State Route 236 (SR 236) is a state highway located in extreme southern

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 ...

, entirely within York County. It begins at State Route 103 in

Kittery Kittery is a town in York County, Maine, United States. Home to the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey's Island, Kittery includes Badger's Island, the seaside district of Kittery Point, Maine, Kittery Point, and part of the Isles of Shoals. The ...

and runs north, terminating at State Route 9 in Berwick. Between Kittery and South Berwick, SR 236 is known as the Harold L. Dow Highway. The highway runs roughly parallel to the

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a 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 to the nor ...

border (the

Salmon Falls River The Salmon Falls River is a tributary of the Piscataqua River in the U.S. states of Maine and New Hampshire. It rises at Great East Lake, Newichawannock Canal, and Horn Pond and flows south-southeast for approximately , forming the border betwee ...

) over its entire length.

Route description

The southern terminus of SR 236 is at the intersection of SR 103 (Whipple Road), Woodlawn Avenue, and Shapleigh Road in Kittery, near the

Portsmouth Naval Shipyard The Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, often called the Portsmouth Navy Yard, is a United States Navy shipyard in Kittery on the southern boundary of Maine near the city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Founded in 1800, PNS is U.S. Navy's oldest continuo ...

. It follows Shapleigh Road and Rogers Road to the Kittery Traffic Circle, where it connects to

US 1 U.S. Route 1 or U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) is a major north–south United States Numbered Highway that serves the East Coast of the United States. It runs from Key West, Florida, north to Fort Kent, Maine, at the Canadian border, making ...

US 1 Bypass The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

, and Old Post Road. The rotary marks the southern end of the Dow Highway. SR 236 has partial interchanges with US 1 Bypass and

I-95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from US Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the Canadia ...

, then continues northwest along the former right-of-way of the B&M Railroad until intersecting SR 4 in South Berwick at the northern end of the Dow Highway. SR 236 is cosigned with SR 4 in downtown South Berwick, then splits off to follow Berwick Road into downtown Berwick along Allen Street to its northern terminus at SR 9 (School Street), approximately east of the

state line. To the west, SR 9 crosses the Salmon Falls River into

Somersworth, New Hampshire Somersworth is a city in Strafford County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 11,855 at the 2020 census. Somersworth has the smallest area and third-lowest population of New Hampshire's 13 cities. History Somersworth, originally ca ...

and continues west as NH 9 / NH 236. NH 236 (which terminates at the state border) is a westward extension of SR 236 through downtown Somersworth to NH 108 south of

Rochester Rochester may refer to: Places Australia * Rochester, Victoria Canada * Rochester, Alberta United Kingdom *Rochester, Kent ** City of Rochester-upon-Medway (1982–1998), district council area ** History of Rochester, Kent ** HM Prison ...

. Though it does not directly connect to SR 236 as signed, the two routes are connected by SR 9.

History

The northern section of SR 236, from Gould's Corner (near SR 103 and SR 101) in Eliot to downtown Berwick, was originally designated in 1929 as part of SR 103. That route was truncated to its current terminus in 1957, and its northern segment was re-designated as SR 236. Both SR 103 and SR 236 have a terminus at the other route. Most of the southern part of SR 236 between I-95 in Kittery and SR 91 in South Berwick was built in 1956 on the former right-of-way of the B&M Railroad after service was discontinued and the tracks removed four years earlier. While railroad service has disappeared, SR 236 is a busy commuter corridor connecting to I-95, the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard, and downtown

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

Junction list

References

{{Reflist, 30em

236 __NOTOC__ Year 236 ( CCXXXVI) was a leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Verus and Africanus (or, less frequently, year 989 ''Ab ...

Transportation in York County, Maine Kittery, Maine Eliot, Maine South Berwick, Maine Berwick, Maine