is an American creamery that produces ice cream, sorbet, sherbet, frozen yogurt, and other frozen desserts such as smoothies and frozen slab-style ice cream mixers. It was founded by ...
,
Citgo Citgo Petroleum Corporation (or Citgo, stylized as CITGO) is a United States–based refiner, transporter and marketer of transportation fuels, lubricants, petrochemicals and other industrial products. Headquartered in the Energy Corridor area ...
gas stations, and Z-Market gift shops among the offerings. The original plazas opened in 1947, and incorporated a pedestrian tunnel under the highway to connect the two. These original plazas were replaced in 1972, and the tunnel was sealed. The 1972 plazas were then replaced during the winter of 2006–2007, reopening in 2007. *
Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...
(northbound) and
Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic counties of England, historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th c ...
(southbound)—a separate plaza is located on each direction of the turnpike on either side of the Gray–Cumberland town line at milepost 59. Each includes Burger King (both sit-down and drive-thru) and a Citgo gas station. Both plazas were rebuilt in 2007, and are currently the only two plazas to feature a drive-thru food option. * West Gardiner—accessible from both directions of both the turnpike (I-95) and I-295, which converge just north of the plaza. The plaza itself is located just off the highways, along SR 9 and SR 126. Similar in layout to the Kennebunk plazas, Burger King, Starbucks, and Citgo gas are among the offerings. This plaza also includes the Center for Maine Craft, a gift shop featuring locally made products and visitor information. The West Gardiner plaza was built and opened for business in 2008. The plaza replaced two smaller rest areas that were located in Lewiston (southbound at milepost 83) and Litchfield (northbound at milepost 98), both of which were closed and demolished. There is a rest area and tourist welcome center located on the turnpike northbound at milepost 3 in Kittery. There are weigh stations located on the turnpike northbound and southbound in York at milepost 4 (southbound) and milepost 6 (northbound). There are ramps to and from the northbound turnpike to the Saco
Ramada Ramada is a large American multinational hotel chain owned by Wyndham Hotels and Resorts. As of December 31, 2018, it operates 811 hotels with 114,614 rooms across 63 countries under the Ramada brand. Name The ''Ramada'' name derives from t ...
Hotel and Conference Center in Saco at milepost 35. 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 and 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. The Turnpike Authority is planning to reestablish the exit at this location by 2022 in order to relieve traffic congestion at the intersection of Interstate 195 and Industrial Park Road, which can often back up to Interstate 95. North of Augusta, there are two additional pairs of rest areas before I-95's northern terminus in Houlton. Separate facilities are located on each direction of I-95 in Hampden, just south of Bangor; and in Medway, about halfway between Bangor and Houlton. There are 24-hour restrooms at all four locations, while the Hampden facilities each feature a state-operated Maine information center available during daytime hours. A final rest area, which also contained a state-operated Maine information center, was located in Houlton, and was accessible from both directions of I-95 by taking exit 302. The rest area has since been decommissioned and demolished as of summer 2022.


Emergency routes

In 2019, MaineDOT began signing emergency routes along roads near I-95. The routes generally lead from one exit to the next exit and are meant to be used when sections of the highway must be closed due to an accident or other disruption. In such an event, electronic signs will be activated and flaggers deployed to direct drivers to use the appropriate emergency route to lead them around the closure and maintain traffic flow. Northbound routes are designated with a single letter, while southbound routes are designated with double letters. This system was first used when a section of highway was closed due to the death of a Maine State Trooper in an accident.


Exit list


Auxiliary routes

* Interstate 195, a spur in Saco * Interstate 295, runs from I-95 near Downtown Portland to I-95 in West Gardiner * Interstate 395, a spur east of Bangor * Interstate 495, unsigned designation for the Falmouth Spur


References


External links


Maine Turnpike Official Site

Steve Anderson's BostonRoads.com: Maine Turnpike (I-95)
{{3di, 95 95 Maine Toll roads in Maine Tolled sections of Interstate Highways Transportation in York County, Maine Transportation in Cumberland County, Maine Transportation in Androscoggin County, Maine Transportation in Kennebec County, Maine Transportation in Somerset County, Maine Transportation in Waldo County, Maine Transportation in Penobscot County, Maine Transportation in Aroostook County, Maine Historic Civil Engineering Landmarks