The Highways of the Pine Tree State

This site offers a list of Maine highways past and present (intended to be exhaustive, with research ever-in-progress), frequently asked questions about Maine roads, and links to travel, vacation and technical resources. Although this site caters to both casual motorist and hardcore roadgeek alike, we do tend to use some habitual jargon that might need interpretation -- novices to the study of highways might look at the Roadgap glossary first to familiarise themselves.

RoadsAroundME is a privately maintained resource and is not in any way supported by, sponsored by or funded by the Maine Department of Transportation or the taxpayers of the state of Maine.

Please send me your comments and suggestions at ckaiser@floodgap.com. Although information provided here is by no means official or guaranteed, I do endeavour to maintain accuracy, and reports from the field of changes and errors are always gratefully appreciated. Thank you for visiting! -- Cameron Kaiser

A very happy 50th birthday to Maine's Interstate 95! Visit MaineDOT's official retrospective on the state's modern-day primary arterial.

Sections

General Information about Maine State Highways

Frequently asked questions about Maine highways, including typical signage, types of highways and a special subsection on Maine's mysterious inventory roads.

All Points in Maine: The State Highway Route Log

A complete although always-in-progress log of Maine state highways, past, present and (sometimes) future. Includes past and present routings of all Interstates, US highways (Federal highways) and state highways since the present era of Maine highway numbering first signed in 1925.

Commonly viewed routes:

• Interstates: I-95 (includes Maine Turnpike), I-195, I-295, I-395
• US Highways: US 1, US 1 Alternate (US 1A), US 2, US 201, US 202, US 302
• Maine State Routes: ME 3, ME 9, ME 11, ME 15, ME 27, ME 100

Special Exhibits

The Bangor Loop: US 1 Alternate and COASTAL US 1

Our two-part foray on old US 1, now US 1A, down to the central coast, up the unique COASTAL US 1 to the Downeast Highway and then back into Bangor. Includes a special look at the doomed Waldo-Hancock Bridge, the first major link over the Penobscot River in the Downeast region.

Bypass US 1: A Link From The Past

Bad Zelda jokes aside, By-Pass US 1 in northern New Hampshire and extreme southwest Maine is a relic from the past that once carried I-95 and the Turnpike. Includes the Sarah Mildred Long drawbridge and a look at those wacky By-Pass shields.

Maine's New England Interstate Routes
Maine's Named Highways
Maine's Pole Highways and Auto Trails
and
Maine's Lettered Highways

Prior to the 1925 signage, Maine still had state roads of a different sort, including their own contributions to the regional New England Interstate system, the regional trails (complete with their bright pole colour system), and the original lettered routes established way back in 1913. Even after the transition to the modern system, there was still the parallel legislative highways, designated for tourism and economic development in the state. These pages use available extant documentation and contemporary period resources to catalogue these lost highways.

Links

Official sites

• Maine Department of Transportation -- I would personally like to thank Mr Herb Thomson, Director of the Office of Communications, and his staff for taking time from their busy schedules to answer questions; their assistance was invaluable in this site's construction. Their help in this regard should not be construed as an official endorsement of this site.
• Maine Turnpike Authority
• Maine Port Authority (truck routes)

Fellow roadgeeks' Maine sites

• Eric Bryant's Maine Drag (bow down to the multiplex). Eric provided many first person reports from the field and countless corrections, minor and major alike. His help is greatly appreciated.
• JP Kirby has his own very comprehensive resource at the506.com, drawing on his previous work with Maine Highway Termini (sponsored by Gribble Nation) and Maine Highways (sadly unfinished). JP deserves acknowledgement for his sizeable initial research into what was earlier a very sparsely studied state system.
• C. C. Slater Comrade Otto Yamamoto's Nude England All-Nite Images (yes, yes, it's safe for work, it's just sine salad)
• Steve Alpert's Maine roads page
• Douglas Kerr: Maine Photos and New Sharon Abandoned Truss Bridge
• Adam Prince's 2003 Fall New England Vacation Photos - Maine

Other sites

• Maine Better Transportation Association -- non-partisan highway advocacy and transportation lobby organization
• Maine Citizens for Increased Jobs & Safety -- a complete proposal on a new E-W transport corridor