Interstate 295 (Maine)

Interstate 295 marker

Interstate 295
Richard A. Coleman Highway
I-295 highlighted in red
Route information
Maintained by MaineDOT
Length 53.11 mi[1] (85.47 km)
Existed 1960 – present
Major junctions
South end I‑95 / Maine Turnpike in Scarborough
North end I‑95 / Maine Turnpike in West Gardiner
Highway system
Maine State Highway System
← SR 238US 302 →
Northbound in Portland, Maine

Interstate 295 (I-295) is a 53.11-mile (85.47 km)-long auxiliary route in the U.S. state of Maine from I-95 in Scarborough to I-95 in West Gardiner. The highway was designated the Richard A. Coleman Highway in 2015 by the Maine Legislature.

Route description

Interstate 295 branches off from exit 44 of Interstate 95 (Maine Turnpike) providing access to downtown Portland, Maine, and then generally follows the Atlantic coast and Kennebec River until it merges back into I-95 in West Gardiner 52 miles (84 km) to the north at exit 103.

I-295's first exit is in South Portland, giving access to the Maine Mall (southbound) and U.S. 1 in South Portland and Scarborough (northbound); its last exit is Exit 51 (formerly Exit 28), which gives access to Gardiner. The route starts at Exit 44 (formerly Exit 6A) of I-95, and it has toll plazas just before its own Exit 1, and between Exit 51 and its northern terminus at I-95.

In 2015, the Maine Legislature unanimously voted to name the highway's entire length for Richard A. Coleman, a Maine Department of Transportation employee since 1956, who has been involved with many Maine transportation projects. He was involved in projects ranging from Maine's interstates to the Penobscot Narrows Bridge and Observatory. Coleman declined comment on the naming, only telling the Kennebec Journal that while the naming is humbling, he found it uncomfortable. Maine Sen. Roger Katz, the sponsor of the bill, said "Very few people have heard of Dick Coleman, but as he drives around the state, he must feel a great deal of pride looking at his decades of work." [2]

History

1960 to 2004

From its inception in 1960 to 2004, I-295 was an 11.02-mile (17.73 km) long route branching off the Maine Turnpike/I-95 to pass through downtown Portland. Four miles north of Portland the through freeway became I-95 at the junction with the Falmouth Spur, a connector carrying I-95 westward to the Maine Turnpike (I-95 and I-495(Former) at its Exit 9.

2004 extension

In 2004, to clear up confusion, I-95 was re-designated to continue along the Maine Turnpike for its entire length. I-295 was extended past the Falmouth Spur as a redesignation of I-95, to where it merges back into the Turnpike in West Gardiner 42 miles (68 km) to the north. The 4-mile (6.4 km) long Falmouth Spur officially became I-495 but was left unsigned.[3]

At the same time, the exits were re-numbered; previously they had been numbered more or less sequentially from south to north—there were skipped numbers, for example, there was no Exit 23. After the changes the exits re-numbered to mile-log in relation to the Scarborough junction, except for the exits in Portland and South Portland, which remained the same. Exits on Maine's I-95 were similarly re-numbered based on mileage.

Speed limits

The speed limit on Interstate 295 on the section past Tukey's Bridge to mile 51 in Gardiner was raised from 65 to 70 mph (105 to 113 km/h) on May 27, 2014. This occurred as the result of a new law passed in 2013 by the Maine Legislature allowing the Maine Department of Transportation to unilaterally set speed limits on Interstate highways with the approval of the Maine State Police, instead of appealing to the Legislature. [4] The speed limit was reverted from 70 to 65 mph (113 to 105 km/h) for a length of 22 miles (35 km) from the section past Tukey's Bridge to Topsham on March 27, 2017. [5]

