State Route 15 (SR 15) is a numbered

state highway A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

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 north ...

, United States. SR 15 runs over from Stonington in the south to Jackman in the north.

Route description

SR 15 begins in the town of Stonington, at the intersection of Main Street, School Street, and West Main Street. The route proceeds north out of Stonington and through

Deer Isle Deer Isle is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 2,194 at the 2020 census. Notable landmarks in Deer Isle are the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts, Stonington Opera House, and the town's many art galleries. ...

en route to the mainland of Maine. Upon leaving the islands to the south via the

Deer Isle Bridge The Deer Isle Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning Eggemoggin Reach in the state of Maine. The bridge is the only vehicular connection from the Maine mainland to Little Deer Isle, one of the segments that make up the island. The span was complet ...

, SR 15 meets SR 175 and forms an approximately

concurrency Concurrent means happening at the same time. Concurrency, concurrent, or concurrence may refer to: Law * Concurrence, in jurisprudence, the need to prove both ''actus reus'' and ''mens rea'' * Concurring opinion (also called a "concurrence"), a ...

with it. SR 15 then splits off 175 and then joins SR 176 farther to the north. The two routes continue into Blue Hill, where SR 15 turns northward, while 176 goes to the east. Continuing north, Route 15 meets SR 199 in North Penobscot. Upon reaching Orland, SR 15 meets

U.S. Route 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 i ...

(US 1) and SR 3, and joins the concurrency northbound. The road sees the ends of Routes

166 Year 166 ( CLXVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pudens and Pollio (or, less frequently, year 919 ''Ab urbe condita' ...

and 46 before reaching the town of Bucksport. Upon reaching the town, US 1 and SR 3 split off and SR 15 turns northward towards Bangor. SR 15 continues towards Bangor, straddling the east side of 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 We ...

, along with US-1A to the west. SR 15 enters Brewer and follows South Main Street to an interchange with Interstate 395 (I-395) at exit 4. SR 15 joins I-395 westbound and runs concurrent with the Interstate (also with US 202 between exits 3 and 2) to its terminus, where SR 15 then takes exit 1B to join

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 ...

northbound for approximately . SR 15 leaves I-95 via exit 185 and joins Broadway heading north out of the city. SR 15 meets SR 221 at Six Mile Falls before entering Glenburn. The route intersects with SR 11 and SR 43 in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part o ...

, forming a concurrency with SR 11. SR 15 continues to the northwest, intersecting with SR 6 and SR 16 in

Dover-Foxcroft Dover-Foxcroft is the largest town in and the seat of Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,422 at the 2020 census. The town is located near the geographic center of the state. History Dover-Foxcroft was originally tw ...

, forming a lengthy concurrency. The three routes proceed due west through

Guilford Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to: Places Australia * Guildfor ...

, intersecting SR 23 and SR 150, and then turning to the north in Abbot Village, where SR 16 splits off to the west. Routes 6 and 15 remain concurrent for the better part of about , traveling north to

Moosehead Lake Moosehead Lake is a deep, coldwater lake located in Piscataquis County in Northwestern Maine. It is the second-largest lake in New England, and the largest mountain lake in the eastern United States. Situated in the mostly undeveloped Longfellow Mo ...

, and turning west to the small town of Jackman. Routes 6 and 15 finally come to an intersection with US 201, approximately from 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 ...

. SR 15 ends at this intersection, while SR 6 joins US 201 en route to the Canadian border.

Local names

Within the towns connected by State Route 15, the highway also is known by various local names: *

Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...

: Broadway *

Brewer, Maine Brewer is a city in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. It is part of the Bangor, Maine Metropolitan Statistical Area. The city is named after its first settler, Colonel John Brewer. The population was 9,672 at the 2020 census. Brewer ...

: South Main Street *

Orrington, Maine Orrington is a town on the Penobscot River estuary in Penobscot County, Maine, Penobscot County, Maine, United States. The population was 3,812 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Orrington was originally part of Condustiegg or ...

: River Road *

Bucksport, Maine Bucksport is a historical town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 4,944 at the 2020 census. Bucksport is across the Penobscot River estuary from Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge, which replaced the Waldo–H ...

: Main Street *

Monson, Maine Monson is a town in Piscataquis County, Maine, United States. The population was 609 at the 2020 census. The town is located on Route 15 which is a significant route north into the well known Moosehead Lake Region, to which Monson can be consid ...

: Main Street

History

When originally designated in 1926, SR 15 ran between Ellsworth and Greenville Junction. Between 1933 and 1934, it was extended north to Rockwood, and again, in 1940, to its current terminus in Jackman. In 1946, the route was truncated to Blue Hill, but, in 1963, it was extended south to its current terminus in Stonington. In 2004, SR 15 in Bangor was removed from downtown and routed along

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 spu ...

and

. The old alignment through downtown became SR 15 Business (see below).

Major intersections

Auxiliary route

State Route 15 Business (abbreviated SR 15 Bus. or SR 15B) is a

business route A business route (or business loop, business spur, or city route) in the United States is a short special route connected to a ''parent'' numbered highway at its beginning, then routed through the central business district of a nearby city or ...

of SR 15. Its southern terminus is at I-395 and SR 15 in Brewer. Its northern terminus is at I-95 and SR 15 in Bangor. SR 15 Business was designated in 2004 after SR 15 was removed from its surface alignment in downtown Bangor and Brewer, instead being routed along I-395 and I-95 to bypass the downtown areas. ;Junction list

References

{{Reflist

015 Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album ...

Transportation in Piscataquis County, Maine Transportation in Hancock County, Maine Transportation in Penobscot County, Maine Transportation in Somerset County, Maine