Exit list


CountyLocation[6]mi[6]kmOld exitNew exitDestinationsNotes
CumberlandScarborough0.000.00– I‑95 south (Maine Turnpike) – KitteryExit 44 on Maine Turnpike
0.550.89Toll plaza
South Portland1.262.031 To US 1 – South PortlandNorthbound signage; northbound exit only
To I‑95 (Maine Turnpike) / Maine Mall RoadSouthbound signage; southbound exit and northbound entrance
1.993.202 To US 1 south (Scarborough Connector) – Scarborough, Old Orchard BeachSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
2.163.483 SR 9 (Westbrook Street) – JetportSouthbound exit and northbound entrance
3.195.134Casco Bay Drive – Portland WaterfrontNorthbound signage; US 1 removed from Casco Bay Drive in May 2007
US 1 south (Main Street)Southbound signage; southern end of concurrency with US 1
South Portland–Portland line3.705.95Fore River
Portland4.467.185 SR 22 / US 1A (Congress Street)Signed as Exits 5A (east) and 5B (west) southbound
5.358.616A SR 100 south (Forest Avenue)US 1 removed from Forest Avenue in May 2007
6B SR 100 north (Forest Avenue) / US 302 west
5.899.487 US 1A (Franklin Street)
6.5710.578 SR 26 south (Washington Avenue)Southbound signage; southbound exit and northbound entrance; southern end of concurrency with SR 26
6.7310.838 SR 26 north (Washington Avenue)Northbound signage; northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of concurrency with SR 26
6.9711.229 US 1 south / SR 26 north (Washington Avenue) / Baxter BoulevardSouthbound signage; southbound exit and northbound entrance; US 1 removed from Baxter Boulevard in May 2007
7.1211.469 US 1 north – Falmouth ForesideNorthbound signage; northbound exit and southbound entrance; northern end of concurrency with US 1
Falmouth9.4515.21Ryan Quirion Guthrie Bridge over the Presumpscot River
10.6217.0910 To I‑95 (Maine Turnpike) / US 1 / SR 9 / Bucknam Road – Falmouth, CumberlandI-95 and Cumberland only appear on northbound signage
11.0017.701511 I‑95 (Maine Turnpike) – New Hampshire, MassachusettsSouthbound exit and northbound entrance; former northern terminus; access via Falmouth Spur (formerly I-95)
Yarmouth15.2424.531615 US 1 – Yarmouth, CumberlandNorthbound entrance added August 2013
16.3526.31Royal River
17.2427.7517 US 1 – Yarmouth, FreeportFreeport only appears on northbound signage
Yarmouth–Freeport line17.9828.94Cousins River
Freeport20.6533.231920 To US 1 / Desert Road – FreeportUS 1 only appears on southbound signage
22.2535.812022 SR 125 (Mallet Drive) / SR 136 – Freeport, Durham
23.7038.142124 US 1 – FreeportNorthbound exit and entrance
Brunswick28.3845.672228 US 1 (Coastal Route) – Brunswick, Bath
Cumberland–Sagadahoc
county line		Brunswick–Topsham line30.0248.31Androscoggin River
SagadahocTopsham31.0449.9524A31A SR 196 east – Topsham, BrunswickSigned as Exit 31 northbound; Brunswick and Lewiston only appear on southbound signage; access to Bates College
24B31B SR 196 west (Lewiston Road) – Lisbon, Lewiston
Bowdoinham37.1059.712537 SR 125 / SR 138 – Bowdoinham, Bowdoin
Richmond43.4769.962643 SR 197 – Richmond, Litchfield
KennebecGardiner49.2979.322749 US 201 – Gardiner
Gardiner–West Gardiner line50.2980.93Cobbosseecontee Stream
West Gardiner51.4882.852851 SR 9 / SR 126 – Litchfield, Gardiner
51.7083.20Toll plaza
52.2784.12– I‑95 north (Maine Turnpike) – Augusta, WatervilleExit 103 on Maine Turnpike
1.000 mi = 1.609 km; 1.000 km = 0.621 mi

References

  1. ↑ Floodgap Roadgap's RoadsAroundME Archived 2011-06-12 at Archive.is
  2. ↑ Koeing, Paul (April 20, 2015). "Interstate 295 to be named after Augusta resident, longtime transportation worker". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
  3. ↑ "It's Time to Clear Up the confusion: Maine Interstate Re-designation 2004" (PDF). MaineDOT. May 20, 2003. Retrieved 2008-07-18.
  4. ↑ Koeing, Paul (May 27, 2014). "Speed limit increasing by 5 mph on parts of I-295, I-95". Kennebec Journal. Retrieved May 27, 2014.
  5. ↑ http://www.pressherald.com/2017/03/26/speed-limit-drops-monday-on-stretch-of-i-295/
  6. 1 2 "MaineDOT Public Map Viewer". Maine Department of Transportation. Retrieved April 8, 2017.

Route map:

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